It is with great delight that the Makerere University CEES Institute of Open Distance and e-Learning fraternity welcomes its newest addition of Ph.D. holders to bolster its ranks in e-learning and training Mr. Mayende Godfrey.
On 21st October,2020 he successfully defended his PhD entitled Supporting Effective Online Learning Groups for e-Learning Systems from the University of Agder he was supervised by Prof. Andreas Prinz as the main supervisor (Agder), co-supervisors include; Assoc. Prof. Ghislain Maurice Norbert Isabwe(Agder), and Assoc. Prof. Paul Birevu Muyinda(MAK).
The relevance of this award comes at a time where the corvid pandemic has left many questioning the effectiveness of the traditional teaching methods vis-à-vis the health of the learners, hence a multitude of institutions around the world have embraced open distance and e-learning as well as promotion of blended Programmes.
Elaborating on his research he said that learning in groups has been advocated to increase learning based on the social constructivist learning theory. Information and communication technology connect distance learning students and provides possibilities to use the benefits of learning groups. However, although learning groups can bring about meaningful learning, learning groups in online environments are often not working.
To solve the problem, design science approaches were used to establish methods and factors that support effective online learning groups. The solution involved three research areas as follows: (1) the context of online learning groups, (2) processes for supporting online learning groups, and (3) tools for supporting online learning groups. Experiences from Uganda and Norway provided the context as a foundation for this study. Authentic online courses helped to establish processes to support online learning groups, which again led to methods and factors. The methods and factors guided the design of scenarios for the development of eLearning systems.
In this dissertation, he proposed methods and factors for ensuring effective online learning groups. The methods detail how to (1) create online learning groups, (2) structure online learning group activities, and (3) facilitate online learning groups. The methods use the factors influencing effective online learning groups.
Some of the publications of Dr.Mayende include;
Paper A: Godfrey Mayende, Paul Birevu Muyinda, Andreas Prinz, Ghislain MauriceNorbert Isabwe, and Dianah Nampijja, “Online Learning Needs Assessment
in Uganda”, Digital Media in Teaching and its Added Value, Waxmann
Verlag, pp. 208-224, 2015.
Paper B: Godfrey Mayende, Andreas Prinz, Ghislain Maurice Norbert Isabwe, and
Paul Birevu Muyinda, “Supporting Learning Groups in Online Learning Environment”,Proc. 7th International Conference on Computer Supported Education(CSEDU(2)), pp. 390-396, 2015, DOI: 10.5220/0005433903900396.
Paper C: Godfrey Mayende, Ghislain Maurice Norbert Isabwe, Paul Birevu Muyinda,
and Andreas Prinz, “Peer Assessment Based Assignment to Enhance Interactions in Online Learning Groups”, Proc. 2015 International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning, IEEE, pp. 668-672, 2015, DOI:
10.1109/ICL.2015.7318106.
Paper D: Godfrey Mayende, Andreas Prinz, Ghislain Maurice Norbert Isabwe,
and Paul Birevu Muyinda, “Learning Groups in MOOCs: Lessons for Online
Learning in Higher Education”, International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy,
iJEP, pp. 109-124, 2017, DOI: 10.3991/ijep.v7i2.6925.
Paper E: Godfrey Mayende, Andreas Prinz, and Ghislain Maurice Norbert Isabwe,
“Improving Communication in Online Learning Systems”, Proc. 9th International
Conference on Computer Supported Education, CSEDU, pp. 300-307,
2017, DOI: 10.5220/0006311103000307.
Mayende CEES: Paper F: Godfrey Mayende, Andreas Prinz, Paul Birevu Muyinda, and Ghislain
Maurice Norbert Isabwe, “Towards Technology for Supporting Effective Online
Learning Groups”, In: Auer M., Tsiatsos T. (eds) Interactive Mobile
Communication Technologies and Learning. IMCL 2017. Advances in Intelligent
Systems and Computing, vol 725. Springer, Cham. pp. 361-371,
2018, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-75175-7 37
Publications Not Included in the Dissertation
Paper G: Godfrey Mayende, Paul Birevu Muyinda, Ghislain Maurice Norbert Isabwe,
MichealWalimbwa, and Samuel Ndeda Siminyu, “Facebook Mediated
Interaction and Learning in Distance Learning at Makerere University”, Proc.
International Conference e-Learning, Multi Conference on Computer Science
and Information Systems, pp. 333-338, 2014, https://files.eric.ed.gov/
fulltext/ED557270.pdf
Paper H: Paul Birevu Muyinda, Godfrey Mayende, and Jonathan Kizito, “Requirements for a Seamless Collaborative and Cooperative MLearning System”,
In: Wong LH., Milrad M., Specht M. (eds) Seamless Learning in the
Age of Mobile Connectivity. , Springer, Singapore. pp. 201-222, 2015, DOI:10.1007/978-981-287-113-8 11
Paper I: Godfrey Mayende, Andreas Prinz, Ghislain Maurice Norbert Isabwe, Paul
Birevu Muyinda, and Dianah Nampijja, “Philosophical and Ethical concerns
in researching Online Learning Groups”, Proc. 2016 IEEE Conference on
e-Learning, e-Management and e-Services, IEEE, pp. 96-101, 2016, DOI:
10.1109/IC3e.2016.8009047.
Paper J: Godfrey Mayende, Andreas Prinz, Ghislain Maurice Norbert Isabwe, and
Paul Birevu Muyinda, “Learning Groups for MOOCs Lessons for Online
Learning in Higher Education”, In: Auer M., Guralnick D., Uhomoibhi J.
(eds) Interactive Collaborative Learning. ICL 2016. Advances in Intelligent
Systems and Computing, vol 544. pp. 185 – 198, 2017, Springer, Cham. DOI:
10.1007/978-3-319-50337-0 16
Paper K: Gerald Gwamba, Godfrey Mayende, Ghislain Maurice Norbert Isabwe,
and Paul Birevu Muyinda, “Conceptualising Design of Learning Management
Systems to Address Institutional Realities”, In: Auer M., Guralnick D.,
xiiSimonics I. (eds) Teaching and Learning in a Digital World. ICL 2017. Advances
in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 716. pp. 43-50, 2018,
Springer, Cham. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-73204-6 6
Paper L: Harriet Mutambo Nabushawo, Paul Birevu Muyinda, Ghislain Maurice
Norbert Isabwe, Andreas Prinz, and Godfrey Mayende, “Improving Online
Interaction Among Blended Distance Learners at Makerere University”, In:
Auer M., Guralnick D., Simonics I. (eds) Teaching and Learning in a Digital
World. ICL 2017. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 715.
pp. 63-69, 2018, Springer, Cham. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-73210-7 8
Paper M: Gerald Gwamba, Jaco Renken, Dianah Nampijja, Godfrey Mayende,
and Paul Birevu Muyinda, “Contextualisation of eLearning Systems in Higher
Education Institutions”, In: Auer M., Tsiatsos T. (eds) Interactive Mobile
Communication Technologies and Learning. IMCL 2017. Advances in Intelligent
Systems and Computing, vol 725. pp. 44-55, 2018, Springer, Cham.
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-75175-7 6
