Group P: Critical consideration of the School Visit

Computer Use 774:
Bloggers P: Blog post – 09 October

Walking through the doors of different schools on the first day of our teaching practice, various expectations and prior knowledge filled our being. We were excited to explore the newest technology and e-learning methods within class-context.

The reality, however, quickly sank in: most schools, particularly public schools, are not making use of e-learning methods, besides PowerPoint presentations. Some schools are privileged to have interactive whiteboards, for example an ebeam, which enables the educator to have an interactive lesson. Unfortunately, very few schools have the financial capacity to provide these boards for every classroom, resulting in many teachers conducting lessons in a teacher-centred manner, using textbooks and a board. Many learners find this unsatisfying.

Too many educators are comfortable using passive methods - is it truly the best way for a learner to explore the content being taught? Are learners truly exploring content in this manner, or are they just receiving information? Reflecting on our teaching practice, we realise that the majority of educators have to work around the available resources and are resorting to teacher-centred methods that they feel comfortable with. This is done at the expense of the learners as there is little consideration for the optimum method to introduce and explore the content. Educators stick to the traditional method when one sees it from the vantage point of adhering and complying with a CAPS curriculum and rarely consider venturing into new methods of presentation. This raises the question: Should educators simply stick to their comfort zones and use what has ‘worked’ up until now and deprive learners from the opportunity of being exposed to new methods of learning?

Apart from this, numerous educators are also not trained to use e-learning methods. This however should not be an excuse to not incorporate new age teaching methods into the classroom. Classrooms have e-learning resources, but are used, because educators lack the training to fully incorporate the system. The potential of various e-learning methods have to be discovered and fully explored in the South-African schooling system.

It should be noted that the South African context is a unique and often challenging milieu to incorporate e-learning. The vast majority of schools lack the resources to equip classrooms with the basics let alone advanced technological equipment. Private schools that have adopted the new world of e-learning have done so with the luxury of resources at their disposal that is out of reach for the majority of underprivileged communities.

Through the teaching experience it became apparent that educators have become exhausted by everything that they are required to do. The least of these are shockingly teaching and doing thorough planning. Living in a digital age, learners are extremely visual and often learn through means of technology. For teachers to use technology as a way to facilitate learning; will require of them to put a lot more thought and planning into each lesson.

Group O: Revisiting blog topics F through J

Computer Use 774:
Bloggers O: Blog post – 10 May

Upon considering blog posts F through J, there appears to be a consensus that digital pedagogies, although challenging, are the future of teaching and learning. However, one of the primary challenges of implementing these structures successfully is the necessity for teachers to receive proper training based on their subject fields.

Digital pedagogies have often been criticised for poor implementation, as the effects are often disruptive for both learner and teacher development. It is therefore vital that digital pedagogies are implemented only if it enhances the learning environment and facilitates critical engagement with knowledge.

Learners can greatly benefit from effective digital pedagogies, although they require training to successfully engage with such pedagogies. Technologically “advanced” learners need to be taught how to distinguish between the reliable and unreliable information that is available online.  By the incorporation of digital pedagogies and technology in the classroom, learners can be provided with the information needed via the aforementioned skill.

Likewise, when integrating ICT in a schooling context, it is important to note that its application would differ within every subject. Each subject has specific needs and requirements with regards to the integration of electronic media, as well as how the subject-specific content is presented. Some subjects require more visual aids, whilst others are more focused on auditory features. One of the challenges that is obstructing the integration of ICT in schools is the lack of software development aimed towards subject-specific content.

While electronic media may be future, one must ask if this future is sustainable within the South African context. The main issue when integrating such strategies is that not all learners will have the resources to benefit from this type of learning. As this country's situation stands currently, the educational system cannot afford to fund a third of the government schools. ICT learning requires multiple resources, including electricity, online programmes, and the training of both the teachers and the learners, thus the majority of schools will be unable to fund such learning.

To recapitulate, the use of digital pedagogies in combination with ICT should ideally train the learners to utilise independent learning in the long run. It is important that every learner, based on subject and school context, is able to access what electronic media can offer, despite its swift changes. Consequently, teachers must be able to adapt their lessons as is necessary, hence the training of digital pedagogies in the classroom context must be extended to teachers, which may prove problematic within the South African context.

Groups L&M: Revisiting blog topics A through E

Computer Use 774:
Bloggers L&M: Combined Blog Post

Humanity is moving into a largely ICTs-driven era (Information Communication Technology), and as huge advances in this sector are made, education is necessarily reshaped under its influence. The classroom, both within the South African and the global context, have been irrevocably changed. Throughout the Digital Pedagogies course and the preceding blog articles, aspects of this change have been explored - both for the possibilities it presents, as well as the challenges it faces within the South African context. The effort of this piece will be to synthesize what has been discussed so far into a cohesive analysis of the potential for the implementation of digital pedagogies within our current education environment.

New roles/duties of teachers: Rapid advances have been made within the realm of ICTs, a fact which has influenced how we live our daily lives. The radical availability of information and communication through the rising technological interface necessitates a proficiency in digital and media literacy, which involve the skills necessary to participate, and use technologies ethically and responsibly. Within this context, the teacher now has the new duty of guiding learners through the necessary skills to use ICT effectively and safely.

