Undergraduate Student Experience Of E-Learning In Higher Education, A Case Study Of Unza

Abstract

With the emergence of the Internet and new technologies, eLearning has become the promising solution for the Universities which are currently in an environment of intense change due to the spread of the novel corona virus which has brought changes in social communication and interaction. This study was conducted at the University of Zambia and looked at the students’ experience of e-learning. The main aim of the study was to examine the perceptions of students towards e-learning. This study opted for multi-methods. The quantitative approach which involved the use of controlled questionnaire and phone interview were used to collect information relating to the objectives. The study was based on qualitative data analysis and the data was analyzed qualitatively using SPSS. A content analysis was done were the researcher examined the data collected from the qualitative part of the research. The data was then summarized by presenting the entire data collected in a number of tables’, graphs and pie charts. The study revealed that not all students knew what e-learning was, and the major challenge was the internet access as students complained about the shortage of internet bundles. The study also showed that due to some level of ICT training, 52% of respondents were able to attach files easily to Moodle, 52 % of the respondents found it easy to chat on the online platform and more than half of the respondents found at it easy at 58%. It further showed that half of the respondents (50%) experienced having challenges in experiencing e-learning due to the inability to acquire the bundles as they were considered pricey for the respondents. The objective of the study was to establish students’ perceptions of e-learning at UNZA. In that regard, it was concluded that many students are aware of e-learning irrespective of their gender, age and location. The study concluded that many students use different devices in order to engage in e-learning, with cellphones, desktop computers, laptops and tablets or iPads all commonly used. Also, it was concluded that students used Moodle to submit assignments, for general interaction with other students and to retrieve study resources. In terms of perceptions, the

study concluded that the students are positive about e-learning. This was based on their self- efficacy, enjoyment, usefulness and their behavior with regard to eLearning.