ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE AND USABILITY OF E-LEARNING PLATFORMS FOR EFFECTIVE E-LEARNING IN GHANA IN THE WAKE OF COVID-19

ABSTRACT

Information Communication Technology (ICT) is advancing with rapid development aimed at offering quality education among learners to ensure satisfaction as well as convenience. With the devastating effects of Coronavirus, many institutions are relying on e-learning technologies to conduct both administrative and academic activities to promote social distancing as well as curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. E-learning allows students from different geographical locations to learn as if in the classroom through the internet;providing tools that enhance effective teaching and learning. The question we ask is are e-learning platforms performing as expected? To determine the answer to this question, five e-learning platforms of recognized institutions in Ghana were tested using heuristic evaluation, cognitive walk-throughs and user testing. This paper establishes a performance evaluation model for e-learning platforms, by elaborating some critical factors that are comprehensive compared to previous approaches and establishes a criterion for performance evaluation based on parameters such as usability in terms of, the design of the e-learning platforms, accessibility and response/request time. From our findings, we propose a model where the development of E-learning platforms is standardized globally under the guidelines from W3C. Additionally, design methods should be flexible and consider users with different backgrounds, abilities and skills. Also, video conferencing and voice tutorials must be implemented in the e-learning platform in different languages without relying on the third party applications such as Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams to promote the usability, accessibility and effectiveness of these platforms for teaching and learning. © 2022 Science Press. All rights reserved.