This thesis reports on a literature survey followed by an internet-based enquiry into best practices in academic support, with particular reference to the use of information and communication technology. It was found that higher education is a rapidly changing environment in which there is a constant demand for support, some of which may be provided by information technology. Learning organisations, however, need to be grown within the reality of existing attitudes and learning cultures. The reasons cited for failure of current methodologies are: understaffing/time constraints, money/budgetary limitations, faculty too busy or disinterested, perceived credibility/non-academic status of development practitioners and the perceived level of importance of teaching. No single solution will satisfy everybody; nor do simplistic answers or options exist. Four issues seem to stand out. They include the willingness of staff to be involved in developmental interventions (receptivity), the availability, clarity and accessibility of information (lucidity), the need for networking (dependency) and the use of technology. It would seem that these aspects are interrelated in that the relative levels of receptivity, lucidity and dependency may determine the degree of technological intricacy that staff are likely to tolerate as a medium through which to channel organisational learning interventions. / Thesis (PhD (Information Science))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Information Science / unrestricted

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Glen Jones.

In 2005, the Lesotho Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy introduction prescribed that all educational institutions for formal learning must play a major role in the improvement of teaching and learning mechanisms that develop a society that is ICT literate and capable of producing ICT products and services. This policy is part of the motivation for this study. The study's focus is to explore the extent to which ICT has been integrated in teaching and learning in one of the Lesotho higher education institutions. Its fundamental aim is to understand the ways in which the Lesotho College of Education (LCE) integrates ICT in teaching and learning environments. My study adopted the mixed method approach which based fact on an interpretive paradigm, with lecturer's interpretations regarding ICT integration in the college collected through structured questionnaires which were hand-distributed to purposefully selected lecturers as study participants. These questionnaires served as the basis and guide for face-to-face individual interviews of lecturers from the Computer studies and Agricultural/Environmental studies departments who were interviewed at their respective offices. Two sessions of sixty minutes, non-participatory observation of thirty computer studies students were also conducted. This study was guided by the activity theory/model based on the construction of real social change for pedagogy in a college. The concepts of the theory/model have been used to analyse the findings of this research. The findings of this study indicate that ICT integration creates opportunities in teaching and learning, where learning is focused on learners, and educators are only facilitators. Despite the opportunities that ICT has in learning, obstacles such as lecturers' lack of skills and incompetence in ICT literacy, limited resources and the infrastructure were found to be major factors hindering ICT integration in the college of education in Lesotho. The recommendations are that staff development and financial support should be considered a priority in ICT integration in this context. Also that ICT integration should include internal and external partners who can donate funds that will help in the implementation of ICT in teaching and learning at Lesotho's institutions of higher education. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2015. / Organisations now invest in ICT solutions to drive business activities and provide the agility sought for competitive advantage. These may include government departments, higher-education institutions (universities) and commercial entities amongst other things. The challenges with regards to ICT and data management are equally applicable in universities as they do in business organisations. Universities have a growing ICT infrastructure used in everyday activities and online functionality, making them prone to data problems. This emerges from data that is used across various business processes which are dispersed among departments. In turn, a level of inefficiency finds its way with potential to generate inaccurate, missing, misinterpreted and poorly defined information. Higher education institutions are service providers and it is imperative to have reliable, timely and organised data to maintain the performance of the institution. They often experience data management challenges that ultimately affect the institution’s efficiency. These data management challenges arise from institutions not thoroughly dealing with data content, records management, quality, stewardship, governance and research data management. This study explored how data can be managed in higher education institutions using properly defined principles of data governance (DG) which will assist the institutions recognise and treat data as an organisational asset.

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / The study, using a selected University of Technology (UoT) as a case study, investigated factors influencing information technology (IT) investments in adopting new technologies in University of Technologies (UoTs). The objective is to determine the benefits of IT investments in UoTs and the impact on UoT operations. Technology is constantly advancing and impacting on organisations’ decisions and how to acquire the right technology for effective administration. IT-investment decisions require unique understanding and management by organisations to properly adapt to changing technology. The research was based on the premise that the purpose of deploying new technologies in any organisation is to reduce the costs of running the organisation and to improve operational effectiveness. This would include Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). However, at most UoTs there is a slow response to adopting new technologies, making them lag behind in the deployment of such technologies.

