Electronic learning (e-learning) is a broader approach to learning that brings new opportunities for teaching and learning in many fields of education compared to the face-to-face classroom environment. The purpose of this study is to explore high school teachers’ acceptance to continue teaching through e-learning platforms after COVID-19. Based on the framework of a unified theory of technology acceptance and use of technology, this study investigates the research questions in the context of Lesotho. The study adopted a quantitative approach, with a total number of 300 questionnaires collected from high school teachers. The result was analyzed using composite structural equation modeling. According to the study, instructors' acceptance of e-learning is influenced by several factors, which in turn has a significant impact on teachers' behavioral intentions in Lesotho. As a result of the study, individual challenges associated with using e-learning platforms were identified.
Keywords: Composite-SEM; educational quality; e-learning; self-efficacy; technology acceptance.
Electronic learning is a techno approach that brings new opportunities for teaching and learning in many fields of education compared to the traditional classroom environment. However, there is a dearth of research on its effectiveness in practicality and whether it is dependable enough during teaching and learning. Thus, this systematic review aims to provide evidence from numerous findings on the reliability components (such as functionality, probability of success, environment, and duration) of online teaching and learning (OTL) tools in Lesotho higher education institutions (HEIs), focusing on functionality and probability of success only. A review of online learning tools includes Thuto, Google Meet, Google Classroom, Zoom, Moodle, and Microsoft Teams. Technology adoption models and Siemens’ theory of connectivism underpin this review. The review covered 18 articles between 2015 and 2021. Scopus, Google Scholar, ProQuest, and EBSCO were used for data search. In addition, selected studies were reviewed by experts in Educational Technology at the National University of Lesotho. Some factors were found to hinder the functionality and success of OTL tools, including lack of internet connectivity, electricity, and gadgets. As a result of this review, OTL tools are effective to some extent in terms of functionality and likelihood of success. However, the weaknesses of the e-learning tools outweigh the strengths of Lesotho HEIs. Consequently, only using OTL tools could hamper the quality of higher education in Lesotho. In HEIs, blended learning and continuous training on e-learning tools should be introduced for effective teaching and learning.
The increasing technology reliance in today’s world has amplified the need for cybersecurity education for all. Hence, initiatives regarding the integration of cybersecurity education within the pre-college level have begun to emerge in recent times. However, limited research exists regarding in-service or pre-service teachers’ perspectives on this phenomenon. More importantly, the need to understand pre-service teachers’ perceptions; since their perceptions may significantly influence how the prospective teachers respond to cybersecurity issues and also affect their behavior toward learning and promoting cybersecurity education in the future. Consequently, in order to gain insight into how candidates entering the teaching profession regard cybersecurity, 451 pre-service teachers were sampled in a major public university in Lesotho. The prospective teachers recruited across various departments in the faculty of education responded to an online survey that comprised 33 items gauged from five constructs which include personal cybersecurity awareness, perceived self-efficacy of learning cybersecurity, personal relevance of cybersecurity knowledge, behavioral intention towards learning cybersecurity and actual learning of cybersecurity. We analyzed the response from the survey by utilizing the structural equation modelling approach. Our findings showed that our hypothesized model was mostly accepted. The result suggests that practitioners and researchers in the related field need to raise the pre-service teacher’s behavioral intention to learn cybersecurity by helping them realize the implication for their personal lives and society. We discussed our findings in relation to the proposed research model and highlighted the implication for teacher education programs. Finally, the article concludes with limitations and identifies future research agenda.
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