Management challenges in an information communication technology (ICT) network in rural schools

This study concerns the management of an interactive whiteboard (IWB) network started in April 2008 in Mpumalanga, with a leading school partnered with several disadvantaged schools, transmitting lessons in Mathematics and Science. Many educational institutions try to provide learners with better learning opportunities by equipping schools with the latest technology. The IWBs have been invested in the most and the project is very successful in bridging the urban-rural divide. Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) play an important role in reforming education. This study concentrated on the key managerial challenges to leaders when faced with introducing, accepting and managing new technology in their schools. The purpose of the study was to describe the management approach that developed during the implementation of the IWB network and what possible contribution the lessons learnt from this case study could have on management theory regarding the management of ICTs in similar multi-school models.Keywords: Information Communication Technology; Interactive whiteboards; management approach; management challenges; rural school

The use of interactive whiteboards (IWSs) in science instruction at high schools.

Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.The increasing installation of the SMART Boards (electronic interactive whiteboards - IWBs) in education is an issue that cannot be ignored. South Africa is not an exception in this issue. The IWBs are gaining popularity amongst schools and educators in South Africa. With the growing number of users of IWBs in South Africa, this modern technology might have brought challenges and new opportunities to education and instructional methods at all educational levels. The purpose of the study was to investigate the use of the IWBs in the teaching and learning science in high schools. The selected schools use modern technologies that enhance teaching and learning such as the IWBs. This study aimed at developing an understanding of educators’ experiences on the benefits and challenges posed by utilizing the IWBs in their current practice with a view to drawing implications for possible recommendations for this type of technology. The study adopted a qualitative research design and followed case study methodology. It employed qualitative data collection techniques such as semi-structured individual and focus group interviews and classroom observations with purposively selected science educators in two public high schools in the Durban metropolis. The participants were six educators and eight learners from the two schools. It also followed a guided analysis based on the principles of both Connectivism and Engagement theories that informed the study. The findings revealed both benefits and challenges on educators. The most prominent benefits which educators recognized included multimedia features of the IWBs; their capabilities in learning; and their support for different learning styles. Alongside these benefits, educators also perceived challenges which involved low level of educators’ ICT skills related to insufficient professional development and training, and lack of planning. Generally; the study revealed that the IWBs can be generically beneficial tools provided some major problems are rectified. Recommendations relating to these findings are also provided, with an emphasis on technology planning and professional development as prerequisites to proper implementation of the IWBs in schools

Interactive Whiteboard Technology: Impacts on teachers, teaching, and students

To investigate interactive whiteboards and their impact on teachers, teaching, and students, a research review along with a qualitative case study on interactive whiteboards was performed. The purpose of this study is to learn more about the use of interactive whiteboards and specifically examine how one high school has implemented the technology. The research concludes that interactive whiteboards have had an overall positive impact on teachers, teaching, and students. Influences were noted in the areas of classroom practice, teacher collaboration, teacher preparation, and communication with students outside of the classroom. The examples listed in the case study are exclusive to the high school in the study and may not remain consistent or relevant to other schools or educators. Information in this study was gathered through a series of interviews, classroom observations, and interactive whiteboard and technology demonstrations. lt is my hope that readers of the case study will find value from the data collected and ultimately use the data to expand their interest in and ideas of how to use the technology

Adjusting pedagogy to optimise negotiability and interactivity in lessons using the interactive whiteboard an action research study in a primary school

Includes bibliographical references.One of the recent technological devices that have been introduced in the educational domain is the interactive whiteboard (IWB). IWBs have become established teaching and learning tools, particularly in primary school classrooms in developed English speaking countries and have more recently been deployed in developing countries such as South Africa. The Western Cape Province in South Africa has rolled out a province-wide IWB programme over the last decade, despite limited local research on the pedagogical value of IWBs in South African schools. This research study aims to investigate how the IWB can be used to encourage collaboration amongst the learners in a Grade 6 Technology Education class at a primary school in the Western Cape and specifically to assist the teacher in understanding how her pedagogy needs to change to optimise learner collaboration in association with an IWB. To understand the ways in which the IWB influences the activities in the classroom, Activity Theory is used as a framework to understand the tensions that arise and how the teacher needs to change her pedagogical strategies to successfully resolve these tensions

Addressing the Current Pedagogical Challenges of Architectural Education in Nigeria; a Study of Curriculum Contents and Factors Affecting Physical Learning Environment

