Uniting all the three parts

This step of moving towards online teaching was faced with so many challenges and one of them was the availability of the needed devices and electricity. Most of the children and parents did not have the needed electronic gadgets such as smartphones, laptops, tablets and other devices. The online classes could only be accessed with the use of the internet and hence the students who did not have devices which could connect them to the internet faced difficulties connecting to the classes. Some of the remote regions in the Sub-Saharan Africa do not have electricity at all and this means that keeping the devices charged was a challenge for the students. The problem of the lack of electricity also impacted on some of the teachers who stayed in the remote regions and this meant that it would be a challenge for them to effectively deliver the online classes to the students.

The perceptions of the teachers also has a bearing on the effectiveness of online teaching in the Sub-Saharan. As seen in the data analysis only a small proportion around 2% of the teachers strongly opposed the online teaching. Some other teachers were indifferent about the online teaching and 30% of the teachers somewhat supported online teaching which means that they did not fully support it. The attitudes of the teachers can be explained by various factors seen in the research. One of the factors is the ICT knowledge and how to go about online teaching. For some of the teachers online teaching was a new concept and some of them did not know how to use ICT in teaching. From the data collected and analyzed only 43% of the teachers had knowledge on basic computer skills and the existence and use of online teaching platforms. This made them view the transition as a bother to them and additional work which they were not willing to take.

The teachers’ responses were also fuelled by the technical difficulties that were involved in online teaching. The use of online teaching necessitated the teachers to assess the availability of the needed technology and resources for the students and hence some of the students did not have access. The teachers felt that it would be a challenge for their students to adapt to online teaching and this is because they were concerned about the distractions in the homes which would affect how motivated the learners are. Teachers feel that the students moving from a supportive learning environment to their homes was so challenging for the students as well. The teachers also felt that some of the students would have difficulties using the online platforms and applications because of their limited knowledge on ICT and the lack of assistance on the same at home. Most parents find this as a new concept and are unable to assist their students where they have challenges with online learning.

The ICT as seen was a contribution to the perceptions and attitudes which the teachers had towards online teaching. From the data collected only 8% of the participants said that the online teaching and use of ICT was not difficult at all. 41% of the participants said that online teaching was somewhat difficult and 21% said that it was very difficult. This can be explained by the lack of information on how to use the online platforms and other ICT tools which were needed to make online classes. Some of the teachers who opposed online teaching however did that because it was a new concept. In most organizations and institutions change is always welcomed by resistance from some members and this is because of the fear of the unknown. As long as teachers had not seen the outcomes of the teaching in other schools then they had difficulties giving up the traditional teaching methods.

With all the online teaching challenges one of the research questions was how to use ICT to eliminate the challenges. ICT knowledge and skills are very crucial when it comes to online teaching. ICT helps the teachers connect with the students regardless of the distances and barriers between them. With proper ICT use the teachers are able to instruct the students on various subjects and topics without the need of being in a physical classroom. Technology also plays a significant role in the training of the teachers as well. Technologies can also be used to remove the boredom in class and make the classes interesting. ICT can also play a role in helping teachers prepare for learning and get feedback from the students. ICT can help teachers research on the concepts and topics which they would like to cover and get notes and the needed information to use during the classes. Also, through ICT the students can give feedback on how the lessons are and areas where they feel improvements are needed. This will help the teachers become better in online teaching.

ICT plays a great role in the teaching and academic achievements of the learners in the Sub Saharan Africa and this is because ICT gives learners an access to information which cannot be accessed in the textbooks and other traditional learning materials. ICT welcomes the students to a space of endless knowledge where the students can research on a wide range of information and get answers to any questions which they might have. Research that has been conducted in other regions such as the United States have shown that the students who went through online classes performed better than those who used face to face interactions.

All ethical considerations were made during the research. All the participants were willing to be part of the study and filled an informed consent as well. The head teachers also gave a go ahead for their schools to be used for the research. The study has various limitations and one of them is that the participants selected are not representative of the entire teaching fraternity in the Sub-Saharan parts of Africa. The questionnaires were sent via email which means that the participants used in this study at least have knowledge on how an email works and had access to the internet. The research hence does not capture responses from teachers who have no access to the internet or lack knowledge on the use of internet. Further research is needed on the topic to look at the solutions of the identified challenges and how effective the use of ICT is to the solution of the learning challenges faced by the students.

Recommendations

There are numerous contributions and implications of the study on online teaching and one of the implications of the research is that it adds on the prior research which has been conducted on ICT tools and technology and their use in the Sub-Saharan Africa. It gives additional information on the perceptions and reception of the teachers to the online teaching platforms and use of ICT in learning (Adarkwah, 2021). The study identifies the challenges of online teaching and this information can be used by legislators and policy makers to come up with policies which will ensure that the schools and homes in the remote areas have access to technology and electricity to facilitate learning and other activities( Jogezai et al., 2021). This study will help fuel advocacy for teaching ICT skills and capabilities in the training colleges for the teachers to help them deliver online learning to the students.

There are various solutions which could be implemented to improve online teaching as seen in the research. First, teachers need to change the attitudes and perceptions towards online teaching and that can be changed through incentives to motivate them to accept online teaching. One of the incentives which can motivate the teachers is training on ICT skills, bonuses and allowances for the online teaching session (Auma & Achieng, 2020). There is need for policy makers and learning institutions in the Sub-Saharan to embrace online teaching and the use of ICT in schools. ICT should be embraced through training the teachers and the students on the basic computer skills needed to use the online learning platforms(Adarkwah, 2021). Challenges such as internet connectivity issues and lack of electricity in some regions should be addressed by the government. All the regions and learning institutions should have access to internet and have electricity connection to help facilitate online teaching.

References

Auma, O. M., & Achieng, O. J. (2020). Perception of teachers on effectiveness of online learning

in the wake of COVID-19 Pandemic. IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS, 25(6), 19-28.

Adarkwah, M. A. (2021). An Outbreak of Online Learning in the COVID-19 Outbreak in Sub-

Saharan Africa: Prospects and Challenges. Global Journal of Computer Science and Technology.

Jogezai, N. A., Baloch, F. A., Jaffar, M., Shah, T., Khilji, G. K., & Bashir, S. (2021). Teachers'

attitudes towards social media (SM) use in online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic: the effects of SM use by teachers and religious scholars during physical distancing. Heliyon, 7(4), e06781.