An assessment of ICT use for teaching and learning at Makerere University: case of the school. of Distance and Lifelong Learning.

Abstract

The study attempts to assess the use of Information and Communication Technologies for teaching and learning among lecturers and students in Makerere University. The assessment was based on the objectives of the study which include: to determine the various ICT tools used for teaching and learning, to determine the various ways learners and facilitators use ICT for teaching and learning, to establish the ICT skills used by learners and their facilitators for teaching and learning purposes. To maintain a consistent flow with the objectives, the study adopted a descriptive study design and a quantitative approach to collect and analyse the primary data. The findings explicitly show that the smart phone and the internet are the most used Information and communication Technologies in the teaching and learning process among the lecturers and students. The findings also reveal that some ICTs have specific functions and tasks they perform for example Microsoft and Mendeley, these are always used only when the need to use them arises. The findings clearly exposed the fact that most web-based ICTs are under-utilized hence the slow and low use of ICTs for teaching and learning among Students and lecturers. The study concluded that there are several problems impeding the use of ICT for teaching and learning among students and lecturers in the school of Distance Open Lifelong learning but also Makerere University in general, which are categorized from some broad perspectives as infrastructural, pedagogical, structural, functional, intellectual, and motivational. However, with adequate initiative, motivation and support, these impediments can be curbed. The study recommends that Lecturers and students ought to enhance their knowledge, attitudes, and skills through creating networks with other institutions and organizations for exchange programs in order to expose their learners to different contexts and people especially those with high ICT skill levels, Knowledge, and attitudes in order to influence and model the use of ICT among students and lecturers in Makerere University.