International Journal of Science and Advanced Technology (ISSN 2221-8386) Volume 4 No 6 June 2014 http://www.ijsat.com 1 A Review of Challenges Militating Against Successful E-Learning And M-Learning Implementations In Developing Countries OYERINDE, O.D CIS Department, ICT Directorate University of Jos Jos, Nigeria oyerindeo@unijos.edu.ng / oyerindeo@yahoo.com Abstract— Research has shown that most of the challenges faced by tertiary institutions, in their quest for E-Learning implementations, in sub-Saharan Africa are infrastructural. High costs of limited Internet access, high costs of hardware infrastructure, and little or no implementation knowledge have been identified, amongst others, as major challenges limiting the successful implementation of E-Learning in developing countries. Therefore, there is a need to understand all challenges that have been found, and to some extent met, in developed countries as well as additional challenges, if any, that may be met in developing countries [1]. This paper, by means of an extensive and systematic review of related literature, identifies the major challenges to successful E- Learning implementations in developing countries. It identifies how M-Learning is being implemented and its propensity for widespread adoption. Keywords- E-Learning, M-Learning, Learning Management I. INTRODUCTION Increasingly, a number of universities worldwide including some in Africa are making positive attempts to implement E-Learning strategies in order to enhance equity, quality, share instruction technology resources, compete in the global environment of higher education and meet the rising demand for tertiary education. The main problems of Africa's tertiary education sector are compelling for the implementation of E-Learning strategies [2]. The benefits of an E-Learning system will not be maximized unless learners use the system. Frustrated by limited progress to date, educational agencies have recently sought to identify major factors impeding development [3]. Variables such as access to technology amongst others have been identified as challenges to efficient usage of E- Learning technology in developing countries. While E- Learning is not a cure for all the problems related to education in Africa, it is clearly a tool that now must be taken into serious consideration by policy makers and donors [4]. Part of the challenges facing developing countries in their quest for E-Learning implementation are infrastructure challenges. In Sub-Saharan Africa, there is still limited internet connectivity, the cost of connectivity, where available, is high, and there are intermittent power disruptions [5]. However, the emergence of mobile technology is an asset Africans can count on. The availability of mobile and wireless devices is enabling different ways of communicating. Mobile communications are no longer restricted to companies that can afford large investment in hardware or specialised software. Individuals now have easy and inexpensive access to mobile telephony, and the cost of mobile access to the Internet is steadily reducing. Mobile technologies have enabled a new way of communicating. This is typified by young people, for whom mobile communications are part of normal daily interaction, who are „always on‟ and connected to geographically-dispersed friendship groups in „tribal‟ communities of interest [6]. The advent of mobile technologies has created opportunities for delivery of learning via devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, laptops, and PC tablets (which are laptops designed for a handwriting rather than a keyboard interface). Collectively, this type of delivery is called M-Learning. Organizations of all sizes are using mobile devices for learning because technological advances have ensured that there is no longer the need for large infrastructure and support costs, and even small enterprises can deliver mobile learning simply by structuring learning around Web-based content that can be accessed from Web-enabled mobile devices [6]. II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Young people do not experience geographical place and time as barriers [7]. Reference [7]'s research found that although some older learners used their mobile phones to arrange face-to-face meetings to work on assignments or discuss learning issues, younger learners were more comfortable with the thought of using mobile phones for learning, and almost half (45%) of the research group were prepared to use Internet-enabled telephones as their only tool for learning. The challenges of creating learning to be delivered via mobile phones are not easily solved by teachers many of whom are recent „migrants‟ to the digital