A Survey of the University Students’ Perspectives about Using Digital Technologies in Education: Zimbabwean Case
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Date
2017
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Abstract
This study investigated the perspectives of university students on the use of digital technologies
as tools for teaching and learning. Digital technologies are an essential asset for academic
institutions as they can support strategic teaching and learning objectives for education
institutions. Studies have shown that limited use of digital technologies could lead to a second
order digital divide. This problem negatively impacts the Government and university efforts
and initiatives of increased technological investment. There is therefore a need to uncover and
obtain a deeper insight into university students’ perspectives due to the sparse literature
discussing this problem within the Zimbabwean context. Quantitative data on student
perspectives was collected using 100 questionnaires administered to students at a single
university of technology in Zimbabwe. Although the findings concur with existing literature
that students highly value the integration of technology into their learning process, there were
issues that appeared to be peculiar to the surveyed environment. For example, the surveyed
students professed disappointment with the current traditional teaching methods despite the
high availability and accessibility to digital technologies within the institution. They indicated
their frustration emanating from the disconnection between commonly used teaching methods
and the digital technologies effective for teaching and learning
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Dube, S. and Scott, E., 2017. A Survey of the University Students' Perspectives about Using Digital Technologies in Education: Zimbabwean Case. IAFOR Journal of Education, 5(1), pp.123-139.