ABSTRACT

The emergence and fast growth of the internet, as well as the proliferation of information and communication  technology  (ICT)  facilities, have empowered academic  institutions  across  the globe to adopt e-learning and teaching. The study was set up to assess e-learning and teaching by distance education students and lecturers of the Valley View University (VVU) Oyibi  Campus  in Accra, Ghana. The main objectives were to find out students and lecturers perceptions, attitude, perceived ease  of  use  of  e-learning  and  teaching,  internal  and  external  factors  affecting  e- learning at the VVU. For the researcher to accomplish these goals, a cross-sectional survey was adopted for the study. A self-developed questionnaire was   used  to   collect  data  from  the participants. The total population for the study was three hundred and eighty-four  (384),  this  comprised two hundred and ninety-six (296) students and eighty-eight (88) lecturers.

The convenience sampling  technique  was  used  to  sample  one  hundred  and  eighteen  (118) students. The total population of the lecturers was  eighty-eight (88), therefore, the entire population was used for the study. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS,  17 Version) was used to analyze  data.  The  findings  of the  study were  presented  in  tables.  The  results of the study established that the majority  of  the  students  and  lecturers  preferred  face-to-face  learning to the online learning and teaching mode  because   they  found  it  difficult  to   access information from the Online Learning Forum Platform  (OLFP).  The  study  also found  out  that distance students and lecturers found  it  difficult  to  upload and  download information  from  the Online Learning Forum Platform (OLFP)  due  to  poor  internet  services.  The  findings  established that both students and lecturers found it difficult to  access  e-resources  provided  by the  university from the Online Learning Forum Platform (OLFP), therefore, recommended for additional

seminars, workshops, and orientations.

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

• Background of the Study

Globally,  education  has  become  an  important  commodity  to  one‟s  personal  achievement  as  wel as the development of a nation as a whole. It occupies a vital position in all circles of  human endeavours. The unparalleled  request  for  university  degree  over  the  previous  decades  has  led  to the introduction of Distance Education  (DE)  in  some  tertiary  institutions  in  Ghana  which  Valley View University  is  no  exception.  The  term  Distance  Education  is  a  system  of  complete separation between  students and  lecturers in  which  learning  materials  are  submitted  through various means such as the  print  or  electronic  media  to   students  who  could  not  have  the opportunity to attend the face-to-face formal education due to the poor financial status of parents/  family or tight schedule at  the  workplace.  E-learning  is  not  only  useful  for  such  group  of individuals; it is  also beneficial  for the  educational  institutions that offer  such  services   where adults are working. The benefits of e-learning include providing learning opportunities to all at a reduced cost and increased access to learning for disadvantaged groups due to geographical barriers (Jihad & Sondos, 2006).

Research study such as Engelbrecht (2003) has confirmed that students who have enrolled in the distance education through the adoption of e-learning will have equal  opportunity  to  access  the needed information from their lecturers since learning is determined by their own pace. Furthermore, e-learning has the  potential  to   provide  a  high-quality  education  and  training, producing a  competitive  workforce  and  increases  the  level  of  literacy  among  citizens (Engelbrecht, 2003).

Vasileios Kagklis et  al.,  (2015)  defined  distance  education  as  a  form of education  in  which  there is a constrained interaction  between  lecturers and  students”.  Safiul in  Lenara et  al.,  (2014) indicated that distance learning is the independent form of education by using pedagogical technologies to design and implement remote courses for students.

Caruth and Caruth (2013) defined distance education as an instruction in  which  students  are  separated from instructors during  their  entire  course  of  study.  Distance  education  is  characterized by lecturers, students and some of the time other facilitators  imparting  information  with  students through distinctive sorts of media (Nagar, 2010). Mnyanyi and Mbwette (2009) reiterated that “distance education is a learning process in  which  the  teacher  and  the  learner  are  separated  in  terms of space and time; communication between the two is  mediated  by  print  media  or  ICT; learning is under the control of the learner rather than the teacher.

The  core  objective of  Valley  View  University  (VVU)  is  to  offer  quality  education  hence, the need to introduce online  education  in  order  to   admit  all  qualified  applicants.  This  chapter  highlights the background of the study, statement of  the  problem,  the  purpose  of  the  study, objectives of the study, theoretical framework, and scope of the study, significance, research environment, ethical considerations and descriptions of chapters.

            Statement of the problem

The use of e-learning in higher institutions to improve the delivery of materials to learners, helps lecturers to keep their lesson notes up-to-date,  get  in  touch with  students  in  a  short  possible time and communicate  with  one  another  as  wel .  “E-learning  technologies  for  teaching  and  learning  help students to download learning materials submit assignments and collaborate with lecturers

and colleagues (Abu-Shanab, 2014; Abdellatief et al., 2011; Piña, 2010).

The  researcher‟s  interaction  with  a  staff  at  the  Distance  Education  Department  disclosed  that some students and lecturers lacked adequate skills to use the  Online  Learning  Forum  Platform (OLFP) to access information despite the initial training they had from the Distance Education Department of the  university. Another interview with the students revealed that the  department lacks permanent information technology (IT) staff to  support  students and lecturers. Thus, lecturers‟  are  not  able  to  develop  online  courses  on time  and  late  submission of assignments  and learning materials to students among others were enumerated by the students as  some  of  the hindrances militating against the use of e-learning at the Valley View University (VVU).