Designing transformational multimedia content for Zimbabwe's primary school digital learners

Abstract

Traditional educational systems have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries, including Zimbabwe, where schools had to close for extended periods of time. The adoption of e-learning as a crucial substitute for traditional classroom learning was expedited by this crisis which exposed the challenges in utilizing digital technologies to enhance learning results in Zimbabwe‘s primary education. The effectiveness of e-learning in Zimbabwean primary schools is hindered by lack of relevant and localized content, inadequate teacher training, and limited consideration of cultural values and indigenous languages. Current digital content falls short of meeting the cognitive, emotional, and cultural demands of young learners, as it is text-based content. A qualitative study approach was used, incorporating ethnographic observations on two digital classes and twelve key informant interviews with grade four teachers as well as two focus group discussions with thirty, grade four digital learners from six primary schools in the categories of Government and private schools were conducted respectively. The findings generated themes on access to digital resources and infrastructure, student‘s engagement with digital content, cultural and contextual relevance, and inclusivity in digital learning and teacher‘s role in digital content development. Being guided by the theoretical framework and the findings of the study, the researcher designed a prototype of digital learning content that is inclusive and relevant to local cultures. The major recommendations from the study were improving teacher preparedness, developing content that is appropriate for local cultures with relevance as well as increasing accessibility of infrastructure with suggestions of solar powered gadgets for digital classes to optimize potential of digital learning with content that is interactive and engaging, multilingual to promote understanding.