Using MUELE: The Teacher's
Experience
By
Richard Kajumbula
Department of Open and Distance Learning
School Distance and Lifelong Learning
College of Education and External Studies (CEES)
Presentation at CEES Lunch Time Seminar Series
8th October 2013
MUELE – Makerere University Electronic
Learning (E-Learning) Environment
E-Learning-the use of electronic media and
information and communication technologies (ICT) in
education.
How I came to be involved in E-Learning at Mak
(MUELE)
 During the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa
(PHEA) workshop conducted by the South African
Institute of Distance Education (SAIDE) in 2009.
 Underwent training on Makerere University E-Learning
Environment (MUELE) in the DACE computer lab
I was initially reluctant- Feeling that;
 students may not understand the course
 a lot of effort is needed to upload a course – I have no time
 I may not conceptualized the whole concept of E-learning
 the system may be difficult to use (for me and for students)
 team members may not welcome the idea
 students may reject it due to access problems, fear, costs
Created my first online course ie Fundamental Accounting
Principles (FAP)
 See Demo - FAP
With training workshops and timely support from the E-Learning
unit and SAIDE, I acquired the skills below;
 Incorporating the teacher’s voice in online teaching.
 self introduction at the beginning of the course
 cautioning students on online etiquette
 Guiding and advising students on how to use it and getting help
 Making lectures more interesting eg animation
 Properly introducing the course, its objectives and learning outcomes
 Introducing each topic, its objectives and learning outcomes
 Reviewing a topic after a lesson
 Incorporating activities that are engaging
 incorporating review questions and quizzes
 engaging the class though the chat facility, forums, wiki, and the message
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facility
Incorporating a glossary of terms
Linking pages to enable smooth flow-navigation buttons
Pacing learning-using the lesson facility and dividing lessons into chunks
Incorporating into learning material hyperlinks to internet
resources/websites
CURRENT COURSES
COURSE
NUMBER OF
STUDENTS
1
Fundamental Accounting Principles
2
Research Methodology
3
Financial Investment
4
Budgeting
15
5
Computerised Accounting
18
6
Supervisory Relatioship
28
Total
See Demo – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1,139
400+187+515=1,102
349
2,651
BENEFITS
 Many Students can access content at any time as long as
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they have access to the internet.
With no available printed materials written in DL format in
the courses I teach, the platform has attempted to fill the
gap.
I can update my notes anytime and anywhere
Frequent reviews by E-Learning unit, SAIDE and students
improve quality
Improved teaching skills
Opportunity to network with students and colleagues at
Mak, SAIDE, UWIDECenter
Enabling students enjoy courses that are seemingly difficult
Improved pass rate (From 83% in 2009/2010 to 89.9% in
2012/13)
Interacting with learners to support them both
academically and administratively
BENEFITS (Ctd..)
 Uploading coursework results enables students to access them easily,
raise issues in time and also saves papers
 Students acquire/improve their computer skills and get to know that
the internet is a medium of teaching and learning (not only social
networking)
 Learning becomes an interesting and adventurous activity for
learners
 Incorporating into learning material hyperlinks to internet
resources/websites enables students refer as they study
 My skills and interest in searching for knowledge and new skills
improved
 Improved my skills of supervising and managing the research
supervision process online
 Back-up of material in case of loss
 One conference paper out of my E-Learning experience titled “From
Face-to-Face Learning to Instruction by Blended Learning: A Tutor’s
Experience.” Vietnam in 2011 (Kajumbula, 2011).
CHALLENGES
 Busy schedule making frequent updates and
responding to online queries by students in time
difficult
 The messages can be overwhelmingly many
 Few computers for students to use within and outside
Mak
 Bandwidth and intermittent internet availability
 Teaching computational and practical papers is a
challenge. Videos can be a solution but
www.youtube.com is only available after 6:00pm and
no digital camera to record live lectures to be uploaded.
 Limited internet services countrywide
CHALLENGES (Ctd..)
 New versions of Moodle coming out almost every year.
 Incorporating learning theories into my teaching is hard since
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I still have a problem comprehending them.
No online content experts have evaluated/reviewed my online
business courses (as far as I know)
Team teaching where some colleagues have not yet adopted the
system hence standing the risk of being labeled a bad lecturer
because I neither give notes in class nor handouts to students
to photocopy.
Fatigue, stress and health risks arising out of staying on a
computer for a long time
Lack of a reward system in the University regarding using ELearning in teaching eg formally recognizing online
facilitation as part of teaching load, hence attracting payment,
promotion, etc.
CONCLUSION
 Incorporating ICTs in Education is the way to go if
access to flexible and affordable higher education
is to increase. With costs of full-time higher
education increasing and people spending more
time and resources on social and financial welfare
than educational advancement, E-learning is one
way that can be used to take education to them.
The technology train is moving and it is time for
all of us to board.