Digitalisation of Education in the Under-Resourced Educational System of the Great Lakes Region: Which Digital Platforms and Media for Which Purposes?

The digitalisation of education has become a sine qua non condition for the success of education in an increasingly globalized world. Consequently, a multitude of educational institutions have adopted the use of digital platforms in the teaching and learning process, leading to the implementation of digital tools in education. Moreover, in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions, including universities, have rapidly transitioned to distance and online learning. However, a variety of platforms are used and recommended for teaching and learning as well as other related educational purposes. The success of digitalisation of teaching and learning relies on the choice of an appropriate e-learning platform. Unfortunately, little is known about the criteria used by educational institutions in under-resourced contexts to select the appropriate learning platform. Therefore, this study intended to identify the educational platforms utilised in the African Great Lakes Region, along with their respective usage purposes, and to present a set of criteria to use for selecting an appropriate platform in an under-resourced context. To this end, the study employed both document analysis and semi-structured group interviews. In total, 72 teachers were interviewed. The results of this study reveal a synoptic overview of criteria and indicators to guide the process of digital platforms. Moreover, digital media relevant to the context of the African Great Lakes Region, i.e. radio, television and WhatsApp, are mainly used for teaching and communication purposes. The digital platform which is visibly used in higher education is Moodle, with the possibility to be combined with other platforms to facilitate interactive learning. The study ignites an outlook for further research as well as political and practical implications regarding digitalisation of education in an under-resourced context. Article visualizations: