Abstract
Educational institutions are globally adopting new technologies in their pedagogical practices in order to stay in tandem with changes in the ICT sector. Many developing countries are moving towards adopting current technologies in their education systems. On September 30, 2016, after the successful completion of a pilot project, Kenya launched the nation-wide rollout of its DigitalLiteracy program (DLP). The program was meant to provide laptops to the standard one and two pupils in public primary schools together with e-content for learning. The program has been adopted in almost all schools in the country. After rolling out of the program, there are various complaints that have been put forward by the users and other stakeholders and this has necessitated studies to establish the challenges experienced and their possible mitigation. This study evaluated the challenges facing the Digital Learning Programme for Primary Schools in Kisii County, Kenya. A descriptive survey design was used in this study and a self-administered questionnaire was the main data collection instrument used. Stratified random sampling was used to select a sample of 250 primary school teachers in Kisii County. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 22 and presented in tables in form of frequencies and percentages. Training, access to computers, facilities and equipment, funds, and technical support were the main challenges the DLP is facing in Kisii County. The study recommends enhanced training for the teachers, equipping well-furnished computer rooms in the schools among other measures to counter the challenges. Further, enough funds should be provided for in the budget to enable address the challenges facing the program.
Highlights
Education is one of the most important factors for poverty alleviation and economic growth in developing countries (UNDP 2005; UNESCO 2005) and the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for dissemination of education is believed to have huge potential for governments struggling to meet a growing demand for education while facing an escalating shortage of teachers (UNESCO 2006).Many nations both in the developed and in the developing world have implemented digital learning in their education systems to harness the benefits of digital literacy
Immense literature identifies training of teachers, access to computers, facilities and equipment, funds and technical support as the main challenges facing digital literacy programmes. These challenges were evaluated by the respondents to help explain to what extent they affect the DigitalLiteracy program (DLP) in Kisii County primary schools
This was on assumption that there could be challenges that are unique to the Kenyan case and especially Kisii County
Summary
Education is one of the most important factors for poverty alleviation and economic growth in developing countries (UNDP 2005; UNESCO 2005) and the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for dissemination of education is believed to have huge potential for governments struggling to meet a growing demand for education while facing an escalating shortage of teachers (UNESCO 2006). Many nations both in the developed and in the developing world have implemented digital learning in their education systems to harness the benefits of digital literacy. Kisii County has about 700 primary schools and there are about 1,420 standard one and two teachers taking part in this phase of the programme
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