Instructors ' Conceptions of Online Teaching and their Implications for Students ' Learning at the Open University of Tanzania

Abstract

AbstractThis paper explores instructors ' conceptions of online teaching andtheir implications for students ' learning at the Open University ofTanzania. The study employed phenomenology research design with atotal of 20 participants. Data were generated through semi-structuredinterviews and documentary review. The study findings revealed twomajor conceptions, namely online teaching as a means of improvingteaching and learning and online teaching as not effective as traditionalclassroom teaching or traditional distance education. It was alsorevealed that online teaching is faced with unreliable electricityand Internet, high costs of bandwidth, cheating and plagiarism,inadequate training of instructors, and students ' low attendance inzoom sessions. The study recommends for enabling Information andCommunication Technologies (ICT) environment that supports onlineteaching, motivation of instructors and training instructors on howto teach in an online environment so as to allow instructors improveskills and knowledge.Keywords: open and distance learning, online teaching, students ' learning, Open University of Tanzania