The current curriculum design, program and the state of the physical learning environment in the Nigerian schools of architecture seem inadequate and ineffective. The study examined the teaching of architecture in Nigerian tertiary institutions. The aim is to ascertain the state of the present curriculum contents and learning facilities. Major Challenges identified in this study include dearth of learning facilities, inability to reform the curriculum contents and limited financial resources allocation to run the schools. Also increasing unemployment for architecture graduates and unskilled nature of practicing graduates were also included. Highlighted in the discussion for necessary intervention by stakeholders of Nigerian tertiary institutions includes review and upgrading of existing curriculum, efficient time-management skills and collaborative teaching and learning techniques. For physical learning environment, literature points that a clean, bright, organized and open-plan ventilated space strengthens learning by motivation. The result from the survey carried out on physical classroom environment among students of tertiary institutions, indicates that the level of satisfaction was fairly satisfactory and that the students expressed that large halls, large corridors were the most available facilities (63.2% and 52.8% respectively). The major equipment in the classroom were whiteboards (100%), personal computers (47.2%) and digital projector or smart board (30.4%), while the available facilities for pleasant environment were attractive surroundings (100.0%). Adjustment of training methodology, improving training skills, retraining the trained, upgrading infrastructure and facilities; expansion of the curriculum and training program were recommended in order to comply with the current global trends

A study of the integration of technology in the school arts classroom

This study explores the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Educational Technology (ET) as an educational resource in the school Arts classroom. Many teachers lack the qualifications to teach the Performing Arts (PA) of the Curriculum and Policy Statement (CAPS). Therefore, teachers rely on curriculum documentation and textbooks to help guide planning of lessons and the execution thereof. Technology as a resource tool can assist teachers as they incorporate an overwhelming amount of content/concepts in lessons. In this way they could improve classroom practice in the PA disciplines. With the emergence of Operation Phakisa: ICT in Education (Department of Education [DoE] 2015), the researcher acknowledges that the integration of ET is unavoidable. Moreover, the research highlights the importance of engaging with the rising hegemony of ICT as the defining characteristic of the information society. Literature supporting the inclusivity of media and media-related resources in education are discussed. In addition, the literature review focuses on a wide variety of ET and concludes with the implementation of ET in a South African context. Teachers from the Foundation Phase (FP), Intermediate Phase (IP) and Senior Phase (SP), namely grade R – 7, were invited to participate in the study where they were observed during contact time drawing on technology to aid teaching pedagogy. The research design involved a qualitative inquiry with aspects of crystallization where the data was collected through observations, interviews and teacher’s self-assessment. The findings suggest that teachers received little or no training in one or more PA disciplines. The integration of technology in the teaching pedagogy led to an enhanced learning environment where the teacher could actively engage learners in meaningful activities. The findings furthermore revealed that the use of technology was not uniform and did not lead to neat conclusion. Instead the researcher found that a great deal of divergence in the use of technology. This divergence was found across art disciplines and the use of technology also differed among teachers. Finally, individual teachers also differed in their use of technology across the art disciplines that they taught. The learners benefited from the use of technology insofar as they displayed a better understanding of the concepts in subsequent lessons. Furthermore, by the end of the study, teachers had begun to implement the new teaching style in learning areas other than the PA

Media Innovation Studio Interactive Review: Volume 1

The Media Innovation Studio’s founding aim in 2012 was to work across disciplines to explore the potential of creative and digital technologies to bring about positive change. Our ‘action research’ approach is lodged in a desire to create inclusively-designed prototypes as responses to real-world issues. Originally positioned within the University of Central Lancashire’s (UCLan) School of Journalism and Media, and now part of the College of Culture and the Creative Industries, the Studio’s remit is to inhabit ‘liminal spaces’ between disciplines. It hopes to explore, research and innovate within the digital ecosystem evolving around us. The human race is more socially, economically, politically and technologically interdependent than at any time in its history. Yet, inequality, instability and unsustainability remain. Collectively, the Media Innovation Studio is trying to understand whether technology has a contribution to make to resolving this broader set of fundamental social issues. Perhaps more interestingly, we’re asking whether there are an emerging series of ideas bound up in the creation and use of Information Computing Technology as it is repurposed by global communities to support activities that make our lives better. We do not believe that technology enables everyone by magically bridging the ‘digital divide’. Nor do we believe that its use by supporters of ‘digital democracy’ is any more democratic because of the use of ICT. Instead, we have discovered through a combination of talking to people, building relationships and making things together, possibilities for change are created. Thankfully, there’s plenty of evidence to demonstrate we’re capable of this. This review shows some of our projects, approaches and methodologies which combine disruptive design techniques, traditional social science and established practice-based methods from the arts. Focussing on the last 12 months of activity, the book also incorporates earlier projects that helped shape the thinking that brought us together to create the Media Innovation Studio

The integration of interactive whiteboards into classrooms at a well-resourced high school in South Africa

