Using Mobile Moodle to enhance Moodle LMS accessibility and usage at the University of Dar es Salaam

Abstract

Over the last decade, there has been a remarkable increase in the adoption and use of learning management systems (LMS) in sub-Saharan Africa in a bid to improve the quality of on-campus delivery as well as increasing access to education through blended and distance learning. Despite the increased adoption of LMS in the region, their potential has not been fully exploited as relatively few users tend to use them, thereby not justifying the high infrastructure investment costs. The continued penetration and adoption of mobile phones amongst users in the region presents an opportunity to find ways of making LMS accessible to users via mobile phones. However, there are relatively few attempts to enhance accessibility and usage of LMS into users' mobile phones especially in sub-Saharan Africa. This article aims at sharing experiences of configuring and using Mobile Moodle to enhance Moodle LMS usage and accessibility via mobile phones at the University of Dar es Salaam. Through analyzing log of two selected courses, it was revealed that the majority of students used Course View and User List features to read course notes and to check for their fellow students respectively. In addition, students indicated that the Mobile Moodle was easy to use and enable them to accomplish learning activities more quickly through a questionnaire that was distributed to elicit their opinions about the Mobile Moodle. The findings from this study will enable those who are involved in LMS implementation especially in sub-Saharan Africa to widen access of LMS via mobile phones and therefore increase LMS usage.