The tablet teacher: learning literacy through technology in Northern Sotho

This study evaluates the efficacy of the Bridges to the Future Initiative - South Africa 2 (BFI) tablet program on early literacy skills, as well as the ways in which learner-operated technology interacts with a traditional South African education system. The BFI is a curriculum-aligned early literacy development intervention implemented through technology in grades 2 and 3 in Northern Sotho1 first-language schools. A mixed-methods research design was utilized, involving three components: a literacy skills test administered through a time sequence trial design; a curriculum-aligned uptake and retention test using a pre-post design; and a qualitative research component including classroom observation, participant interviews and prompted drawings by learners. Paired sample t-tests show significantly higher gains during the treatment period in fluency and comprehension, and significantly higher gains in the control period in decoding individual words. It is theorized that this is due to teacher emphasis on emergent literacy. When initial ability is taken into consideration, all ability levels gain more on average during the treatment period in at least one measured skill. Regression analysis determines that time spent on the BFI program is not the most significant determiner of gains in the intervention period. Qualitative analysis supports this finding and suggests that program use cannot replace quality classroom practice in advancing literacy skills. Learners performed better after a delayed retention period than in an initial uptake test, indicating high rates of retention of knowledge gained through program use and traditional instruction, but inconsistent access to literacy skills gained

Proceed with Caution. The Pitfalls and Potential of AI and Education

The arguments for the integration of AI into education are multiple and multifaceted. AI has permeated everyday life, and there is a growing number of AI-assisted educational technologies that are now being implemented in classrooms worldwide. Like any tool, AI can be used to better society but this is not a given. From a humanistic perspective, citizens need to understand their roles and rights with respect to AI, recognize when they are unfairly disadvantaged by AI, know the avenues of recourse, and above all become conscientious users of AI products—particularly AI products designed for education. This chapter argues that what we need is to identify the right kind of AI and apply it in the right way (in particular, with an eye to human rights) if we are to leverage technology for the common good. A robust debate over the content of AI curricula and the role of AI-assisted applications in classrooms is critical. On the curriculum side, stakeholders should be consulted to ensure human, social and economic needs are met, and that the technological and humanistic dimensions are equally valued. In classrooms, rather than starting from the technologies, we should start with a genuine education for grand challenges, which educators are usually best placed to identify