Group A: Unwin (2005), Tufekci (2014), and Fullan (2014)

Computer Use 774
Bloggers A: Blog Post - 8 February 2017

Unwin[1] advocates the value of ICTs (information and communication technologies) in confronting obstacles in the education system in African schools and states that it is vital to implement ICTs by using “print media, audio, video, computers and the Internet” in their curriculum. In a South African context where resources and efficient teachers are often lacking, especially in rural settings, this is a difficult goal to achieve. Unwin does offer some solutions to the various challenges of using ICT in an African context but does not address the issue of raising the extensive resources needed for ICT implementation.

Unwin evidently shows that ICT is an advancement for the education system in Africa. For the implementation of ICT to be successful, teacher training is of vital importance. Unwin discusses possible solutions to better equip teachers to educate in all regions and implement a system such as ICT, which allows for a more blended learning system. Increasing internet access and computer laboratories in Africa allows for unlimited access to information that will further help their education processes.

“Social media has helped move us to a world in which people are no longer passive” says Tufekci in her piece responding to the apparent ignorance perpetrated globally by leading newsrooms regarding “misunderstandings” over the ways in which social media works engage. She continues, “because that's how the medium works”, albeit in reference to journalistic practices. Using social media as a platform through which educators could encourage active participation and critical engagement in the classroom promotes equity and inclusivity on a platform that has already been wholly embraced by an educator’s target audience.

With technology in this modern day, social media platforms has made it easier to share with the world. Tufekci gives her opinion on social media, and states that it indeed helps us to progress to a world where people aren’t “passive, silent subjects of journalists”. In teaching any given subject, communication is an important platform. Learners and/or students must be able to communicate freely with their teacher/lecturer, whether it be by means of social media or direct contact.

Technology has the ability to provide students with information anytime, anywhere. In his video, Michael Fullen[2] discusses the role that technology can play in deepening the quality of learning. Fullen concludes that technology plays a part in making learning “irresistibly engaging” and allows students access to problem solving at all hours. One approach that Fullen suggests for integrating technology in the classroom is the “flipped classroom” where students can access a recorded version of the lesson at home and can reflect or do the “homework” in class. Teachers are activators of and students partners in learning.

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[1] Unwin, T. (2005). Towards a framework for the use of ICT in teacher training in Africa. Open Learning, 20(2), 113–129. doi:10.1080/02680510500094124
[2] How Technology is Changing the Conversation (2014, January 20). Michael Fullan: Technology, the new pedagogy and flipped teaching Retrieved from https://youtu.be/GCvwtiOH0co