Thesis (DTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / Educational technology can improve teaching and learning in universities of technology in developing countries. Due to various factors, there is no readymade “one-size-fits-all” solution for facilitating the successful implementation of educational technology. Tedre, Apiola and Cronjé (2011) identified 100 educational, socioeconomic and technical attributes that can influence the successful integration of educational technology in developing regions. While exploring the issues arising from technology integration at two universities of technology, the aim of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of Tedre, Apiola and Cronjé’s framework in order to contribute to its refinement. The central research question concerned the extent to which Tedre, Apiola and Cronjé’s framework was useful for a situational analysis at two South African universities of technology. The sub-questions concerned the framework’s ability to distinguish between the two universities on the one hand and on the other hand, the overlaps or shortcomings of the model as it assisted in describing those situations. The findings revealed that the two universities in this inquiry are not similar. Although the universities’ educational strategies and policies were very analogous, differences were found in the manner and approach to the implementation of educational technology. The pedagogical considerations for e-learning uptake in both universities corroborated with each other to a certain extent. The findings further showed that most of the educational factors that affect technology integration, and subsequent educational technology adoption, resonate with pedagogical issues found in other developing countries.

Online learning is one of the fastest growing internet resources in the world today and it is expected to become the third most common use of the internet after email and searches. However, whilst the spend on online learning is in the tens of billions of dollars in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, is this true in South Africa in general and in KwaZulu-Natal in particular? In order to understand the attitude and factors influencing the use of online learning in KwaZulu-Natal, a sample of decision makers was selected from relevant companies in KwaZulu-Natal to provide responses to an online questionnaire. Their responses helped to understand the factors that affect the acceptability of online learning and qualifications in IT departments in KwaZulu-Natal. Relevant companies were identified as those companies that were of medium to large size and had a staff complement of at least one hundred people. The size of the company relates to the total staff complement, not just the staff who make up the IT department. Relevant respondents were also identified as those people who were decision makers within their business with regards to the recruitment and training of IT staff. As limited research has been conducted in KwaZulu-Natal this study was a pilot study using a purposive sample of approximately fifty participants. Respondents were encouraged to suggest other possible candidates to answer the questionnaire. All in all, invitations to complete an online questionnaire were sent to fifty five participants. Of the fifty five participants invited to take part in the study, forty five started the questionnaire and thirty nine completed it. Although there were six people that did not complete the questionnaire their answers to the questions they did answer were deemed relevant to the study and were included in the result set. In analysing the responses of the sample it is interesting to note that online learning is still quite unknown in KwaZulu-Natal. In fact, although the respondents were all decision makers in their organisations, some of them had not considered the use and benefits of online training within their organisations. There also seems to be a systemic misunderstanding of what online training is. One of the main goals of this study was to ascertain what can be done to increase the awareness and understanding of (not necessarily the use of) online training in KwaZulu- Natal. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.

Kenya Methodist University (KeMU) is facing challenges like duplication of work due to lack of a central repository for knowledge retention, loss of knowledge through expertise leaving the institution without knowledge being captured and over reliance on a few known subject matter experts as others have not been identified. Utilising the Knowledge Retention Strategy framework, this study sought to assess knowledge retention practices at KeMU, with a view to entrench the culture of sharing knowledge. The ultimate aim of this study was to develop a model for knowledge retention at institutions of higher learning which KeMU could adopt. The study relied on mixed method research (MMR) with qualitative and quantitative data mixed at collection, analysis, discussion and reporting levels. The study triangulated data collection tools which encompassed a questionnaire, interview, observation and review of documents to collect data from 106 respondents and 11 heads of departments respectively. These two groups were purposively selected as they play a key role in knowledge retention at KeMU. The study disclosed a variety of informal knowledge retention practices but formal practices like: documented work processes; training and development for specific job tasks; orientation for general and job specific; knowledge repositories; communities of practice; knowledge retention policies; knowledge recovery initiatives; and human resources processes and practices for knowledge retention were lacking. Considering the value placed on the above list of lacking essential practices for knowledge retention, KeMU is indeed in dire need for a solution to help retain operational relevant knowledge. The study formulated a KR model for institutions of higher learning that would help KeMU leverage its knowledge assets. The study recommends that KeMU should work out a knowledge retention policy on how to implement the best knowledge retention practices. A further study on measuring KM in an academic institution is recommended. / Information Science / M. Inf.