Browsing by Author "Baguma, Rehema"

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11
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    Designing Reality Fit m-Voting
    (2013) Eilu, Emmanuel; Baguma, Rehema
    In this paper, we examine the declining trends in voter turn-up in Uganda and other developing countries. We also look at the possibility of using ICT especially the widely used mobile phones to improve citizen participation in voting. We also assess the current citizen perception and responses towards using their mobile phones for voting. In addition we discuss political, technological, social and cultural factors that are likely to affect the use of mobile phones for voting.
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    Enhancing Student Interactions in Online Learning: A Case of Using YouTube in a Distance Learning Module in a Higher Education Institution in Uganda
    (Higher Education Research, 2020) Namubiru Ssentamu, Proscovia; Ngambi, Dick; Bagarukayo, Emily; Baguma, Rehema; Mutambo Nabushawo, Harriet; Nalubowa, Christine
    One of the challenges facing higher education institutions in general and Uganda in particular, is the widening gulf between increased use of technology for teaching and learning and achieving meaningful learning outcomes, especially in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we report on one use of technology where a teacher’s integration of YouTube videos in teaching increased students’ levels of interaction with the content of the video, with peers and with the instructor (teacher). Guided by the sequential mixed-method design, a series of online learning activities were designed and matched with a carefully selected YouTube video. The activity was piloted and refined for use on purposefully selected teaching staff. The staff watched the videos that were uploaded on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and responded to online learning tasks at individual and group levels. The VLE served as a knowledge sharing space for reflections. The paper concludes that lesson design was critical in enriching the VLE with carefully selected YouTube videos. Our key recommendations are: focus on the learning outcomes, design for the desired interactions, build into the task reflections, and decide whether to pre-select YouTube videos for students or to allow students to find appropriate YouTube videos; use reflections and knowledge sharing spaces. Further work has built reflective questions in the video which allows student to pause and reflect.
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    Integrating Accessibility and Functional Requirements
    (Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2009) Baguma, Rehema; Stone, Roger G.; Lubega, Jude T.; van der Weide, Th.P.
    Initial research on Web accessibility was focused on testing completed Web pages. More recently, the focus is moving to integrating accessibility features into coding tools such as Dreamweaver 8 and plugins notably LIFT. Thus accessibility is being considered slightly earlier in the development process. However, the state of Web accessibility is still disappointing even on websites that have followed the guidelines and or used evaluation and coding tools. We are proposing an approach to start considering accessibility much earlier. Our purpose is to address accessibility in the context of what is to be done and who will be participating. In this paper, we present views of Web developers about this approach. We then show (using a case study) how Web developers can elicit accessibility requirements alongside functional requirements and integrate the two to obtain conceptual models with explicit traces of accessibility requirements integrated with functional requirements. Finally we discuss lessons learnt from the case study and common benefits of the approach for Web accessibility and Web projects.
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    M-voting in developing countries: Findings from Uganda
    (Commonwealth Governance Handbook, 2014) Eilu, Emmanuel; Baguma, Rehema; Pettersson, John S.
    In the last two decades, competitive elections have become the standard in a number of African countries. Free and fair elections have not only helped consolidate emerging democratic institutions, but also improved projection for greater economic and political development. In other cases, such as Liberia and Sierra Leone, plausible elections have shaped the route for national reconciliation and a return to democratic rule after years of armed conflict and civil war (CAE, 2009). However, there has been a decline in voter turnout in many developing countries. The African continent has the lowest voter turnout in the world with an average of 65 per cent (Vergne, 2009). The 2005 referendum in Uganda had a voter turnout of only 47 per cent (Petersen, 2006), while, in the 2011 presidential elections in Uganda, more than 40 per cent of the registered 13.5 million voters did not turn up to vote (Oola, 2011; Young, 2005). The reasons for low voter turnout in developing countries range from violence, intimidation and rigging, to voter apathy and election delays (Pande, 2011). Vergne (2009) suggests that this is problematic as low voter turnout creates very weak incentives for politicians to adopt or implement policies in thepublic interest.
