South African rural students’ adoption and use of learning management systems

Abstract

This discursive study examined the use of the learning management system (LMS) Moodle in rural South African universities. Moodle, a popular online programme, can be used to deliver learning activities, as well as online learning evaluations. The authors discuss LMS usage and adoption in higher education. LMS is a global online platform used in higher education institutions in developed countries across the globe, for decades. It has improved the education system in these developed countries by providing diverse students with learning opportunities, in their comfort zones. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, most developed nations adopted online methods, like LMS, for teaching and learning. Unfortunately, the pandemic lockdown in many developing nations, like South Africa, severely disrupted curriculum and educational activities for months. The South African Department of Higher Education and Training reviewed curriculum delivery approaches, to save academic activities due to COVID-19. Thus, it deemed online learning a higher education alternative to face-to-face curriculum instruction, during the lockdown to salvage the academic calendar, with LMS used as ideal online learning for student engagement.