Assessing the available ICT infrastructure for collaborative web technologies in a blended learning environment in Tanzania: A mixed methods research

This paper is about the use of a Mixed Methods approach in an investigation that sought to assess the available Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) infrastructure capable of supporting Collaborative Web Technologies (CWTs) in a Blended Learning (BL) environment in Tanzanian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). We first used questionnaires to collect information about available ICT infrastructure from a sample of 1,068 respondents in six different higher education institutions in Tanzania. The sample was made up of students, faculty, and ICT staff in these institutions. Interviews were then used to either clarify some points from the completed questionnaires or to seek in-depth information. Data were also collected from observations and review of documents from the Government of Tanzania. We present the results of our investigation, which suggest strongly the availability of good and growing ICT infrastructure capable of supporting the use of Collaborative Web Technologies (CWTs) BL in HEIs in Tanzania.