This report describes a case study, in which the researcher investigated the integration of electronic interactive whiteboards (IWBs) into classrooms at a well-resourced South African high school. Consistent with the findings of other studies conducted to date, learners and teachers at the school generally believe that IWB technology enhances various aspects of the teaching-learning process. The frequency and nature of IWB use across the school was found to vary greatly between subject departments and from one user to the next within subject departments. In comparison to IWB use in schools overseas, as reported in the literature, general IWB utilisation was found to be relatively infrequent and superficial in nature, with only the basic features and capabilities being widely utilised. In terms of the progression models that have been proposed for IWB integration, it appears that, overall, this school has not advanced beyond the initial stage of integration described in each of the respective models. This study attempted to determine why such a well-resourced school has not progressed further with the integration of IWBs in the five years that have passed since IWB technology was first introduced there, in spite of the fact that the teachers appear to recognise the value of the technology and express the desire to improve their use of the IWB. Results suggest that the major factors responsible for retarding progress are inadequate training and the lack of time available for teachers to explore the potential of IWB technology and build up a bank of useful resources. These issues appear to be linked to inadequate research and strategic planning on the part of the school management team. In conclusion, this report proposes a strategy for the integration of information and communications technology (ICT) into South African high schools, with a view to promoting the integration of IWBs in the long term. The essence of the proposal is that teachers should make use of a data projector, which projects its image on to a conventional whiteboard writing surface. This approach would allow teachers to take advantage of the visual features of ICT they most readily recognise as beneficial when they first use IWB technology. The aim of this strategy would be to encourage teachers to improve their ICT skills and grow in confidence in the use of ICT in their lessons, while minimising the cost involved in allowing them to do so. CopyrightDissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010.Science, Mathematics and Technology Educationunrestricte

Managing information and communications technologies in South African education: final project report

This was a meta-study. That means that the intention of the study was to review and analyse previous studies, and draw conclusions about the state of research into technologies in education, and specifically into the management of those technologies. The project proposed a range of objectives that were reduced because of funding limitations - the reduced project scope focused on an extensive literature review (the bibliography) and the development of a reference model that is intended to guide those concerned with managing ICTs in South African education (whether as managers or as researchers). The original proposal also included the development of case studies and the establishment of a knowledge base (built around the reference model) but this work remains to be done. The project was somewhat problematic in execution. Resourcing and administrative difficulties resulted in no students graduating (yet), and this is a matter for disappointment. These problems were reported to the NRF and – in the end – useful outputs were achieved. First, following establishment of the project, a two-day meeting of about 20 experts revealed a consensus: that the many differences that are to be seen (in learners, teachers, resource levels and other factors) are probably the most important thing to acknowledge and respond to, in undertaking further research into technology in South African education and in improving management practice. The drivers for change arising from technological innovation are forceful, and the form and function of education establishments is changing. In the simplest possible view, information technology is an investment and it needs to be managed accordingly. The idea of value can be used to develop logical connections between the sometimes-uncontrolled cost of education information technologies, and the strategic benefits that are sought for learners and for the nation. Critical to understanding how value can be assured is to acknowledge and pro-actively manage the information systems that are the means to improve educational processes, and the benefits that must be defined and then delivered, if the investment of time, money and effort is to be worthwhile. The bibliography that emerged from the literature review (more than 160 papers were read, being chosen from more than 700 candidates) confirms that there is little evidence that the management of IT investments in education is researched. Further, while some reported work makes passing reference to (or implies) strategic management, there is little evidence that strategic options and strategic management techniques are being seriously researched at the regional or national level. To deal with the problems of technology and strategy management: • The diversity that we live with needs to be understood and incorporated into policies and strategies for information technology and information systems in education. • The role of the stakeholder, and existing techniques for stakeholder analysis, will be key in determining the value is sought from our information technology investments in education. • There is more to this than just teaching and learning. Research is a key feature of the education landscape and needs good information technology support; administration at all levels needs good systems, and management needs management information that provides a basis for good decision making. The reference model, currently focused on "Teaching and Learning" as the core educational activity, organises the chain of value that begins to ensure successful investment. It also shows how knowledge management fits into the "big picture" and it provides an ontological foundation for further work, as well as a framework for the evaluation of performance and value delivery within working education institutions. The project also developed significant ancillary outputs: a proposal for a special issue of a journal, a "Flash MOOC", and a qualitative research data analyser. The project contributed to a new book, "Investing in Information", that is to be published imminently by Springer in Geneva (and that provides much more detail about the idea of value management from information technology investments). A number of journal papers have already been published, and further papers are in process.This project was funded by the South African National Research Foundation: Project Reference: ESA20100809000015400 – Grant Number: 7399

Information and Communications Technologies and Secondary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Policies, Practices, Trends and Recommendations

The following report discusses the use of Information Communications Technologies (ICTs) to improve access to, quality of, and delivery of secondary education within sub-Saharan Africa. It discusses the policy environment for ICTs in sub-Saharan Africa, their successes, challenges, andlessons learned, and it concludes with a broad and detailed set of recommendations for policymakers, donors, the private sector, designers, and implementers of ICTs in education programs. The report seeks to generally answer the question of how sub-Saharan African (SSA) governments can best use technology to improve access to secondary education, improve learning, strengthen management of schools and the education system, and foster innovation