Estelle Taylor

Reshaping computer literacy teaching in higher education: Identification of critical success factors

Purpose – Acquiring computer skills is more important today than ever before, especially in a developing country. Teaching of computer skills, however, has to adapt to new technology. This paper aims to model factors influencing the success of the learning of computer literacy by means of an e‐learning environment. The research question for this paper is: what is the relationship between the success of the teaching of computer literacy and factors such as mother tongue, the learners favourite subject, secondary school, race, future vision, confidence, computer anxiety, prior knowledge, intellectual ability, learning styles, the learners ability to plan and follow his or her own planning and gender?Design/methodology/approach – The research plan combined interpretive and positivistic methods (mixed method research). Factors were identified from literature and interpretive interviews before being tested empirically and analyzed statistically, using questionnaires and biographical data from learners at a u...

To use or not to use? SDM utilisation in the development of LMS in South Africa

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to determine if Systems Development Methodologies (SDMs) are being utilised effectively in the development of Learning Management Systems (LMSs) in South Africa. With e-learning being a critical component of modern educational systems, it has become essential to ensure that LMSs of a high standard are being developed. In the field of SDMs, much research has been done and the value of SDMs is proven and documented. To enhance the chances of developing LMSs of outstanding quality, it is crucial that SDMs are applied efficiently, as they can have a significant impact on the development process. Design/methodology/approach – A positivistic research approach was followed. By utilising a survey as the main research method, quantitative data were generated. By statistically analysing the dataset, meaningful results were obtained. Findings – This study shed some light on how LMS procurement and development is being done in South Africa and revealed that the use of open-sour...