Title: E-learning course design in teacher design teams: experiences in the Open University of Tanzania

Authors: Kassimu A. Nihuka; Joke Voogt

Addresses: Open University of Tanzania, P.O. Box 23409, Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania. ' Department of Curriculum Design and Educational Innovation, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands

Abstract: Collaborative course design in teacher design teams (TDTs) is reported as a promising professional development strategy. This study explored the potential of this strategy in preparing teachers in course redesign for e-learning delivery in the context of the Open University of Tanzania. Three teachers from the Institute of Continuing Education worked in a design team and were supported on how to transform their traditional courses into e-learning courses. Sixty-seven foundation course students from the Institute of Continuing Education participated to study in an e-learning environment through offline Moodle Learning Management System and were supported by e-mails and mobile phones for a period of three months. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from teachers and students. This contribution discusses the experiences of teachers on collaborative course redesign in TDTs and presents students| experiences with the redesigned e-learning courses. The findings show, that despite its challenges, TDTs had a significant return in terms of professional development of teachers and improvement of student support.

Keywords: teacher design teams; e-learning; electronic learning; online learning; internet; world wide web; distance education; Open University of Tanzania; higher education; universities; collaborative course design; collaboration; course redesign; Institute of Continuing Education; traditional courses; foundation courses; Moodle; learning management systems; LMSs; foundation students; e-mail; mobile phones; cell phones; quantitative data; qualitative data; student experiences; student support; teachers; teaching; professional development; learning technology.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLT.2011.042644

International Journal of Learning Technology, 2011 Vol.6 No.2, pp.107 - 124

Published online: 20 Oct 2014 *

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