Effective pedagogy & lesson planning: The recognition of the learner as a complex individual and the active engagement of the learner’s context-informed subjectivity is a large element of inclusive practice within the classroom, and therefore needs to be a foundational element that informs our pedagogies. The effective pedagogy is one that takes the learner and their learning process into consideration when teaching – actively involved learners are able to engage with and learn from the taught content. Incorporating ICTs as part of your lesson plan and your pedagogy creates an ideal platform to actively engage with increasingly technology-oriented learners inside and outside of the classroom, and it makes their learning experience more flexible, mobile and accessible. This is not a hard and fast rule, however – for some learners, the incorporation of technology can be disruptive. Counteracting this is part of the reason for the need for effective lesson planning. Lesson planning helps teachers achieve their role in the classroom, which is to help learners apply the concepts which they are taught. It also helps teachers to manage their classroom better and keep learners focused throughout the lesson.

ICTs as a teaching & learning aid: ICTs are increasingly regarded as a valuable teaching aid which can contribute to making lessons and difficult content more interesting and accessible. Its values have been list as, among others, providing access to information, helping engage learners with the content, acting as a communicative equaliser (through anonymous and standardised posting and access), and making sharing and working together easier when face-to-face working time is no longer required. It can help with lesson planning, logistics management, and serve as stimuli to help learners visualise, organise and apply concepts. The current generation of learners is increasingly technologically-oriented, having been surrounded by technology in most spheres of life. They are a generation that wants to see, do and experience, instead of just being passive listeners. The integration of ICTs within the classroom and learning environment allows for increasingly engaging and personalised learning, thus having learners accept more responsibility for their learning and allow them to be agents of their own knowledge.

The Use of Social Media: Social media is seen as one of the most effective tools for communication amongst learners. For this reason it can be seen as a potentially valuable resource that could make the classroom more engaging, relevant and culturally diverse. The interactive and communicative nature of social media allows learners to form natural communities where questions can be asked and answered within a communal digital space. This adds a social aspect to the learning taking place, an aspect that researchers are increasingly lauding as contributing to effective learning. Through this medium, learners’ interests and lived realities are brought closer to the teaching space, and vice versa – this naturally and positively disrupts learners’ study experience. The use of social media is also a potential contributor enabling teachers establish a channel of open communication with their learners, thus creating space for comfortable interactions where learners are able to voice concerns and potential challenges to their learning.

Challenges to the implementation of ICTs:  However ideal the integration of ICTs as teaching/learning aides may be, there are certain considerations that must be made, specifically within the South African context that results in successful integration not always being possible. One of these considerations in South Africa is the large lack of access to ICTs sources – the lingering inequalities within South African society that result in a large population of working class citizens without the monetary means to access to ICT devices. Schools that service this population are also largely unable to facilitate ICTs integration as it requires a substantial capital output to obtain the required hardware. Another consideration linked to the lack of access is the level of exposure and training teachers have received toward the effect use of ICTs. Many teachers have not had this exposure and training, resulting in an ineffective use of the technology that could be a hindrance to the learners’ appreciation and understanding of ICTs as a resource.

The overarching result of the research done so far within this course is that although ICTs have the potential to be powerful and diverse teaching and learning aides, the complexity of integrating it into the school system should not be underestimated. That being said, the increasingly vital skills of digital and technological literacy, coupled with the growing prevalence of technological resources and access points, the active integration of ICTs within the classroom will no longer be a recommendation, but a necessity.

Effective Pedagogy [Bloggers E: Foley (2014) & Wills (2015)]

Computer Use 774
Bloggers E: Blog Post - 8 March 2017

Effective pedagogy refers to the idea that the learner as a whole (personal, social and behavioral standings) are taken into consideration when teaching takes place. Thus, the teacher uses strategic teaching methods so that the learner does not feel threatened, but creates a healthy and positive environment in the classroom.

Although teachers mostly focus on progressive academic outcomes, they also serve as a support system to learners outside the academic environment, which ensures the emotional well-being of the learner. Teachers should be available and accessible on an open communication basis so that student concerns and worries can be heard. They should also show empathy and understanding for learners’ current circumstances and provide them with the tools with which to facilitate a positive outcome. When a learner feels that he/she is in a safe emotional environment, it stimulates the learners will and desire to succeed academically.

Teaching, and therefore learning, can be enhanced by developing teaching methods which are stimulating and absorbing. By understanding how a student learns, effective teaching practices can be developed and implemented in the classroom.

Key elements of teaching practices, which are known to increase the academic performance of learners, include: consistency, communication, and structure within the classroom. It is also vitally important for learners to be actively engaged and involved in the classroom environment, as this allows ample opportunity for the students to respond and fully engage with the topics.

An educator should be well aware of the educational and household influences learners seem to operate best in, and then to find an equilibrium between the two for optimal learning. Relating what the learner knows and what the educator wishes to achieve in the classroom is an excellent manner for cohesion of life skills and learning the curriculum content to take place. Learners tend to learn new concepts and habits by practically including themselves in classroom activities. This eventually
allows them to visualise certain images and ideas, which support their learning. In Willis (2015), this idea was constructively displayed.

With regard to the blog posted by Abby Wills, one can assume that as a teacher, one should be more trusting with the potential of the students; to allow the students to take more responsibility with regard to the classroom’s environment. She mentions/suggests how one should allow creativity and imagination of the students to also be an aspect of the calmness and mindfulness created within the learning environment. In order for mindful teaching to take place, one also needs to be fearlessly honest with what is working within the classroom and what is not.