Incorporating new technologies into teaching in South Africa (original) (raw)
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British Journal of Educational Technology, 2016
In the last 20 years, the South African higher education has changed significantly, influenced by global trends national development goals and pressure from local educational imperatives, in the context of a digitally networked world. Shifts in technology enhanced pedagogical practices and in discourses around information and communication technologies (ICTs) have had varying degrees of influence in higher education. This paper takes a rearview of a 20-year journey of technology enhanced learning in South African higher education. An analysis of literature view is presented chronologically in four phases: phase 1 (1996-2000), phase 2 (2001-05), phase 3 (2006-10) and phase 4 (2011-16). In phase 1 technology was used predominantly for drill and practice, computer-aided instruction, with growing consciousness of the digital divide. In phase 2 institutions primarily focused on building ICT infrastructure, democratizing information, policy development and research; they sought to compare the effectiveness of teaching with or without technology. During phase 3 institutions began to include ICTs in their strategic directions, digital divide debates focused on epistemological access, and they also began to conduct research with a pedagogical agenda. In phase 4 mobile learning and social media came to the fore. The research agenda shifted from whether students would use technology to how to exploit what students already use to transform teaching and learning practices. The paper concludes that South Africa's higher education institutions have moved from being solely responsible for both their own relatively poor ICT infrastructure and education provision to cloud-based ICT infrastructure with "unlimited" educational resources that are freely, openly and easily available within and beyond the institution. Although mobile and social media are more evident now than ever before, teaching and learning practice in South African higher education remains largely unchanged.
Teachers, technology and types of media: Teaching with ICTs in South Africa
2016
This paper intends to provide an understanding of pedagogical integration of ICTs to facilitate ICT teacher preparation that promotes productive use of these digital technologies in the classroom. A qualitative multicase study of three school teachers selected for their successful ICT pedagogical integration into their teaching was conducted in three South African township secondary schools. In the findings, teachers created rich learning environments enhanced by their purposeful and proficient integration of ICTs into their teaching. In addition, there was consistency between the teachers’ espoused and enacted practices as both digital (ICTs) and non-digital media augmented each other in the teaching process.
Blended Pedagogies for Modern Development in South Africa : Challenges and Prospects for Success
2016
Educational transformation through the adoption of blended pedagogies has taken international centre stage with the hope of encouraging adoption of e-pedagogies. Arguably, blended pedagogies can be used effectively to acquire knowledge necessary for modern development and participation in the knowledge economy. In South Africa, the Western Cape Province invested in e-pedagogies rather than blending as part of its pursuit of modern development. However, evidence suggest that this educational transformation comes with challenges mostly associated with the inability of teachers and learners to use the einfrastructure effectively due to absence of e-culture and e-skills. Often, the majority of teachers and learners lack the minimum levels of e-culture and computer and information literacy which are necessary requirements for successful adoption of blended pedagogies. This paper argues that the limited use or lack of e-infrastructure in teaching and learning is to a large extent blamed o...
Technology Integration in Teacher Education Practices in Two Southern African Universities
Open Education Studies, 2024
The integration of digital technology into the practices of teacher education is expected to become the norm in the Fourth Industrial Revolution era. This study sought to determine how lecturers integrate technology into teacher education in two Southern African universities (one in South Africa and one in the Kingdom of Eswatini). In this study, a multiple case study design was utilised, employing a qualitative research approach within an interpretive research paradigm. The study occurred at the two universities as mentioned earlier, conveniently chosen as they were the workplaces of the researchers. Data collection involved an open-ended questionnaire completed by lecturers, and a focus group discussion consisted of purposively selected lecturers from both institutions. Thematic analysis was applied to examine the data gathered from study participants. The findings indicated that initially, lecturers from both universities had limited digital literacy as they were in the process of transitioning from traditional face-to-face teaching methods and required guidance on integrating technology into their instructional practices. The study concludes that the availability of digital tools, software, and the Internet will not automatically equip student teachers with the required competencies to include technology into their instructional methods.
