Factors Determining the Success of Synchronous Learning in Kenyan Universities During Covid-19 Period
Abstract
Due to infrastructure, expertise, and other issues, a number of Kenyan institutions have been
unable to properly implement online learning resulting in a sluggish uptake. They had to
transition to online learning relatively immediately to ensure that learning could resume.
Despite the fact that Kenyan universities launched online learning more than a decade ago,
learners and teachers alike disliked it because of its poor implementation. Despite the
availability of course materials via web portals, face-to-face meetings were still required for
introductory lectures and assessments. With Covid-19 outbreak, the need for online courses
became obvious, and universities soon resorted to online meeting platforms to supplement
their learning management systems. Covid-19 is still present and expected to create further
disruptions, thus the emergence of synchronous learning via video conferencing as a solution.
As a result, the study intended to establish how Kenyan universities have benefited from the
rapid adoption of synchronous learning, as well as the factors that have influenced those
benefits. A conceptual framework was developed using the DeLone and McLean IS success
model. A positivist approach and quantitative data were used to determine the success
factors. With a sample size of 385, a survey was performed with a response rate of 89%. The
study discovered that ease of learning, cost, relevance, and system use all played a role in
synchronous learning's success in Kenyan universities. The study suggests that security and
data policies be developed, that proper investments be made in online teaching and learning
platforms, that the requisite technological skills to operate in a synchronous learning setting
be acquired, and information compliance with learning requirements be adhered to as a
roadmap for the implementation and uptake of synchronous learning in all Kenyan
universities.
Keywords:
Synchronous learning, video conferencing, Covid-19, IS success model of DeLone and
McLean
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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