Browsing by Author "Mahenge, Michael P. J."

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ICT for e-learning in three higher education institutions in Tanzania
(Knowledge Management & E-Learning an International Journal, 2016-03) Mahenge, Michael P. J.; Sanga, Camilius
The advancement in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has brought new opportunities for learning. Tanzania is adopting the new technologies in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) through e-learning and m- learning. However, delivery of learning contents is becoming a challenge for HEIs due to the constraints in resources and network bandwidth. This study discussed learners’ perceptions on using e-learning applications and mobile devices for learning in three HEIs in Tanzania. Findings show that majority of the students own more than one mobile devices which can be used as a tool for facilitating the learning process. It is suggested that in order to improve e- learning content delivery and accessibility under limited resource settings, HEIs in developing countries should make an effective use of emerging mobile computing technologies which are relevant to their respective environments.
Mobile edge computing: cost-efficient content delivery in resource-constrained mobile computing environment
(International Journal of Mobile Computing and Multimedia Communications, 2019) Mahenge, Michael P. J.; Li, Chunlin; Sanga, Camilius A.
The overwhelming growth of resource-intensive and latency-sensitive applications trigger challenges in legacy systems of mobile cloud computing (MCC) architecture. Such challenges include congestion in the backhaul link, high latency, inefficient bandwidth usage, insufficient performance, and quality of service (QoS) metrics. The objective of this study was to find out the cost-efficient design that maximizes resource utilization at the edge of the mobile network which in return minimizes the task processing costs. Thus, this study proposes a cooperative mobile edge computing (coopMEC) to address the aforementioned challenges in MCC architecture. Also, in the proposed approach, resource- intensive jobs can be unloaded from users’ equipment to MEC layer which is potential for enhancing performance in resource-constrained mobile devices. The simulation results demonstrate the potential gain from the proposed approach in terms of reducing response delay and resource consumption. This, in turn, improves performance, QoS, and guarantees cost-effectiveness in meeting users’ demands.
Mobile-based system for cost-effective e-learning contents delivery in resource and bandwidth constrained learning environments
(Knowledge Management & E-Learning an International Journal, 2014-12) Mahenge, Michael P. J.; Mwangoka, Joseph W.
The advancement in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has brought opportunities for the development of Smart Cities. The Smart City uses ICT to enhance performance and wellbeing, to reduce costs and resource consumption, and to engage more effectively and actively with its citizens. In particular, the education sector is adopting new ways of learning in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) through e-learning systems. While these opportunities exist, e-learning content delivery and accessibility in third world countries like Tanzania is still a challenge due to resource and network constrained environments. The challenges include: high cost of bandwidth connection and usage; high dependency on the Internet; limited mobility and portability features; inaccessibility during the offline period and shortage of ICT facilities. In this paper, we investigate the use of mobile technology to sustainably support education and skills development particularly in developing countries. Specifically, we propose a Cost-effective Mobile Based Learning Content Delivery system for resource and network constrained environments. This system can be applied to cost-effectively broaden and support education in many cities around the world, which are approaching the 'Smart City' concept in their own way, even with less available technology infrastructure. Therefore, the proposed solution has the potential to reduce the cost of the bandwidth usage, and cut down the server workload and the Internet usage overhead by synchronizing learning contents from some remote server to a local database in the user’s device for offline use. It will also improve the quality of experience and participation of learners as well as facilitate mobility and portability in learning activities, which also supports the all-compassing learning experience in a Smart City.
Resources allocation and sharing in wireless virtual networks
(IJARCCE, 2021) Kitindi, Edvin J.; Mahenge, Michael P. J.
The rapid growth of the mobile devices and its services being experienced in a recent years brought both challenges and opportunities in the wireless network systems. The scarcity of the resources, high capital and operational costs are among the challenges facing the provision of the growing mobile services. The development of wireless network virtualization brought hope for the future networks to fulfil the users’ demands. It allows different service providers to share the same physical infrastructure which in return, reduces both capital expenses (CAPEX) and operational expenses (OPEX). In this paper, the framework for wireless network virtualization is proposed. Also, the detailed description of the model based on the software define network (SDN) architecture is presented. On top of that we have proposed a load based resources sharing approach among the virtual networks (VNs). Our proposed approach has shown that, through sharing the excess resources, the VNs can significantly minimize unnecessary cost and utilize the available resources effectively.
