Integrating a Chatting Tool into a Learning Management System

The objective of this study was to integrate a chatting tool into a Learning Management System (LMS) at Mbarara University with the purpose of aiding interaction, communication and collaboration among users. Many LMS's are developed far from the developing countries context. Where the developers try to put them close to this context, some functionalities that promote the learning process are unavailable. In such situations the developers forget that some tools that are left out could be of great use to teaching and learning, leaving the system to be more of a content repository and not facilitating the learning process. Therefore this study integrated a chatting tool into a LMS. The functional requirements of the system were gathered through the use of interviews and observation methods. Before the roll out of the system, learners' efficacy with the LMS was tested with a pretest questionnaire. After roll out, the learners were allowed to use the system for a 4 months semester before the post test was carried out. Results indicate that the learners' efficacy with the LMS usage improved. The learners said the LMS increased their interest, motivation, and improved on knowledge and performance of other subjects due to increased collaboration with peers and instructors. The increased use of the system is expected to contribute to the learners' ease of use, learning interest and motivation which will improve their throughput.