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There has been much debate on the issue of whether online learning was better than traditional education and vice-versa over the past decade. Over time, the concept of blended learning became quite the norm, especially within traditional universities who could no longer turn a blind eye to the educational revolution brought about by information and communication technologies. While the pace of technology integration in universities generally varies in pace, the world has recently experienced a massive uptake, albeit in an unplanned and mostly disorganized manner, of e-learning technologies due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Researchers have emphasized on the quality of online courses from a perspective of learner achievement in terms of student satisfaction, engagement and performances. In this paper, we analyze student feedback and report the findings of a study of the relationships between student satisfaction and their engagement in an online course with their overall performances. The module was offered online to 844 university students in the first year across different disciplines, namely Engineering, Science, Humanities, Management and Agriculture. It was assessed mainly through continuous assessments and was designed using a learning-by-doing pedagogical approach. The focus was on the acquisition of new skills and competencies, and their application in authentic mini-projects throughout the module. Student feedback was coded and analyzed both from a quantitative and qualitative perspective. The association between satisfaction and engagement was significant and positively correlated. On the other hand, there was a weak but positive and significant correlation between satisfaction or engagement with their overall performances. We further observed that students were generally very satisfied with the learning design philosophy, irrespective of their performance levels. Students, however, reported issues related to lack of tutor support and experiencing technical difficulties across groups. The findings raise important implications for institutional e-learning policy making. The factors that are important relate to the object of such policies, learning design models, personalized support, distributed virtual learning through synchronous interaction, and learning analytics.

PurposeThe University of Mauritius (UoM) established as a traditional face-to-face university has been engaged in distance education since 1993 and in e-learning since 2001 to establish itself as a dual-mode institution. In a context where it has engaged itself to promote its internationalization of online courses and a digital learning transformation process, there is a need to assess and evaluate its current e-learning capability to identify areas of good practices and opportunities for improvement to ensure a high quality of e-learning provisions. The paper reports the results of an assessment of the e-learning capability and the related quality assurance processes of the University of the Mauritius using the e-learning Maturity Model (eMM). Quality assurance in higher education is still a key issue, especially with the ever-growing influence of technology and the disruption that the Internet has caused with respect to e-learning and distance education provisions. No university in Mauritius has ever engaged in such an assessment of their e-learning capabilities.Design/methodology/approachThe EMM and the Open Learning Consortium Quality Scorecard Suite were found to be the most complete models in terms of available documentation and description of how to carry out the evaluation with respect to each process area as compared to the other models described in the literature review section. The EMM was, however, chosen as the model to be used for the UoM, given that there already exists a body of knowledge about its applications in different universities that operate in similar contexts. The researcher is at the heart of the process in the role of an ‘eLearning quality auditor’. Therefore, the research used mainly desk studies, and analysis of annual reports as well as a consultative approach with key stakeholders based on a consensus model to reach a rating for each element in the EMMv2.3 instrument. The rating is based on evidence that is available and verifiable through desk research and documentation.FindingsWe found out that the main strengths of the university were in the learning process areas mainly because of the need to follow existing quality assurance procedures in place at different phases of a course of life cycle, irrespective of the course modality. On the other hand, across all process areas, the university fared well in the delivery dimension, and this finding is consistent with other universities that were assessed using the EMM. However, it was found that the EMM in current form was more adapted for the assessment of universities operating fully as open or virtual universities rather than those operating as dual-mode institutions or as traditional universities promoting technology-enabled learning. The weakest link was the optimization dimension across all process areas, and the process area that needs more attention for improvement was the evaluation process area. Overall, the university can reasonably be pitched at level two (Repeatable) of the capability maturity model scale used for information systems maturity assessment, but operating towards level three (Defined).Originality/valueThe work presented here has never been carried out for any university in Mauritius, and there have been no reported evaluations or applications within the African region. It allows the university to benchmark and compare its standing with respect to other universities operating as dual-mode institutions and as a reference for other universities in Mauritius as well.

