Abstract
The purpose of this study was answering questions regarding the impact of effectively using information and communication technologies (ICTs) in classrooms on re-envisioning and restructuring e-learning through engagement with schools in underprivileged communities. Its importance is justified regarding positioning disrupted pupils' education towards the development agenda in South Africa. It draws on the latest findings and is located within relevant conceptual/theoretical frameworks on ICTs for teaching and learning. In quantitative aspects of the research design, issues of reliability and validity were considered, while in qualitative aspects, issues of dependability and interpretation were important. Results presented showed that laptops, smartboards, projectors, cell phones, desktops, printers, and iPads were used effectively in classrooms. A discussion of the results suggests solutions and making recommendations that are applicable and useful. In conclusion, ICTs had a positive impact on pupils' education, by helping them to concentrate and understand difficult concepts.
TopIntroduction
This introductory section will describe the general perspective of the chapter that included empirical research from which findings were harvested, and end by specifically stating the objectives.
Challenges in the educational arena are not a new phenomenon. However, with the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers and educators have been made even more aware of the need for a paradigm shift in education. Fully online learning (e-learning), as opposed to traditional face-to-face teaching, has been well-researched and found to have the potential to provide educational solutions in challenging contexts. These contexts range from pandemic situations, where social distancing is the order of the day, to financial and time constraints with regard to full-time study, as well as limited physical capacity at some institutions. However, such e-learning solutions are often designed for resourceful institutions and cannot be easily implemented in developing countries and/or communities where resources are limited. Although issues, such as connectivity, accessibility, lack of suitable devices, and affordability, need to be born in mind when e-learning interventions are considered, such challenges are often neglected in e-learning research.
The South African national Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the provincial Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) have embraced a framework of partnerships promoting the continued support of schools through the use of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) devices in classrooms (Vorster & Goosen, 2017). These departments have set up initiatives to encourage lifelong learning opportunities for both pupils and teachers, as the benefits of using ICTs in education are important. ICT tools have therefore been installed at different schools with the hope of improving teaching and learning. Despite the provision of these tools, there seems to be a gap in terms of the effective use and integration of these ICT tools into teaching and learning in classrooms. Teachers have different views on the usage of ICT tools. Although ICT tools on their own do not have educational value, these can be used very effectively in teaching and e-learning with regard to the contribution of ICT tools towards provoking and improving critical thinking level skills.
Target Audience
The target audience and potential users of this chapter will include educators offering e-learning opportunities in less-privileged settings and/or to under-served and/or marginalized populations. The chapter could also be useful to researchers interested in concepts with regard to e-learning and ICTs in education.
Objectives
Graham (2009) suggested that blended learning can occur at four levels, namely at institutional, program, course and activity levels. This chapter aims to address e-learning solutions across these levels.
In terms of the topics recommended for possible inclusion in the book, this chapter will consider:
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What e-learning is and what it is not
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Defining e-learning
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Types of e-learning in the less-developed world
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Implementation of e-learning at school level
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Integrating e-learning strategies when designing and teaching courses
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e-Learning activities in the classroom
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To promote self-directed e-learning
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e-Learning assessment
McCusker and Gunaydin (2015, p. 539) indicated that the objectives and research questions “of a study determines the” purpose in terms of “whether to obtain purely interactional data or data about the participants and their background”. The purpose of this chapter is to share how an institution in the developing world and less-privileged communities had re-imagined and restructured education to enhance teaching and e-learning. The aim of the research was to learn which ICT tools were installed and used in a particular public primary school, the effectiveness of use of these ICT devices in classrooms and the impact these had on especially pupils in the school.
The objectives of the study reported on in this chapter included finding answers to the following research questions, which were therefore investigated:
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Which ICT tools were used in the school and which were not?
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How effective was the implementation of these ICT tools and e-learning at school level?
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What impact did the use of these ICT tools and e-learning activities in the classroom have on pupils?
Key Terms in this Chapter
ICT Devices/Tools: Technological devices that are used, for example: laptops, smart boards or projectors, etc.
Impact: The effect or impression of one thing on another.
Integration: The act or process of combining two or more things so that they work together.
Effectiveness: Having an intended or expected effect.
ICTs: Information and Communication Technologies.
Pupil: Learner in a school.
Classroom Activities: Activities relating to teaching and learning in the classroom.