Instructional technologies in social science instruction in South Africa
Computers & Education, 2009
This study describes the results of a survey and a description of instructional technologies in place in the social sciences in South African Universities. Lecturers in the social sciences reported a well-established practice of information and communication technologies (ICTs) use for general purposes (although frequent use tended to be for email and searching the Internet). They had a high self-efficacy in terms of using ICTs both generally and for teaching and learning, and a high enthusiasm for the use of ICTs for teaching and learning. Half the lecturers had started using ICTs recently with the introduction of learning management systems (LMSs) whereas the other half had established practices that preceded the mainstreaming of LMSs across universities. Only about a quarter of the respondents felt able to develop and update ICTs themselves which indicates that support is a necessary part of teaching with technology. In terms of different types of use the focus was on putting content on the web and course administration. Use of ICTs for teaching of skills (whether information literacy, problem solving or critical thinking) was infrequent. There were different types of ICT use across the different sub-disciplines. Lecturers reported factors which constrained their use of ICTs for teaching and learning, such as inadequate technology, pedagogical issues (e.g. plagiarism), and students opting out of lectures when materials were available online. It is argued that user studies in are relevant to the future delivery of educational material, in terms of removing barriers to use and targeting training and supportive activities.
Education and Information Technologies, 2020
Technology is now considered a critical toll in enhancing teaching and learning in universities owing to the fact that the ubiquitous nature of technology now allows students to access education from anywhere, at any time and at their own pace. The purpose of this study therefore was to investigate the extent to which universities in Lesotho have integrated technology in teaching and learning as well as identify factors that act as challenges and opportunities to effective integration technology in the universities. A quantitative research approach which utilised a structured questionnaire was employed to gather information while SPSS version 21 was also used to analyze data. A stratified random sampling technique was employed to select a sample of 125 lecturers from three universities to participate in the study. Results of the study showed that the level integration of technology into teaching and learning is overall not quite high and the following basic technology tools are being used to support the integration: use of learning management systems, projectors, computers and online activities. It also emerged from the study that factors that include opportunities for individualised staff development, availability of technical support, availability of a fair supply of infrastructure, continuous professional development act as the major opportunities for enabling effective technology integration. Results of the study also showed that limited financial resources, limited investment in new technology, lack of systematic and sustainable approaches for staff development to support effective technology integration were some of the major challenges faced.
2002
This paper examines the current status of technology in schools in developed countries and in developing countries such as South Africa. It identifies strategies used by principals in underresourced schools to cope with increasing demands regarding the integration of technology into the curriculum, proposing management strategies for putting schools in developing countries in the global arena with regard to technology use. While South Africa was the 14th most wired country in the world in 1997, fewer than 1 percent of its schools have Internet access. A survey of 52 school principals examined the number of computers available for administration, teaching, and learning, how those computers were used, and how much training teachers received. Less than half of the schools had computers for administrative purposes, and most had no computers for teaching and learning. Principals considered access to computers by learners very important and were frustrated by being behind the rest of the developing world. Principals reported trying unsuccessfully to establish partnerships with the private sector. The paper recommends that the process of integrating computers into schools in developing countries be managed at all levels (administrator, teacher, student, and teaching/learning). (Contains 36 references.) (SM)
A pragmatic framework for integrating ICT into education in South Africa
2010
The goals of South Africa's e-Education White paper is for every school learner in the country to be ICT capable by 2013 and for teachers to use information and communication technology (ICT) to enhance teaching and learning. Many initiatives have been undertaken to provide schools with computer labs and infrastructure in order to reach these goals, with varying degrees of success. In the meanwhile, the ICT landscape in South Africa and worldwide has changed dramatically with the advent of the cell phone and its almost ubiquitous penetration into all levels of society, especially amongst the youth. Indigenous services that utilise this new ICT platform have emerged, that specifically target the youth and address very South-African issues, such as affordability. One such platform is MXit, a mobile instant messaging platform that enables real time text-based chatting between users at a fraction of the price of an SMS. This paper discusses the innovative use of MXit as a teaching and learning platform by the Meraka Institute and others and suggests a pragmatic framework for integrating cell phones as ICT tools into the education system in South Africa.