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    A Model for Developing Usable Integrated Case Management Information Systems
    (Springer International Publishing, 2017) Kuhimbisa, Edgar; Baguma, Rehema; Nakakawa, Agnes
    The increased adoption of technology in government-driven processes and services over the years has led to the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as mechanisms and platforms for citizens to access justice services and participate in the judicial process. In Uganda, there are current and ongoing efforts, through e-justice initiatives in the Justice, Law and Order Sector, to integrate case management information systems in criminal justice institutions as a means of improving worker productivity, facilitating information sharing, collaboration, better information access by the general public, citizen engagement and satisfaction with public services. The focus for this study was to devise a model that provides guidance on how to develop integrated information systems that are usable – by supporting improved human-driven legal processes, increased citizen engagement and facilitation of interaction between justice agencies and the general public. Based on the requirements for usable integrated information systems obtained from the review of literature and a survey, a model for guiding development of usable integrated case management information systems known as the Architecture-driven Usability Process Model (AdUPRO) was created.
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    Relating Visual Disability and the Web
    (ITA, 2007) Baguma, Rehema; Bommel, Patrick van; Wanyama, Tom; Patrick, Ogao
    Despite the fact that the proportion of people with disabilities in society has been increasing, many critical online public activities are not readily available to them. Much as a large body of literature has examined the overall impact of visual disability on functional status and quality of life including Web usage, few published studies have explicitly investigated the relationship between visual disability and Web-based tasks. Moreover, the available Web Accessibility guidelines to-date lack coherence and simplicity for easy comprehension and application in Web application design for different disability groups. For example the primary reference guidelines – that is the Web Content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) is organized arbitrarily with no distinct sections according to types of disabilities covered. This makes such guidelines hard to understand and apply by Web content developers. This paper examines how properties of Web applications affect users with various visual disabilities. The goal of this study was to understand the problems faced by Web users with visual disabilities and how the problems can be addressed in Web development tasks. Understanding the relationship between visual disability and Web applications is an important foundation for further research considerations on how to make the Web more accessible to people with visual disabilities. Such considerations may include but not limited to: development of concise visual accessibility indicators and associated design techniques. The paper is organized into six sections namely: introduction; methodology; related work, properties of Visual disability and Web applications, the relationship between visual disability and properties of Web applications; Conclusion and future Work.
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    Using Facebook to Transfer Knowledge into Practice and Aid Student, Lecturer and Content Interaction A Case of Bachelor of Information Technology Undergraduate Students at Makerere University
    (2017) Bagarukayo, Emily; Ng’ambi, Dick; Baguma, Rehema; Namubiru Ssentamu, Proscovia
    Employers have criticised graduates for inadequate skills to apply knowledge into practice due to the traditional teaching and learning methods which concentrate more on theory than practice. Technology affords several teaching and learning methods like social media which students are already motivated to use. The research therefore used Facebook technology to facilitate students’ application of operating systems knowledge to record and upload a video installing a virtual machine and operating system onto a group; to promote content access, and interactive and cooperative learning. The results from the study show that the overall effect of Facebook on students learning process and experience was positive because it enabled putting knowledge into practice, sharing, collaboration, interaction, flexibility and learner – centred activities, among others. Therefore, to increase learning outcome, motivation, desire and interest, new educational technologies should continuously be explored by educational institutions, educators and learners for teaching and learning in the digital era. In this light we recommend that Facebook should be assessed in more studies and integrated as a tool for learning at the university since students appreciate it, find it easy to use and familiar.
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    Using WhatsApp in Teaching to Develop Higher Order Thinking Skills-a Literature Review Using the Activity Theory Lens
    (International Journal of Education and Development Using Information and Communication Technology, 2019) Baguma, Rehema; Bagarukayo, Emily; Namubiru, Proscovia; Brown, Cheryl; Mayisela, Tabisa
    Most universities in Uganda encourage memorization as the predominant method of learning. This has been partly linked to limited practical pedagogical skills among educators, to effectively engage students to develop Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). Consequently, students are not well prepared for the world after university. WhatsApp Enabled Learning (WAEL) has been found to support approaches to learning that promote development of HOTS, like inquiry, creativity, critical reflection and dialogue. Although many universities in Uganda have been using LMSs, there is little evidence that use of an LMS has enhanced development of HOTS. While the Ugandan society is catching on fast with use of WhatsApp due to increased access to mobile technology devices and Internet connectivity, use of WhatsApp in education is still limited. Additionally, there is limited research on the benefits of WAEL to development of HOTS in African countries. This paper examines how WAEL can facilitate development of HOTS through a general literature analysis and using the Activity Theory (AT) framework. The results show that WhatsApp has a great potential to support development of HOTS due to its affordances such as ubiquity, and AT provides a systematic and practical way to demonstrate this potential and how it can be applied.