Synchronization and caching solution for cost-effective e-Learning in resource and bandwidth constrained environments
(Journal of Information Engineering and Applications, 2015) Mahenge, Michael P. J.; Mwangoka, Joseph W.
Electronic learning (e-learning) content delivery and accessibility have received significant research attention over years in order to ensure reliability, availability and cost-effectiveness through Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).The evolvement of mobile computing devices especially smartphones bring prospects in overcoming the inherent limitations of the Internet when accessing web contents. Among the potential opportunity revealed includes the ability to work offline. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the existing online and offline e-learning systems in order to explore the uniqueness, technical problems and opportunities in this field. In the same vein, this study proposed synchronization and caching approach for cost- effective e-learning content delivery. The proposed approach synchronizes contents from the original server to local database in mobile computing devices in order to deliver contents to learners in a reliable, cost-effective and timely manner. Finally, comparing existing web-based learning system and the proposed approach, the analyzed results provide empirical evidence that, the proposed approach is significant for bandwidth usage cost saving and hence cost-effectiveness due to ability of working offline. Therefore, synchronization and caching approach cut down several limitations in existing e-learning systems including: reduction of cost of bandwidth usage; improving system performance by cutting down the servers’ workload and internet usage overheads; cutting down costs of purchasing hardware and increasing motivation in learning activities by allowing learners to access learning contents anywhere and anytime.
Towards developing a fast reliable instant e-learning networks of distributed systems (friends) for higher education institutions in Tanzania
(Nova Science Publishers, 2022) Mahenge, Michael P. J.; Sanga, Camilius A.
The accessibility, availability and affordability of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in developing countries has brought new opportunities in improving learning and teaching in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) through E-Learning. The overwhelming development of resource-intensive contents such as video streaming, simulations, Virtual Reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), 3D graphic visualization, and others emerging educational technologies used for E-Learning applications has not only resulted into enhancing education delivery but also it has caused challenges in performance and capacity of smart mobile devices. Consequently, this chapter proposes a Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) supporting E-learning framework to reinforce learning processes in HEIs which are geographically sparsely distributed systems in different locations. Moreover, by leveraging the advanced capacity of MEC framework such as offloading, content caching closer to users, and ability to collaborate with the cloud computing, it enhances flexibility in learning, content sharing and guarantees cost-efficient learning with minimum response time. Thus in order to determine the potential of the proposed MEC-supported E-learning framework, we designed a case study and configured it in a simulation environment using edgeCloudSim simulator. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework improves average response time and content download time.
Virtual labs versus hands-on labs for teaching and learning computer networking: a comparison study
(International Journal of Research Studies in Educational Technology, 2017-01-16) Shimba, Martin; Mahenge, Michael P. J.; Sanga, Camilius A.
The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of simulation approach (virtual labs) versus hands on labs approach for teaching and learning computer networking skills in Higher Learning Institutions in Tanzania. The study was conducted at Sokoine University of Agriculture. The theoretical framework which guided this study is Experiential Learning Theory. Experiments were conducted involving configuring Virtual LAN using simulation and hands on Lab approach for teaching and learning. The experiment involved control group and experimental group. In a control group students were taught using Hands on Lab approach while in experiment group students were taught using Simulation approach. In a control group, students were able to configure VLAN and verify or troubleshoot the connection while in the experimental group students configured VLAN with difficulty and failed to verify the connection. From the analysis of data obtained from instructors, it was found that simulation approach is used to a greater extent compared to hands on labs. The reason for this is because of the shortage of tools and hence, instructors rely mostly on the use of simulation approach. Furthermore, students considered both simulation and hands on lab approaches as useful teaching methods to enhance teaching and learning of computer networking skills. Students preferred hands on lab approach to be used over simulation approach due to different reasons including: hands on lab approach enables students to acquire practical or concrete skills and problem solving skills compared to simulation approach. Therefore from the results of this study, hands on lab approach is more effective for imparting practical and problem solving skills, knowledge and competency to students compared to simulation approach.