e-Services help in fostering the development of a knowledge society as more citizens and businesses can access, adopt and use government services through online channels. Existing evidence in Mauritius, however, shows low usage of online government services. The goal of this research consisted of developing a framework to guide government agencies in Mauritius in increasing the likelihood of success and uptake of e-Services. This study uses a novel approach, i.e. the Real-Time Delphi method based on a consensus of expert opinions as the main research method to identify critical success factors influencing the user uptake of e-Services. Moreover, it not only proposes a framework as a solution but also operationalises the framework into a tool which can be used in practice to predict the likelihood of take-up of an e-Service implemented by a Government agency. Additionally, the tool was made flexible so that it can be used not only in the Mauritian context but can also be adapted to reflect the context of other countries. Government policy-makers can leverage on the developed framework to formulate better policies and guidelines for the successful take-up of online public services in Mauritius. Furthermore, e-Service owners can use the tool to evaluate their e-Service strategy and identify priority areas where resources and effort have to be dedicated so that their e-Services can be successfully adopted and used by citizens. The validity and effectiveness of the tool was evaluated using existing e-Services in Mauritius having varying user uptake and the results were found to reflect to a great extent the prevailing uptake situation of existing e-Services.

In this research we studied the correlation between the level of students’ online participation and their overall performances. We examined in this study, the participation level in different learning activities assigned to two large cohorts of learners, and compared them with their final grades at the end of the year. We defined the quality of their participation in the online course as being classified into the level of learning activities in which they participated. Learning activities were grouped into four levels which were identified namely at the knowledge, understanding, critical thinking skills and practical competencies. The findings revealed that participation in higher-order online learning activities, that is the higher ability to show critical skills and practical competencies, resulted in better grades of the learners in the module. However, the results also highlighted that overall students had a tendency to score more marks in the knowledge category as the activities required lower order cognitive skills. It was further observed that low performers demonstrated a tendency to obtain lower marks in all the four grouping levels and vice-versa for high performers. Two key elements can be concluded from the findings. The first aspect is about instructional design of such online courses where there is a need for the inclusion of learning activities targeted at the development of different types of skills, and second is the distribution and weighting given to these categories. The recommendation is that for first year students, a greater weighting of marks toward knowledge level activities will generally encourage good performances, and this could be gradually reviewed when they move on to level 2 onwards in their studies.

This study examines how big data analytics could optimize the use of public funds while ensuring delivery of quality service by public organizations to the citizens of Mauritius. Political Economic Social Technological (PEST) analysis has been carried out to scan the environment to identify at least two major policies and initiatives corresponding to big data that will be impacting the Mauritian Economy in the next 10 years. Subsequently, causal layered analysis (CLA) has been applied for the two signals to create transformative spaces for the creation of alternative futures. Indeed, the findings have demonstrated that open data initiative and the implementation of e-health project in Mauritius would certainly contribute positively to the government of Mauritius. However, this study has revealed through a matrix diagram for probable futures that the Mauritian government should bring amendments to existing conventional laws through reforms and regulations to fully take advantage of big data analytics applications. This is also one of the recommendations of the Mauritius e-Government 2013–2017–Formulation and Implementation of Data Sharing Policy. Considering only the recent emergence of big data analytics in governments, still there is certain aspect of it that needs careful consideration before the full potential of big data could be realized. This research also highlights the factors that need to be addressed for the successful use of Big Data in this particular context.

This paper aims to describe the process of knowledge sharing among countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in view of Capacity Building in Open and Distance Learning (ODL). The main purposes of this project were to contribute to the development and deployment of effective, harmonized open and distance learning (ODL), to increase access to quality education and training, and to support regional integration across the SADC. The University of Mauritius was designated to implement the Knowledge Management System for the SADC and to conduct appropriate training for the different categories of users to use the system. The KMS enabled two Centers of Specializations, in particular, and ODL institutions, in general, to share information and resources across the SADC region. The KMS enabled the targeted institutions to manage knowledge, information, and resources by supporting creation, capture or collection, securing/storage, coordinating, combining retrieving, and dissemination of knowledge and expertise. The system was designed to serve as an effective and efficient knowledge network that will create links between ODL practitioners in the SADC Member States to facilitate knowledge sharing, i.e., connecting the knowledge and information seekers to the knowledge/information sources. The KMS has been successfully built and the benefits that were brought by such a system are enormous. It has enabled this region to bridge the gap by enabling 15 member states with a total population of around 277 million inhabitants. This knowledge sharing experience has been unique since it has enabled this whole region of Africa to become one and to share resources created among them.

