Engaging Students Online: Readiness of Lecturers to Use Learning Management System (LMS) at a Technical Vocational Education and Training College

Abstract

Higher education institutions worldwide have embraced remote as a response to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the imposition of stay-at-home protocols. While this shift from the conventional face-to-face mode to remote learning platforms represents a notable innovation in the education circles, we contend that implementing online learning in these times requires faculty to be adequately prepared to use online tools to facilitate learning among students effectively. In this case, a study conducted at a vocational - a rural community college in South Africa - we explore the readiness of lecturers (N= 15) to use an institutionally-designed Learning Management System (henceforth referred to as MLMS) to engage their students in learning. The study revealed that the participants were largely unprepared to use the MLMS for teaching. This lack of readiness was influenced by the (poor) MLMS design, lack of user expertise, and inadequate technological resources for lecturers and learners. It emerged from the findings of this paper that the MLMS needs upgrading to improve its effectiveness for online and teaching purposes. The findings suggest that the college should seek the buy-in of lecturers by providing them with further training on the use of the MLMS.