Embedding E-Learning in Accounting Modules: The Educators’ Perspective

Factors to determine the adoption of online teaching in Tanzania's Universities during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

Face to face mode of delivery has been a standard method of teaching courses in the majority of African Universities Tanzania included. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the closure of all schools and universities worldwide; therefore, face-to-face teaching is no longer the only appropriate and feasible teaching method. This requires changes in the teaching method with the remarkable rise of e-learning, whereby teaching must be undertaken remotely and on digital platforms.

OBJECTIVE

The main objective of this study is to determine the perceived factors that hinder the adoption of online teaching in Tanzanian universities.

METHOD

A mixed method dominated by a quantitative approach was used to answer the research questions. A total of 173 academic and ICT staff from nineteen universities in Tanzania participated in this study. Descriptive statistics (univariate analysis) and binary logistic regression were applied to analyse the frequency and compare the mean to describe the characteristics of respondents and determine the factors influencing the academic staff to have an online course. This was followed by content analysis to analyse the academic staff's proposed adaptation to online classes.

RESULTS

The findings indicated that the main hindrances to online teaching are lack of capacity; knowledge on how to conduct online courses; knowledge and technological factors; environmental factors; staff attitudes towards delivering online courses, and years spent using eLearning. The academic staff proposed improving ICT infrastructure and strengthening the capacity of academic staff to provide online courses.

CONCLUSION

The study concludes that most academic staff are willing to adopt online teaching while suggesting improving the organisational and individual factors to enhance online education. The paper recommends that the university use freely available online teaching tools and platforms while simultaneously focusing on addressing the corporate and individual factors identified in this paper to enhance online teaching, which is mandatory in response to lockdown measures.

Online Managerial Accounting education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study from Poland

The COVID-19 pandemic made the higher education providers give up traditional face-to-face education and change completely into distance learning. The primary objective of the study was to learn the opinions of the students majoring in Finance and Accounting at the Faculty of Management, UTP University of Science and Technology in Bydgoszcz on the Managerial Accounting (MA) course in computer laboratory taught in a form of e-learning with the use of spreadsheet. The study questions covered the effectiveness of online learning, its disadvantages and advantages, the evaluation of the skills acquired, the tutors’ preparation and engagement, education quality enhancement in the second e-learning semester and suggestions in terms of the use of e-learning in post-pandemic time. The survey study involved 85 students out of all the 113 third-year B.A. students. The study results point to a very positive rating of the tutorials. More than 90% of the people consider the education method effectiveness very good or good. The results of the study are show that e-learning does not necessarily have to be less effective than traditional learning. This is yet another evidence of the advantage of an active learning over a passive learning approach.

Internship of Accounting Students in the Form of E-Learning: Insights from Poland

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed on us not only e-learning with higher education providers, but also triggered considerable difficulties in organization internships. Institutions and enterprises that used to be eager to take interns have refused to do so. In these conditions, the key objective for the Faculty of Management at the UTP University in Bydgoszcz was to organize e-internships to ensure a working environment similar to the real working conditions of the accounting department. A new internship program was developed that implemented the assumptions of active learning, by virtue of the case study approach, computer-based learning environments, and a comprehensive task simulating the work of the accounting department in the form of a multi-step project. The key objective of this article is to present the results of research in the form of a survey on how the students majoring in Finance and Accounting perceive the proposed internship method. The results show that an internship in the form of e-learning with the proposed education methods is appreciated by the students. E-learning does not necessarily have to be less effective than traditional learning. The use of platforms and the selecting of adequate methods can enhance the activity of students, supporting self-education and independent task performance.

Teachers’ Perception towards the Use of Quizizz in the Teaching and Learning of English: A Systematic Review

The teaching and learning of English as a second language have always been emphasized by the Ministry of Education (MOE). In the Malaysia Education Blueprint (2013–2025), among the many goals is to produce learners who can comprehend the language for various purposes, including for information and enjoyment. Over the years, the teaching and learning of English have changed from conventional chalk-and-talk methods to modern methods that involve various platforms such as Quizizz, which is free and easy to use. This systematic literature review focuses on teachers’ perception on the use of Quizizz in the teaching and learning of English. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) review methodology, a total of 45 articles related to the use of Quizizz in the English language classroom were identified from the ERIC and Google Scholar databases. Based on the articles from the year 2017 to 2021, the results show that the mixed-method research design was most used to gather teachers’ perspectives on the use of Quizizz in the teaching and learning of English. Overall, the results of this study show that Quizizz is accepted positively among teachers due to its effectiveness, feasibility, ease of use, and motivating nature for learners. As a suggestion for future research, more focus can be put on investigating the effectiveness of Quizizz from the perspective of parents and issues related to the implementation of gamified learning, such as Internet connection and device availability.

The effects of oral health education regarding periodontal health on non-dental undergraduates in southwestern China-exploring the feasibility of an e-learning course for oral health promotion

Background

The high prevalence of periodontal diseases is an important oral health problem worldwide. It is necessary to increase public knowledge on and influence attitudes towards periodontal diseases in order to prevent them. However, the effect of oral health education (OHE) as a primary preventive method in China is unsatisfactory. The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of extending an e-learning course regarding periodontal health by comparing the effects of oral health education regarding periodontal health (OHE-PH) on dental and non-dental students and the effects between a traditional course and an e-learning course among non-dental students at Sichuan University.

Methods

A quasi-experimental study with a pre-test and a post-test was performed. A total of 217 dental students and 134 non-dental students attended a traditional course; 69 non-dental students attended an e-learning course. Before- and after-course questionnaires about periodontal health knowledge, attitudes and behaviours were administered.

Results

After the traditional/e-learning course, the knowledge of both dental and non-dental students about periodontal diseases and self-reported behaviours for gingival bleeding and oral care improved. The non-dental students reached or surpassed the level of dental students before the course. The non-dental students taking the e-learning course performed better in some areas than those taking the traditional course.

Conclusions

OHE-PH was effective for dental and non-dental students. The e-learning course on OHE-PH was sufficient for improving knowledge and self-reported behaviours among non-dental undergraduates and was even better than the traditional course in some areas. The e-learning course may be an effective method for periodontal health education and oral health promotion among undergraduates.