Adopting an Online Oral Examination Practices Sustainable Framework from Students’ Perspective, Case of the Open University of Tanzania
  IJCTT-book-cover
 		          
 
© 2022 by IJCTT Journal
Volume-70 Issue-6
Year of Publication : 2022
Authors : Edephonce Ngemera Nfuka
DOI :  10.14445/22312803/IJCTT-V70I6P101

How to Cite?

Edephonce Ngemera Nfuka, "Adopting an Online Oral Examination Practices Sustainable Framework from Students’ Perspective, Case of the Open University of Tanzania," International Journal of Computer Trends and Technology, vol. 70, no. 6, pp. 1-18, 2022. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/22312803/IJCTT-V70I6P101

Abstract
Information and communication technology (ICT) offers various possibilities and benefits for teaching and learning endeavors. The Open University of Tanzania (OUT) handles such teaching and learning activities through blended learning that combines online and face-to-face delivery. In 2020, the unimaginable COVID-19 pandemic came to light. In addition to its adverse effects on people’s health, it also slowed down all socio-economic development, including education, in different countries. In Tanzania, this pandemic led to the closure of all learning institutions in mid-March 2020 due to the needed isolation and social distancing to minimize the pandemic’s effect on the country. These measures also affected our blended learning approach in that its online delivery part was limited to formative, leaving summative to face-to-face mode. As a result of the pandemic, OUT investigated ‘online summative assessment approaches and developed online oral examination (OREX). OREX was used by OUT during the annual examination sessions in July and August 2020 to meet the pandemic requirements and fulfill the university’s vision, which is to be a leading open online university for knowledge creation and application. It was conducted via a web conferencing technology, Zoom, with inputs such as questions, examiners, and links from OREX. This study aimed to investigate experience with this OREX intervention from a student’s perspective to develop a framework that can lead to a sustainable online oral examination ecosystem. The methodology applied was mainly a students’ survey, complemented by a desk review that included collecting and reviewing relevant documents from offices that managed the OREX undertaking. The results indicated how beneficial the approach is to the students and social-economic development of the country and the suggestions on what could improve for a sustainable and efficient online oral examination. Based on these results and discussion, we propose a framework for the online oral examination ecosystem and the recommendations from a student perspective. Finally, the implications of the study outcome are pointed out to researchers, decision-makers, and practitioners.

Keywords
Online oral examination, OREX, Web conferencing tool, Zoom.

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