Developing Skills and Competencies for Educators' Transitions to Using Digital Technologies: An E-School in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

Developing Skills and Competencies for Educators' Transitions to Using Digital Technologies: An E-School in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

Peter Kisembo, Leila Goosen
Copyright: © 2023 |Pages: 31
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-9089-1.ch007
OnDemand:
(Individual Chapters)
Available
$37.50
Current Special Offers
No Current Special Offers
TOTAL SAVINGS: $37.50

Abstract

The purpose of the study reported on in this chapter was to investigate the extent to which educators were developing skills and competencies for their transitions to using digital or Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) at a specific school in the greater Johannesburg area, Gauteng province, South Africa. Against the background of Developing Skills and Competencies for Digital and Green Transitions, the objectives of this study also included establishing to what extent the school was ready to implement such technologies in teaching and learning and hence be characterized as an e-school.
Chapter Preview
Top

Introduction

This section will describe the general perspective of the chapter and end by specifically stating the objectives.

Developing Skills and Competencies for Digital and Green Transitions

As part of the book and like that of Van Heerden and Goosen (2023), this chapter aims at fostering international dialogue in terms of cross- and approaches to action research and action learning for e-schools, community engagement, and Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D), as well as methodologies and tools for diversity and inclusion through the transformation of education in the digital era, with a special focus on green education and sustainability. It will broaden the visibility of new digital technologies for education, create an international “scientific platform for collaboration on digital” and green education and accelerate innovation related to educational technologies (Ordóñez de Pablos, Zhang, & Almunawar, 2023, p. xxii).

The current technological advancements in the world have had a huge impact on almost all sectors of production and service delivery (Lin & Huang, 2011). This technological impact has led to a complete shift in methods in a bid for organizations to integrate technology into their operations, and meet their clients’ needs (Raja & Nagasubramani, 2018). Reliable internet connectivity has also further enhanced this (Wright, Cilliers, Van Niekerk, & Seekoe, 2017). Some of the aspects that technology has been associated with include providing a faster means of communication, enabling accurate record keeping and data analysis (Raja & Nagasubramani, 2018).

In this research, a look was taken at e-schools’ community engagement, focusing on various aspects relating to the extent to which educational technologies are being used to enhance teaching and learning at the school chosen for the study, as well as the support that the school offers to the community where it is based.

2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals

Focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and advocating in favor of “public accountability as the agenda proceeds towards 2030”, Palmer (2015b, p. 262) provided introductions to the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, as well as briefly explaining the United Nations (UN) process through which the SDGs had been formulated (Palmer, 2015a, p. 3).

Objectives

Resilience

This chapter will explore how green education and advanced information technologies can be applied in the education sector to create inclusive and increase the resilience of e-schools (Mautso & Goosen, 2023) as part of more climate neutral and greeneconomies and societies. The chapter will discuss how green education and digital technologies can boost the creation of new jobs, build circular economies and societies and increase the inclusiveness of citizens.

Top

Background

In this section of the chapter, the authors will present broad definitions and discussion on the topic of Developing Skills and Competencies for Educators’ Transitions to Using Digital Technologies at an e-school in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, and incorporate the views of others (in the form of a literature review for the study) into the discussion to support, refute, or demonstrate the authors’ position on the topic.

Key Terms in this Chapter

Community: A group of people living in a particular area having certain common characteristics.

Internet: refers to a global network of computing resources, which support communication and information sharing using various communication protocols.

E-Learning: refers to a learning system based on formalized teaching but with the help of electronic resources, teaching may take place in or out of the classroom.

School Governing Body: A statutory body of parents from the community, learners, educators, teaching and non-teaching staff who seek to work together to promote the well-being and effectiveness of the school community so as to promote teaching and learning.

E-School: refers to a school that teaches students primarily online.

Complete Chapter List

Search this Book:
Reset