The aim of this paper is to present a comprehensive review of the African Leadership in ICT (ALICT-LATIC) course delivery model, offered by the Global e-Schools and Communities Initiatives (GESCI) from a quality assurance perspective taking into account the delivery model, cultural context, and the distributed nature of the programme and its participants, from a geographical perspective. In this paper, we look at the key concepts governing the ALICTLATIC course, such as the provision of transnational education and blended learning provisions. Through a series of steps including desk studies, expert observation and the application of the eLearning Maturity Model, we conduct an evaluation of the eLearning provision from a quality assurance perspective. We can reasonably argue at this stage that the current blended learning model is conducive for the development of skills and competencies as expected in terms of intended outcomes and learner experience. The quality of the course is comparable to academic standards adopted by institutions of higher education through their internal and external quality mechanisms.

UpToTen.com is a kids fun learning website with a worldwide visibility deriving its major traffic from France, the US, Canada and India. The main problem is that in 2014, 80% of the new visitors to the site access it via a tablet or a smartphone. Given that the site is mainly in Flash and not tablet-compatible, such visitors spend only an average of 2 minutes and visit only 2 pages maximum on the site prior to opting out of it, compared to an average of 15 minutes and 15 pages when the site is accessed on a desktop/laptop computer. UpToTen is currently struggling to maintain its customer base due to the exponential growth of tablet utilisation among its primary customers. The aim of this project is to develop a rapid methodological process that can be applied on a large scale to re-adapt flash-based games to tablet-based environments. This will eventually help in improving the financial sustainability of the company by retaining its customer base through the development of a redesigned product that is responsive to their needs that is a tablet-compatible environment.

In the 21st century, with the growing importance of education and the increase use of internet, Learning Management Systems (LMS) or Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) have become a must amongst learners and instructors. One of the main objectives of these platforms is to implement technology with traditional learning methods so as to enhance the effectiveness of learning and teaching particularly in large cohorts of students. But does that really help to improve the process of learning? To be able to answer, Learning Analytics is perhaps the right tool. This area of study is concerned with the improvement of learning through the analysis of massive amount of data and information generated by the teaching and learning process. This paper demonstrates a prototype implementation of Learning Analytics, named TrueSight Learning and eventually shows how it can be used to predict the learning outcomes of learners and to identify the learners that are at risk and that will perhaps need special attention and double effort.

This paper presents a new technique of delivery of classes—an instructional technique which will no doubt revolutionize the teaching and learning, whether for on-campus, blended or online modules. This is based on the simple task of instructionally incorporating text-to-speech software embedded in the lecture slides that will simulate exactly the delivery of an intended lecture, assisted with teaching aids such videos, animations and music, as deemed necessary. The benefits of such an approach in the educational system of the University are multifold and can be categorized in three different axes namely pedagogical, administrative and financial. Our main interests in this article lie along the pedagogical benefits (which undoubtedly overlap to some extent into administrative and financial axis) that this technique will bring in the system. While it is obvious that the initial process does consume a reasonable amount of time and gradually reveals its own complexities, constraints and limitations as described in this paper, the approach does however provide considerable elements to bring a major re-definition of the overall teaching and learning framework at the University of Mauritius.

