In today’s knowledge and technology-driven society, most scholarly information is increasingly being produced and distributed in digital formats. Yet, in Sub-Saharan Africa, academic libraries have been very slow at joining this digital movement and hence stand the risk of losing their relevance, particularly with regard to locally generated intellectual material. To better serve the knowledge and information seeking needs of their patrons, librarians need to reinvent services. The challenges are discussed as well as prescriptions of workable strategies that librarians, information scientists, and other stakeholders can adopt to overcome these barriers. Such strategies mostly involve appropriately leveraging the existing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools and resources to make library resources more accessible. Consequently, digitizing indigenous intellectual resources may keep libraries from perishing and respond to user needs and information seeking habits in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Online Learning in Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa
This study adopted a qualitative case-study approach to examine the attitudes, experiences, and perceptions of undergraduate students who were enrolled in an online, collaborative learning course at a Ghanaian private university. Data sources included surveys, student and instructor journal entries, email records, individual interviews, and Web-server logs. The study found that the students did not respond favorably to online constructivist teaching approaches such as asynchronous discussions and ill-structured project-based learning activities, and perceived collaborative online learning within their context as a complex, more demanding, and time-consuming experience.
“We had a Blast!” An Empirical Affirmation of Blended Learning as the Preferred Learning Mode for Adult Learners
As many important issues pertaining to blended learning within the Sub-Saharan African context remain unexplored, this study implemented a blended learning approach in a graduate-level course at a private university in Ghana, with the objective of exploring adult learners’ attitudes, experiences and behaviors towards this learning approach, as well as their perceptions towards blended learning in general. Forty-eight graduate students participated in the study as they engaged in a six-week-long blended learning course. Qualitative research methods were used to gather data, which were analyzed using grounded theory coding techniques, descriptive statistics, and content analysis. Findings reveal high levels of student engagement and satisfaction with the learning processes and an overwhelming endorsement of blended learning as a preferred mode of learning. Implications of these findings for further research and practice are discussed within the context of technology adoption and use in the Ghanaian and Sub-Saharan African higher education contexts.
Online learning in higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Ghanaian university students' experiences and perceptions
This study adopted a qualitative case-study approach to examine the attitudes, experiences, and perceptions of undergraduate students who were enrolled in an online, collaborative learning course at a Ghanaian private university. Data sources included surveys, student and instructor journal entries, email records, individual interviews, and Web-server logs. The study found that the students did not respond favorably to online constructivist teaching approaches such as asynchronous discussions and ill-structured project-based learning activities, and perceived collaborative online learning within their context as a complex, more demanding and time-consuming experience.
Understanding academic information seeking habits through analysis of web server log files. The case of the Teachers College library website
Transaction logs of user activity on an academic library website were analyzed to determine general usage patterns on the website. This paper reports on insights gained from the analysis, and identifies and discusses issues relating to content access, interface design and general functionality of the website.
S Asunka, H S Chae, B Hughes, G Natriello
The viability of E-textbooks in developing countries: Ghanaian university students' perceptions
As higher education institutions the world over are gradually transitioning to e-textbooks, this study explored Ghanaian undergraduate students’ awareness, experiences and perceptions of e-books, particularly with regard to their acceptance of e-textbooks as eventual replacements of physical textbooks. A total of 253 undergraduate students at a private university in Ghana participated in the study by responding to paper-based questionnaires administered over a four-week period. Analysing data with simple descriptive statistics and content analysis, the findings reveal that students generally have a fair idea of what e-books are, and also acknowledge the potential benefits of e-textbooks. However, a significant number do not presently use e-books. On the whole, students are strongly averse to using e-books and other Internet-based electronic resources in place of physical books for academic purposes. Factors …
The Dichapetalins: A new class of triterpenoids
S Asunka, I Addae-Mensah, R Waibel, I. V Oppong, H Achenbach
Dichapetalin A, a novel plant constituent from Dichapetalum madagascariense with potential antineoplasatic activity
From the roots of Dichapetalum madagascariense (Dichapetalaceae) dichapetalin A, a plant constituent with a new basic skeleton, has been isolated. Its structure was elucidated by spectroscopic methods. In-vitro experiments revealed a strong and selective cytotoxicity.
H Achenbach, S Asunka, R Waibel, I Addae-Mensah, I. V Oppong
Towards an understanding of the use of an institutional repository with integrated social networking tools: A case study PocketKnowledge
Transaction log analysis (TLA), content analysis, and grounded theory procedures were used to explore the use of an institutional digital repository and social networking website by the academic community of a graduate school of education in the northeastern United States. Three successive years of usage records were gathered and analyzed to determine: (a) the numbers and categories of persons signing up to use the repository during each school semester, (b) the type of content being archived and its rate of growth, and (c) the possible influence of the repository on collaborative, online and open access scholarship within the institution. Findings show a steady increase in the usage of the repository for archiving and sharing digital resources, and an item-tagging scheme that suggests user preference of the resource as a platform for enhancing professional rather than personal interests. User interactivity by …
Challenges of online learning of English/French language in higher education in Ghana.
This study investigated the challenges that learners of English and French encountered during their participation in online language learning in a university in Ghana. The study adopted a quantitative survey approach by administering online questionnaire to undergraduate students at the university and analysing the data using descriptive statistics.150 students participated in the study. The results indicate that majority of the students generally feel that online language learning is bedeviled with a lot of challenges, notably technology availability, accessibility, and affordability, as well as the lack of capacity on the part of language instructors to effectively deliver in their online teaching activities. The study further discusses students' opinions and experiences with the objective of determining the prospects of online language learning within the Ghanaian tertiary education context. Based on the findings, some pragmatic pedagogical measures like migrating teaching and
Michael Owusu Tabiri, Ivy Jones-Mensah, Daniel Arkoh Fenyi, Stephen Asunka
Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies. Hacettepe Universitesi, Egitim Fakultesi B Blok, Yabanci Diller Egitimi Bolumu, Ingiliz Dili Egitimi Anabilim Dali, Ankara 06800, Turkey