E-LEARNING PLATFORMS AND HUMANITIES EDUCATION THE CASE OF A HUMANITIES DISCIPLINE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BOTSWANA

The advent of e-learning has been a welcomed development in African universities, especially in countries where the demand for university education far outstrips capacity thereby forcing universities to be innovative in coping with the large numbers that are sometimes foisted on them. E-learning has not only helped in reducing the problem of managing and examining large classes, but has also helped lecturers in providing valuable assistance to distant education students whose contact with lecturers was hitherto limited to short residential sessions where issues are discussed and ideas analyzed. The limitations of the e-learning platform coupled with a distorted student-teacher ratio has raised concerns about quality, especially for traditional Humanities disciplines where the emphasis on argumentative rigor and critical thinking are at odds with the science-leaning orientation of e-learning platforms. This especially since the technology is relatively new and there are problems of access not only in terms of infrastructure but also in terms of the relevant computer literacy skills that is required of users of the technology. In this paper, I examine the problems associated with the use of e-learning in teaching and examining traditional Humanities disciplines in general but especially the problems that I encounter in using e-learning in teaching and examining my three critical thinking courses at the University of Botswana. I argue that although certain aspects of e-learning are structured, confining and therefore unsuitable for traditional Humanities disciplines, e-learning can still be a useful tool for the humanities if used appropriately and creatively.