Teaching as a Service: An Exploration of Educational Framework for Technology driven teaching for Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

This study examined Teaching as a Service and explored the educational framework for technology-driven teaching in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in Uganda. This was done by looking at status of ICTs in terms of device ownership, internet utilization for instructional purposes, information technology adoption, Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP), available resources, and capacity-building initiatives as signals for utilization of technologies for teaching. A deductive approach was used to select 30 individuals from public, private, and institutionally affiliated universities, organized into groups of ten who participated in the study. The first cohort contributed insights into the initial components of TaaS framework, which were iteratively refined until a stable framework emerged. Subsequently, an examination was conducted to ascertain the presence of these components within higher education institutions (HEIs). The investigation revealed that up to 80% of the respondents predominantly utilized ICTs individually or through institutional provisions. Access to ICT was primarily facilitated via personal laptops and smartphones, bolstered by robust infrastructure and widespread broadband connectivity within most institutions. Internet accessibility was pervasive across various campus locations, with most respondents engaging with online resources daily up to 90% of use time. The study revealed that HEI are in the initial phases of adopting technologies for teaching. Adapting TaaS framework can go a long way in helping HEIs to adopt technology effectively.