Deployment of Offline Learning Management Systems: Comparing the Performance of Selected Micro-servers in Tanzania

Resource type
Journal Article
Authors/contributors
Title
Deployment of Offline Learning Management Systems: Comparing the Performance of Selected Micro-servers in Tanzania
Abstract
Low-powered mobile devices such as Raspberry Pis and tablets can be used as micro-servers to implement offline Learning Management Systems (LMS). Despite their potential, especially for low-income countries, such as Tanzania, no research is available detailing the affordances of these devices for supporting LMS features. This study investigated the suitability of various low-cost micro-servers for deploying LMSs. It compared the performance of the Raspberry Pi, Android tablet, and Chromebook in terms of LMS benchmarking, response time, and resource utilisation. Results showed all devices had sufficient hardware resources to support the LMS, however, software stacks, I/O performance, and platform optimisations affected the micro-servers' performance. The Chromebook had the best performance in terms of response time, followed by the Raspberry Pi and tablets. In terms of cost, the Raspberry PI was the cheapest option.  The installation process for tablets was more cumbersome than the other devices, meaning the devices with better tooling and a more conventional software stack were a better option for deploying offline micro-servers.
Publication
Journal of Learning for Development
Volume
10
Issue
2
Pages
280-296
Date
2023-07-18
Language
en
ISSN
2311-1550
Short Title
Deployment of Offline Learning Management Systems
Accessed
29/07/2023, 10:13
Library Catalogue
Rights
Copyright (c) 2023 Salome Maro, Aron Kondoro, Björn Haßler, Joel Mtebe, Jamie Proctor
Extra
Number: 2
Citation
Maro, S., Kondoro, A., Haßler, B., Mtebe, J., & Proctor, J. (2023). Deployment of Offline Learning Management Systems: Comparing the Performance of Selected Micro-servers in Tanzania. Journal of Learning for Development, 10(2), 280–296. https://doi.org/10.56059/jl4d.v10i2.835