Context of use influences the interaction between users and systems. Context refers to the circumstances under which the activity takes place. It reflects on the physical environment, technical environment, tasks and social or organisational environment as the context component (Roto 2006; Maguire 2001a) (see section 2.3.3). In the qualitative data the remarks regarding the organisation, that is, the ODL context strategies, development support, institutional administrative and structural procedures, the technical support in the institution, as well as the available technologies to be used with myUnisa, were considered (see section 5.2).
E. de Kock - MSc Dissertation
121 Figure 5.7 is a presentation of the Context category (codes C1, C2 and C3) by way of the network view from Atlas.ti (Version 6.1) Family code manager. With this view it can be grasped that all three the context factors that were proposed, play a role in the UX of academic lecturers when using the LMS.
Figure 5.7: Codes applicable to the Context category
According to the number of comments regarding context issues, it seems if these factors have an influence on the utilisation of the LMS. The major problems seem to be the insufficient availability of technologies and applicable support, and the administrative and structural procedures which include the workload. The researcher’s reflection of some of the participants’ responses received in this regard is as follows:
A number of participants indicated that the Organisational context involving the ODL
context (code C1) approach does have an influence on the UX when using the LMS, as
depicted in some of the quotes:
o “Finding ways to engage a changing group of students each year is challenging. There is little time for error here, so there is a lot of pressure to find all the right tools quickly.”
o “I am using a blended approach. I would like to know how many students really use the online material. I am convinced that a lot of time is spent on developing material, and students do not use them at all. It is a duplication of work. If a student does not work, they do not always have internet access,”
E. de Kock - MSc Dissertation
122 o “Not all my students can access it due to their geographic location and not having
access to computer/networks.”
o “I find the blended approach cumbersome--the main issue is that there is limited time or motivation to maintain a detailed and effective online platform when the system is actually geared towards offline material, which is not designed for online presentation. I'm often informed that the blended approach is necessary because many students still have limited internet connectivity and thus need to be catered for with hard copy; but I think we are doing these students a disservice with this attitude”.
o The context of ODL focuses on “removing barriers to access learning, flexibility of learning provision, student-centeredness, supporting students and constructing learning programmes” (Unisa, 2008:2) and this entails to be considerate towards the students. It appeared if the academics’ concerns regarding their students’ computer skills and access to internet influence the extent of their utilisation of the LMS, for example –
o “The platform doesn't bother me but students find it cumbersome to use. They are much more active using other things like whatsupp and facebook. They often post invitations to go outside myUnisa with their discussions on the discussion form.” o “I love implementing my creative skills on MyUnisa although I would appreciate
more participation from the students.”; “Find ways that new students at the NQF 5 level are not intimidated to use the technology.”
o “If a student does not work, they do not always have internet access”.
According to several of these feedbacks it looks as if the academic lecturers perceive that the students seem distant and not participating in the LMS activities.
The accessibility of the Organisational development and training support (code C1) were mentioned in some feedback from participants:
o “I would prefer that one person be readily available or even house in the department to enable me to trouble shoot -at the moment there is not support for me at that level and it’s frustrating - yet I love the blended mode.”
o “I would make much more effective use of myUnisa if I knew how to use some of the more technological tools. I am not always sure how to use some of the advanced features despite attending various training courses”.
E. de Kock - MSc Dissertation
123
According to the participants’ feedback the institutional administrative and structural
procedures (code C2) have an influence on the UX of the academic lecturers when using the
LMS as indicated by the following quotes:
o “This is a wonderful tool for the facilitation of learning. My only problem is that my administrative demands pull me away from effective use and enjoyment of MyUnisa.”
o “Too heavy workload to properly explore and implement new strategies.”
o “There is a lot of red tape around using myUnisa. For example, ICT needs to give you access to a server before you can upload podcasts.”
o “It depends on whether the system is down and other tuition commitments and administration workload. This impacts on one's use of myUnisa.”
o “The dreaded IPMS compels one to focus on research and to do just enough to keep myUnisa going. In effect, additional work on myUnisa is regarded as wastage of time and something interfering with research productivity”.
These comments suggest that the workload and administrative duties prevent the academic lecturers to expand the utilisation of myUnisa.
The following comments demonstrate that the available technologies, multimedia and
technical support (code C3), seem to have an influence on the UX of the academic lecturer
when using the LMS:
o “The current version of Sakai that myUnisa runs on is outdated -- the tools we have access to, as a result, is also outdated. For example, the discussion forum tool resembles the very first chat-pages that were used in the late 1990s -- this is not adequate for having effective discussions with students.”
o “There is a lot of red tape around using myUnisa. For example, ICT needs to give you access to a server before you can upload podcasts. You are never really sure who to contact on these technical matters and it takes a long time to get it done” and “Linking of social media e.g. facebook, apps etc. to MyUnisa is important. Creating podcasts is sometimes a problem. This should made user friendly”.
o Participants from the science faculty requested better support and available technologies in order to use the LMS for scientific course material as evident from the following remarks:
o “Does not support scientific writing programs such as chemical drawing tools. It is cumbersome to keep exporting structures.”
E. de Kock - MSc Dissertation
124 o “myUnisa is fine if it works as it should, but it often doesn't and the ICT support is sorely lacking. It still has multiple bugs and I've stopped reporting them to ICT because they simply don't fix them. The equation editor, which is very necessary for teaching math, hasn't been working properly for years now”.
o There is an opinion that the ICT lack sufficient media availability and support to develop or facilitate course ware via the LMS e.g. “It would be helpful if we could get some software and hardware that will enable us to develop more effective podcasts and vodcasts. The software and hardware that we currently have (audacity, camtasia) with the on-board voice and video recording are slow and not sufficient - but we use it anyway”.
According to the qualitative responses all three the proposed factors regarding the context of use, do play a role in the UX of academic lecturers when using the LMS.