] The Master of Science in Computer-Mediated Computer Communications (MScCMCP) program was launched in August 2004 at the University of Mauritius with a first cohort of 14 students. It represents one major thrust of the Virtual Center for Innovative Learning Technologies (VCILT). A second cohort of 15 students began in August 2005 and is currently enrolled in the program. E-Learning, technology-enhanced learning and computer-mediated pedagogies are currently receiving widespread attention from educators, researchers, teachers, and practitioners all over the world. The number of national and international e-learning and computers-in-education conferences has been increasing yearly, where presenters expose new and innovative ideas, revolutionary and sometimes controversial practices, and systems and technologies that have been developed to facilitate implementation of these new modes of education.

Various researches have been conducted on the role and importance of assessment in education as well as its impact on the learner and the overall learning process. In fact, the way assessment is formulated in a particular subject shapes the way students learn. They focus their learning to comply with assessment requirements that they anticipate. In this article, the study is focused on the written examination papers (teacher-made tests) that are normally prepared at the end of a semester or an academic year to assess students of secondary and tertiary levels. The study also investigates how well papers are set and balanced according to the cognitive levels defined by Bloom (1956) and the learning outcomes/objectives as defined for the subjects. A collaborative process model as a framework for the design of such tests that can enhance the evaluation process is proposed. A brief argument is made for a case for a computer-supported collaborative environment to implement such a framework and which is...

A Living Lab is an environment for user-centered innovation, based on the observation of every-day user practice and experience for solving problems, but also based on their active participation, with an approach that facilitates their influence in the open and distributed innovation process (participatory design). According to the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) a Living Lab is driven by four major elements namely Co-Creation, Exploration, Experimentation and Evaluation. Co-Creation is mainly about user involvement in the elaboration of innovative products and services. The Virtual Centre for Innovative Learning Technologies is a specialized unit in Education Technology at the University of Mauritius, focusing mainly on Innovative Teacher Training Systems targeting mainly in-service educators. The VCILT adheres to the concept of open innovation systems and aims to become part of the Living Lab network. In this paper we describe the theoretical foundations of Living Lab from our own local practices and operational framework and discuss the components that make up a preliminary framework or model for the establishment of a Living Lab focusing mainly on the classroom education of the future for Mauritius. There are three major components that would form the backbone of our Living Lab namely the Research and Development, Teacher Education and finally The Classroom Environment and Teaching Practices. Our proposed Living Lab model is inspired from the University of Reunion Island Living Lab for Teaching and Learning, the FunEcole Living Lab, the Classroom of the Future Living Lab and the Ways of Learning for the Future Living Lab which are all established members of the ENoLL network.

The Government of Mauritius has introduced tablets in the Secondary Schools in Mauritius in 2014. It is estimated that about 24000 tablets were distributed to students and educators. Secondary school students (Form IV) were given each a tablet, which was introduced as an innovative and revolutionary measure to transform educational practices in Mauritius and to align our educational system with 21 st century education concept. In this paper, we conduct a situational analysis to understand the current state of affairs with respect to the Tablet PC initiative. The study addresses issues related to the different problems that educators have faced to integrate the tablet as a mainstream educational tool and as a techno-pedagogical instrument. We found that there were a number of issues raised, which have not been sufficiently addressed prior to and throughout the implementation of the Tablet PC project. It is further observed that the satisfaction level from educators is low as compared to the expected outcome of such an ambitious project. Educators highlighted that the challenges they faced outweighed the perceived benefits of Tablet PCs while students were generally neutral about the learning experience with tablets although they admitted enjoying some benefits of the electronic device. Keywords: 21st Century Learning, Technology-enhanced Education, Tablet PCs, Pedagogy, Teaching and Learning.

The use of Information and Communication Technologies in the workplace is constantly increasing, but also the use of surveillance technology. Electronic monitoring of employees becomes an integral part of information systems in the workplace. The specific software which is used for monitoring electronic communications is, however, intrusive and infringes upon the employees’ right to privacy. The issue of surveillance of employees’ electronic communications is subject to different approaches in various jurisdictions. The most comprehensive protection to employees is afforded in the EU, however, there are still ambiguities concerning the balancing of interests between employers and employees.