The last decade witnessed the rapid adoption and use of various learning management systems (LMSs) in some parts of Africa. Though researchers (Mbete & Raisamo 2014) claim that the uptake of technology for pedagogic purposes is rather low in sub-Saharan Africa, a few exceptions exist, one of which is its use and high uptake in one Nigerian university, namely The Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Nigeria (Aborisade 2013; Fola-Adebayo 2010). Several factors led to the choice of a blended learning (BL) approach at FUTA: large classes, the need to expand students’ learning spaces, the need for learner engagement, issues associated with quality assurance and acknowledgement of the fact that social contexts for learning have changed as students are no longer consumers of information but knowledge creators. The General Studies Unit at FUTA caters to the academic and communication needs of students of science and technology who have varying academic, language and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) competencies through instruction in a specially designed English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course.

Concerning pedagogic development, the FUTA EAP course has gone through three different stages. Phase 1 was patterned after the traditional grammar-translation and structuralist approach and influenced by behaviourist theory, while Phase 2 was designed along the tenets of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), with a focus on the learner, their motivations and learning styles. The curriculum was focused on tasks and skills, and was problem-based in this second phase. The third phase witnessed the integration of technology in language teaching alongside the adoption of a BL approach which was underpinned by the social constructivist methods of creating innovative learning spaces, engaging the learner, fostering authentic inquiry-based learning projects and creating opportunities for student–student and student–teacher interactions (Aborisade, Fola-Adebayo & Olubode-Sawe 2013). Adopting the BL mode allowed the use of the combination of the traditional face-to-face method and use of resources afforded by the LMS – Moodle (modular object-oriented dynamic learning environment), in this case.

The aim of the project reported on in this article was to replicate the FUTA experience in a near-similar teaching-learning context at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, during my tenure as visiting lecturer in the Department of Communication and Language Arts (CLA) at the university. The goal was to learn more about the perceptions that undergraduate students have regarding the relationship between exposure to BL and the development of their critical literacy skills. A face-to-face approach was traditionally employed in the course delivery at this university, but I decided to trial the FUTA BL approach in the undergraduate reading course that I taught. I employed BL to teach one component of the course, namely Critical Reading and Critical Literacy. The aim was to facilitate engagement and foster the development of online critical literacy skills among the students. Though scholars (Jonas & Burns 2010; Sharma & Barrett 2007) claim that a conclusive definition of BL is yet to emerge, this concept typically involves the integration of two learning platforms: the traditional face-to-face and virtual environments. As such, BL in this study is defined as a learning environment that combines instruction in a face-to-face setting with instruction that involves the integration of technology in teaching.

Underpinning this study are critical literacy theory (Freire 1987; Riley 2015) and the social constructivist view of learning (McInerney & McInerney 2002; Vygotsky 1978). Riley (2015:417) claims that critical literacy ‘attends to the ways that literacy is culturally, historically and politically situated’. Its common goals are highlighting socio-political issues, disrupting commonplace understandings about people and our world and promoting social justice through action (Parker 2013). Proponents of the social constructivist view of learning (McInerney & McInerney 2002; Vygotsky 1978), who believe that learning is situation based and context bound, posit that learners are acculturated into their learning community, and they create knowledge by interacting with their social learning environment. Fox (2001), however, comments on the limitation of the social constructivist approach by arguing that constructivism does not acknowledge the role of passive perception, memorisation and the mechanical learning methods inherent in traditional lecturing. Teachers also rightly observe that knowledge is cognitively and individually constructed. In spite of this limitation of the Vygotskian perspective, the theory underscores the role of socio-cultural influences in learning.

The social constructivist theory brings to place the learner-centred experiential approach (Duffy & Cunningham 1996), which offers learners the opportunity of examining discussions at hand from their own perspectives and building individual understanding of new ideas, concepts and information that are based on past experiences and knowledge. Although no single definition of BL exists, it is the assumption here that a BL approach incorporates several social constructivist methods in order to create innovative learning spaces. Poon (2013:274) describes BL as:

The BL approach – which involves a paradigm shift where the emphasis moves from teaching to learning (Nunan, George & McCausland 2000) – encourages students to learn interactively, collaboratively and at their own pace and time (Graham 2006).

The strength of this approach lies in its support of diversity, the enhancement of campus experience, operating in a global context and efficiency (Sharpe, Benfield & Francis 2006), as well as enhanced learning outcomes for students and improved attrition rates from courses (Lopez-Perez, Perez-Lopez & Rodriguez-Ariza 2011). Furthermore, through a BL approach, learners are equipped with the requisite skills and strategies for managing information in a technology-enhanced environment. In their study on academic reading in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and modern technology, Levine, Ferenz and Reves (2000) concluded that an online networked reading environment can provide opportunities for the development of authentic reading experiences, and is important for the development of critical reading skills. In order to help learners develop critical literacy skills for reading and conducting research online, they recommend the following:

In our case, following the advice of Levine et al. (2000), students used the Internet to search for, read and evaluate web-based materials and sites on the topic assigned to the class, namely ‘violence’, a theme that was trending in the traditional and new media at the time, and from which groups developed different perspectives and sub-topics, such as:

The assignment required that, in line with the requirements of critical literacy, students generate ideas and offer solutions that hinge on social change and democratic ideals, and call for socio-political action on the type of violence they addressed in their assignment. The reading route used for these assignments was in line with the requirements of critical literacy theories, as students were showed how to be code breakers, meaning makers, text users and text analysts. As code breakers, they were instructed to read text first at surface level; as meaning makers, the instruction they received helped them to comprehend text at the level intended by the writer; and as text users, they were trained to analyse the factors that influenced the author and text. As text analysts, following Leu et al. (2004), they were trained to critically evaluate information, to distinguish between accurate and inaccurate information, important and unimportant information and biased and unbiased information, and to synthesise information and rapidly and clearly communicate solutions to others.

