Studies (Alavi, 2000, Conole, 2004, Birch & Burnett, 2009,) reveal that technology has
been capable of enhancing teaching and learning in various contexts. It is within such a
context that this study investigated the utility of Learning Management System (LMS) in
postgraduate teaching and learning at the Faculty of Education in the South African
university. My focus was the experiences of both academic staff and postgraduate
students in relation to the learning opportunities and challenges accompanying LMS as
used as a teaching and learning platform.
This study employed a mixed methods approach (a combination of quantitative and
qualitative approaches), which was implemented in two phases, following a sequential
order (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003). In phase one, a quantitative approach was employed.
This approach engaged students in completing a questionnaire that comprised of close
and open-ended questions. Furthermore, simple random sampling was applied to select
the respondents for data production in this phase.
In the second phase a qualitative approach, concerned itself with the production of in depth
data). The sub-sample of the population from the questionnaire was used in the
focus group and individual interviews with educational technology students. All those
participants whose responses spoke better to the critical questions were selected. Three
academics were selected for individual interviews. Convenience purposive sampling
(Henning, 2004) was applied for the selection of the participants in this level. Non-participatory
observation was applied for triangulation purposes.
In terms of analysis, thematic analysis was used (Aronson 1994), with charts and
statistics representing quantitative data and texts representing qualitative data. By means
of guided analysis, research findings were interpreted (Hammonds, 1976). In order to
discuss all these findings, the principle of construct-connect theory (Gagnon & Collay, 2000: Siemens: 2004) was used.
The results revealed that both selected academics and postgraduate students knew the capabilities and challenges of the LMS. The implications of these capabilities and
challenges for teaching and learning were discussed. The research concluded with a set of
recommendations to ensure, the effective use of Learning Management System to support
teaching and learning in the postgraduate sector. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/1157 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Mafata, Mafata Paul. |
| Contributors | Khoza, Simon Bhekumuzi., Govender, Devanandan. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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