ABSTRACT
The world wide outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic reconfigured various landscapes in higher education as various institutions, lecturers and students were forced to adopt e-learning. However, the successful adoption and acceptance of e-learning by both lecturers and students involved has not been discussed and measured. This study seeks to investigate the influence of both the lecturer and student self efficacy on behavoral intention to use e-learning during the pandemic in the context of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Lecturer Self-Efficacy (LSE) and Student Self-Efficacy (SSE) were hypothesized to have a correlation with the perceived usefullness and perceived ease of use of e-learning systems as well as the attitude towards using those e-learning systems which resultantly influence the behavoural intention to use e-learning systems. A total of 362 questionnaires were received from both students and lecturers in Zimbabwe's two universities and two polytechnics. Structural Equation Modelling was utilized to test the hypothesized conceptual model. Reliability and validity checks were done to the model instrument. Results indicated that both LSE and SSE have a positive influence on perceived ease of use but however, both LSE and SSE revealed a negative influence on perceived usefullness. Results also indicated that both LSE and SSE have a positive influence on attitude towards use of e-learning systems. The findings of the study contribute to the literature by highlighting the influence of LSE and SSE in the adoption and acceptance of e-learning systems in higher education. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many businesses, including the education sector. As the World Health organization (WHO) urged numerous countries worldwide to implement lockdowns and social distancing laws to curb the spread of the pandemic, higher education institutions responded by embarking on online learning. This article aims to use the systematic literature review to review articles on reducing the digital divide in online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the technology-organisationenvironment (TOE) model, the benefits and challenges profiled will aid in proffering a way forward in handling and managing the digital divide beyond the COVID-19 pandemic in online learning. Using the keywords: digital divide, COVID-19 and online learning to search from online databases, the inclusion criteria resulted in 10 articles being reviewed. The articles revealed that: students faced many technological challenges in connecting to online learning during the COVID-19 epidemic, students need to be properly trained to be able to use online learning systems and they need to subside data packages for many students to afford the data. The study concludes and recommends that the TOE model can be used to elucidate the effects of the digital divide in online learning. The technological, organisational and environmental factors can help proffer a sustainable online learning model for the future, beyond COVID-19 pandemic. © 2022 IEEE.