This study investigated the perception of undergraduates regarding the relationship between exposure to BL and the development of online critical literacy skills. The study was guided by the following research questions:

The results obtained regarding students’ preference for the BL mode suggest that their choice of the BL platform may be linked to young people’s attraction to technology, the pedagogic richness of the BL approach, the enhancement of learning it fosters and the interactive nature of ICT. These results are supported by the observation of scholars and practitioners (Morris 2014; Poon 2013) that the BL mode enhances students’ learning, adds value to learning, and promotes student engagement and ubiquitous learning.

During the focus group discussion, students gave the following reasons why they preferred the BL mode:

Reasons regarding differences in learning style, technophobia and the stress involved in using the Internet may account for the non-preference of some students for the BL mode. Reasons for their choice of the face-to-face learning mode include the following:

The majority of the students’ claim that BL benefitted them in several ways is affirmed by researchers who claim that BL has the potential to support deep and meaningful learning, offers immense transformative potential (Fola-Adebayo 2014; Garrison & Kanuka 2004), heightens students’ learning levels, optimises their study time, reduces dropout rate and supports ubiquitous learning (Kose 2010). The responses from the focus group discussion attest to the fact that the participants considered the BL mode beneficial:

Another benefit of the BL mode the students referred to was the formation of learning communities; the collaborative capabilities of the ICTs facilitate a synchronous, autonomous and collaborative learning experience and encourage learners to learn together and alone. In this way, the whole experience leads to the formation of communities of inquiry. The views expressed by some students in the focus group discussion regarding the link between BL and the formation of a community of inquiry is reiterated by Garrison and Kanuka (2004:97) who observed that:

Some focus group discussion participants had this to say concerning the benefits they derived from working in groups:

While the majority of the respondents claimed that they benefitted from the use of the BL mode, others were apathetic. Technophobia, scepticism, time demands, the financial expense involved in its use, infrastructural issues, or mere resistance to change may account for the negative views they held regarding the use of BL as a learning approach. One of the students explained the challenges associated with the learning approach:

The results of this study, which indicate a relationship between exposure to BL and the development of online critical literacy skills, are supported by the observation of researchers that BL leads to deep and meaning educational experiences, fosters student engagement and learning outcomes (Akyol & Garrison 2011; Morris, 2014; Sarabadani & Berenjian 2017), and presents a platform for dynamic interactive exchange and the development of teamwork skills development.

The claim by the majority of the students that exposure to learning through BL contributed largely to the development of their critical literacy skills can be explained by the substantial benefits a technology-supported medium offers; virtual learning environments deploy pedagogic tools that provide engagement and opportunities for enhanced learning. Researchers (Levine et al. 2000) also reveal that reading in an online networked environment facilitates the development of online critical literacy skills.

The results regarding students’ perceptions of the hindrances associated with the use of Moodle are similar to the findings of researchers who reported that power failures (Okaz 2015), lack of IT knowledge and socio-economic factors (Holley & Oliver 2010) constituted reasons why students had problems with the use of BL. The responses of the students in the current study included the following:

Based on the results of this study, the following recommendations are made:

This study investigated the perceptions of undergraduates of the Department of Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, of the relationship between exposure to BL and the development of online critical literacy skills. The participants were trained for 4 weeks to read web-based information critically and evaluate web pages in a Developmental Reading course. Data were obtained through the administration of a questionnaire and focus group discussion. The results revealed that the majority of the students preferred the BL mode and claimed that they benefitted from it. Some of the benefits they derived include the improvement of ICT skills, the acquisition of additional knowledge after class, control over time, ease of expression, the improvement of literacy skills and formation of communities of inquiry. Furthermore, the results showed a statistically positive relationship between exposure to BL and the development of online critical literacy skills. The majority of the students indicated that the BL mode to a large extent contributed to the development of their online critical literacy skills. This study confirms the results of similar studies on the usefulness of the BL approach. Yen and Lee (2011:138), for example, highlight the relevance of the BL mode in their assertion that ‘BL, thoughtfully combining the best elements of online and face-to-face education, is likely to emerge as the predominant teaching model of the future’.

The study had as its main objective the development of online critical literacy skills among the indicated undergraduates. This objective was met as the students read texts on the topic of violence, generated ideas and provided solutions which centred on the need for change, and challenged societal response to the issue they discussed. They came up with democratic ideals and called for socio-political action on the issue of violence. Of particular interest to the class was the issue of xenophobic attacks on Africans and their businesses in South Africa, and a call for socio-political action mandating the African Union and United Nations to prevail on the Government of South Africa to defend fellow Africans and their interests in their country.

Future research in this area should focus on factors that facilitate the development of online critical literacy skills and consider policy framework and practice that guide adult online literacy in selected African curricula and countries.