Publication: Improving the accessibility of digital content via mobile technology: a case study of Mount Kenya University
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2022
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Mount Kenya University
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Abstract
lobally, Higher Education Institutions (HEI) have embraced the use of mobile technology in
the delivery of instructional resources which has promised multiple benefits in digital or
blended learning, HEIs are facing the challenge of high internet tariffs. The current study sought
to improve the accessibility of digital content via mobile technology within limited Internet
connectivity contexts. The case study was Mount Kenya University in Kenya. In the university,
training had been done for both students and educators on how to access digital content but still,
both students and educators have been experiencing challenges in getting cost-effective, high quality education, and the accessibility of reading materials. The accessibility of digital content
was a problem because of internet connectivity and bulky content. This research contributes to
improving the accessibility of digital content via mobile technology by coming up with a
mobile-based model. Objectives were to establish the factors that influence mobile technology,
Challenges, and their effects on the learners, develop a mobile-based model, and then validate
the model. The study was guided by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). TAM
demonstrates the prediction of the usability and acceptance of new technology. The study used
a quantitative research approach within which a descriptive survey research design was
adopted. The target population was 15123 individuals comprising of 15,000 students and 123
were educators/ ICT staff who accessed digital content in the academic year 2018/2019. In
sampling methods, this research used a case study of Mount Kenya University; students, staff,
and educators as population. In this study, Slovin’s formula was used to get the sample
population of 390 out of the target population of 15,123 members. Simple random sampling
was the procedure used. The findings showed that there is a statistically significant relationship
between internet connectivity, type of mobile technology, user literacy, data caching, and
eLearning policy had a significant effect on the accessibility of digital content. The variables
were statistically significant. The adjusted R squared was 0.862 indicating that 86.2 percent of
the total variation of accessibility of digital content can be explained by Internet connectivity,
e-learning policy, type of mobile technology, data caching, and user literacy. The study then
went ahead to develop a mobile-based e-learning model. The mobile-based model used a WIFI
router device which is not internet supported as an alternative to a wired internet connection
where students and educators access digital content from the mobile sub-server which was not
connected to the internet through their mobile technology The findings showed that the use of
mobile-based e-learning (m-learning) in universities will greatly improve access to digital
content and hence e-learning. The study recommends the use of m-learning as it will provide
alternative means of optimizing Internet connectivity. This research makes a contribution to
m-learning to universities, policymakers involved in testing, designing, and implementation,
and scholars.
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Mobile technology, Digital content, e-Learning