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    Web Content Filtration according to context of use: Case Study of Accessibility Guidelines
    (Fountain Publishers, 2009) Baguma, Rehema; Lubega, Jude T.; Stone, Roger G.; van der Weide, Th.P.
    In this paper, we propose an approach for filtering Web based content according to context of use based on user roles and other use case scenarios. The purpose of the filtration approach is to make such Web content easier to use for the target audience. Context of use is important for the usability of Web based content particularly that used by different groups of people with different roles, interests and skill base. We use the Web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) to demonstrate how the approach can be used to improve usability of Web based content. Other than accessibility guidelines, the approach is relevant to ANY Web based content for any subject if intended for multiple classes of users.
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    A Web Design Framework for Improved Accessibility for People with Disabilities (WDFAD)
    (International World Wide Web Conference., 2008) Baguma, Rehema; Lubega, Jude T.
    Information and Communication Technology (ICT) such as the World Wide Web (WWW) has increasingly become embedded in everyday life and is progressively becoming indispensable for public, business, personal efficiency or even improvement of livelihoods [1]. Web users including People with Disabilities (PWDs) can conveniently undertake a number of tasks that would otherwise be difficult or impossible. But many Web applications such as e-learning, e-commerce and e-government are not accessible to PWDs including the blind. Through Web accessibility guidelines, Web developers can develop Web applications that are accessible to PWDs. However, majority of the available accessibility guidelines are difficult to integrate into existing developer workflows and rarely offer specific suggestions that are developer oriented. In this paper, we propose a Web Design Framework for Improved Accessibility for People with Disabilities (WDFAD). The WDFAD provides precise guidelines on how to develop Web applications that are accessible to PWDs particularly the blind. These are packaged according to the three components of Web applications namely; content, navigation and user interface. Using constructs of the Non Functional Requirements (NFR) Framework, Web accessibility design objectives are represented as primary goals and sub goals. The primary goals represent the high level accessibility design objectives, while the sub goals represent the requirements that need to be met in the Web development process in order to meet each primary goal. WDFAD also illustrates the overlaps between the process of meeting each primary goal. This unveils the optimal ways of achieving Web accessibility during Web design. The precise nature of WDFAD and its packaging according to the main components of Web applications makes Web accessibility requirements potentially easier to understand and apply by Web developers. Web Developers prefer precise and familiar tools due to their busy work life and daily interface and expression in formal instructions. In addition, the global versus local classification of Web accessibility requirements in WDFAD modularizes the web accessibility guidelines hence making them easier to understand, apply and update.
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    Web Design Requirements for Improved Web Accessibility for the Blind
    (Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2008) Baguma, Rehema; Lubega, Jude T.
    Considerable research has been done on how to make e-learning systems accessible. But Learners in electronic and hybrid learning environments utilize many Web based systems beyond what the instructor and institution provides and can control such as search engines, news portals and research databases. This paper presents Web design requirements that can improve the accessibility of such websites for PWDs particularly the blind. The requirements were derived from both theoretical and quantitative data gathered from both literature and a case study. It was observed that graphical user interfaces, non-linear navigation, forms, tables, images, lack of key board support, nonstandard document formats and acronyms and abbreviations hinder Web accessibility for the blind. Therefore in order to improve Web accessibility for the blind, the following requirements were suggested; a text only version of the website or a combination of design considerations namely: text alternatives for visual elements, meaningful content structure in the source code, skip navigation link(s), orientation during navigation, ensure (tables, frames and forms) are accessible if any is used, test the website with keyboard only access, use or convert documents into standard formats and expand abbreviations and acronyms the first time they appear on a page. Meeting the given requirements in the Web development process improves Web accessibility for all blind Web users including those engaged in hybrid learning.