From Debate to Action: Covid-19 Lockdown and Changing Paradigm in Nigerian Online Higher Education
Keywords:
VLE, Proctoring, lockdown, Covid-19, ODL, courseware, online learningAbstract
The Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 saw unprecedented disruption of education systems across the globe. Countries imposed immediate social lockdowns to prevent the spread of the disease in crowded situations. After a few months of 'stay safe, stay at home' government advocacy, it became clear that unless new strategies of delivery were embarked upon, education systems could eventually collapse. This led to the emergence of the 'New Normal' in which suddenly little used online technologies were dusted off and new materials loaded into them and beamed to students from those in elementary schools to university students. The online technologies became easier to deploy due to the commodification of technology, particularly Smartphones among Gen. Z. populace of every country. The National Open University of Nigeria, the premier Open and Distance Learning institution in Nigeria, and the largest in Africa with over 590,000 students spread across the entire country in 103 study centres, approached the challenges posed by the Covid-19 lockdown in two innovative ways. First, it introduced remote proctoring of examinations in the country for the first time on an ondemand basis, making it optional to students since the hardware requirements – a laptop and IGB of data – may not be possible for all students. A total of 5,271 students out of 130,000 who registered for inperson examinations before the lockdown opted for the online examination. The second strategy was the conversion of selected courseware materials from flat PDF files to interactive Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) self-automated lectures. This involved an online training of 158 academic staff hosting packages at Blue Host with Moodle were purchased for the staff and each tasked with developing a VLE class for their course. Also, 732 senior administrative staff and 1,333 'junior to mid-level staff members were trained on the essentials and practical operations of VLEs in order to provide critical tactical support to academic staff and students. These innovative approaches have provided powerful platforms for sustaining and improving on teaching and learning activities during the global pandemic across the country and the impact is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. This paper is an empirical study of the dynamics of implementing Open and Distance Learning in a challenging health lockdown situation in Nigeria. It uses a combination of theoretical insights and empirical data from implementation of 'New Normal' online strategies and advocates a movement away from debate to action in improving the quality of delivery systems in African higher open and distance education.
Abstrait
La pandémie de Covid-19 de 2020 a entraîné une perturbation sans précédent des systèmes éducatifs à travers le monde. Les pays ont imposé des confinements sociaux immédiats pour empêcher la propagation de la maladie dans les situations de surpeuplement. Après quelques mois de plaidoyer gouvernemental « restez en sécurité, restez à la maison », il est devenu clair qu'à moins que de nouvelles stratégies de prestation ne soient mises en place, les systèmes éducatifs pourraient éventuellement s'effondrer. Cela a conduit à l'émergence de la nouvelle normalité « New Normal » dans laquelle des technologies en ligne peu utilisées ont été soudainement dépoussiérées et de nouveaux matériaux y ont été chargés et transmis aux étudiants, des écoles élémentaires aux étudiants universitaires. Les technologies en ligne sont devenues plus faciles à déployer en raison de la marchandisation de la technologie, en particulier des Smartphones parmi la population de la génération Z. de tous les pays. Le National Open University of Nigéria, la première institution d'enseignement ouvert et à distance au Nigéria et la plus grande d'Afrique avec plus de 590 000 étudiants répartis dans tout le pays dans 88 centres d'études, a abordé les défis posés par le confinement de Covid-19 de deux manières innovantes. . Tout d'abord, il a introduit la surveillance à distance des examens dans le pays pour la première fois sur demande, la rendant facultative pour les étudiants car les exigences matérielles - un ordinateur portable et un IGo de données - peuvent ne pas être possibles pour tous les étudiants. Un total des 5 271 étudiants sur 130 000 qui se sont inscrits aux examens en personne avant le confinement ont opté pour l'examen en ligne. La deuxième stratégie consistait à convertir des supports de cours sélectionnés à partir de fichiers PDF plats en cours auto-automatisés interactifs dans un environnement d'apprentissage virtuel (VLE). Cela impliquait une formation en ligne de 158 membres du personnel académique hébergeant des packages chez BlueHost avec Moodle ont été achetés pour le personnel et chacun a été chargé de développer une classe VLE pour son cours. En outre, 732 membres du personnel administratif supérieur et 1.333 membres du personnel de niveau junior à intermédiaire ont été formés sur les opérations essentielles et pratiques des VLE afin de fournir un i soutien tactique essentiel au personnel académique et aux étudiants. Ces approches innovantes ont fourni de puissantes plateformes pour maintenir et améliorer les activités d'enseignement et d'apprentissage pendant la pandémie mondiale à travers le pays et l'impact devrait se poursuivre dans un avenir prévisible. Cet article est une étude empirique de la dynamique de la mise en œuvre de l'apprentissage ouvert et à distance dans une situation difficile de confinement sanitaire au Nigeria. Il utilise une combinaison d'idées théoriques et de données empiriques issues de la mise en œuvre de stratégies en ligne nouvelle normalité « New Normal » et préconise un passage du débat à l'action pour améliorer la qualité des systèmes de prestation dans l'enseignement supérieur ouvert et à distance en Afrique.
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