MOBILE BASED TUTORING SYSTEM IN DISTANCE LEARNING: THE CASE OF ST.MARY’S UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Mobile technology has become the driving force behind most education and training. Its potential in supporting distance education is so significant in countries where there is poor ICT infrastructure and internet connectivity. Although mobile technology has such undeniable significance, limited studies have been conducted in the areas of applying mobile technology for distance learning in general and tutorial services in particular in the Ethiopian context. The purpose of this thesis is therefore, developing mobile based tutorial framework that can support distance learners in Ethiopia by considering St. Mary’s University as a case. Both qualitative and quantitative case study research methods have been applied to understand the existing distance learning context and identify problems, issues and requirements for developing the system. Interview and questionnaire used as a tool for data collection. The problems and requirements identified through qualitative and quantitative case study are used as a basis for developing contextualized and easily accessible mobile based tutorial system that can address the existing problems of delivering tutorial services and meet system requirements identified by learners and educators. The findings of the empirical study key challenges that SMU distance learners faced like missing tutorial sessions, limited expertise and experience of tutors, Lack of practice of relating theory to practice and poor quality of tutorial packages. The results confirm that to investigate the usability of the mobile based tutoring is easy to use, saves time and less cost in delivering tutorial services, improves or motivates distance learners to attend or follow up tutorials. This study has a practical contribution towards enhancing distance education by providing adequate tutorial services to distance learners.