Using Videoconferencing to Augment Blended Learning for Synchronous and Asynchronous Teaching in Educational Emergencies

Abstract

The unprecedented onset of COVID-19 and the emergency closure of institutions of Higher learning heralded a new way of completing the curriculum and taking the students through the academic calendar. Previous definitions of emergency education had tried to allude to war, civil strife, floods, drought and even some instances of HIV AIDS or children living on the streets. The COVID -19 gave a new definition to emergencies, as it led to forced containment and requirement for social distancing on a global level. Prior to the pandemic, Learning Management Systems (LMS) had been around in what would be termed as E-Learning, computer-based education and other computer related terms, Most of the LMS would support both synchronous and asynchronous education. However, face to face learning was still the preferred mode of teaching, and the online component was considered complementary and supplementary. COVID-19 led to Emergency Remote Teaching, and this brought about a change in approach and rethinking of the technologies available for remote teaching. Many Universities had to find a way of providing a supplementary way of providing live and synchronous classes. Previous applications such a ZOOM, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams found their use in the educational setup, with many Universities subscribing to these tools as well as those that are embedded in LMS, such as the BigBlueButton as used to together with MOODLE as a plugin. The aim of this study was to establish how Videoconferencing tools are used to provide synchronous and asynchronous education. The objectives were to establish how Videoconferencing tools are used to aid in teaching and learning, how these tools are used to mirror a face to face class, as well as the challenges faced in integrating these tools in the classroom. This study used a quantitative and qualitative approach where a web-based questionnaire with both open and closed questions were posted to an E-learning special interest groups consisting of faculty in both private and public institutions in Kenya and some students taught by these faculty, and followed by in-depth interviews via Videoconferencing The study established that many institutions turned to stand alone and open source videoconferencing tools to teach both synchronously and asynchronously in a blended mode. The biggest challenge was in the IT element due to non- availability of stable internet connectivity and the fact that neither the students nor the faculty had clear training on the tools available within the videoconferencing applications, and there was no formal method of integrating the same to teaching. The study recommends a policy framework on the integration of such tools in the teaching.