Adding Net Value: The Nature of Online Education at a South African Residential Institution

Axmann, Mandi; Fourie, Wiida; Papo, William Duncan

doi:10.1080/09523980210166422

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…In their project on the incorporation of an online course in first year journalism at the Technikon Pretoria, Axmann et al. (2002) advocate that the major problem faced is students' lack of basic skills in computer literacy and lack of access to Internet facilities and personal computers.…”

Section: Ict‐based Learning Environments In Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In their project on the incorporation of an online course in first year journalism at the Technikon Pretoria, Axmann et al (2002) advocate that the major problem faced is students' lack of basic skills in computer literacy and lack of access to Internet facilities and personal computers. In many African countries, ICT training consists of basic computer skills, that is, word processing and computer operating systems such as MS-DOS and Windows (81%) while a few participants (19%) have some experience of spreadsheet or database packages (de Jager & Nassimbeni 1998).…”

Section: Ict-based Learning Environments In Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coping with change in ICT‐based learning environments: newly qualified Rwandan teachers' reflections

Mukama

2007

Computer Assisted Learning

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The overarching aim of this study is to investigate how newly qualified Rwandan teachers can contribute to the creation of theoretical and practical knowledge for professional development with information and communication technology (ICT). Questionnaires, focus groups and interviews were used for data collection. The findings show that novice teachers are motivated to acquire ICT and that they succeed in situations where school administrators grant easy access to computers. The novice teachers expressed a strong desire to be trusted and be allowed time to use computers and related skills in their learning and teaching. These views are discussed in terms of learning conditions created in schools so that participants become active, responsible and committed practitioners. We assume that such attitudes can be a model for their future roles in fostering change in social practice. For example, this study shows that gender equity becomes an aspect of change in an ICT-learning environment, which creates new opportunities for continuous education. To achieve this, as revealed by the findings, there is a need to develop school-based curricula, appropriate pedagogy and teacher professional development in the area of ICT literacy, which allows the teachers to develop a critical mind to the new tools.

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Section: Ict‐based Learning Environments In Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ict-based Learning Environments In Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Coping with change in ICT‐based learning environments: newly qualified Rwandan teachers' reflections

Mukama

2007

Computer Assisted Learning

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show abstract

“…In cases where the technology is adopted, it is either implemented as components (e.g., email) of the existing correspondence-type distance learning programs (Axmann, Fourie & Papo, 2002;Rumajogee, 2002), or as add-ons to class-based courses for the reproduction and distribution of course documents (Bongalos Bulaon, Celedonio, deGuzman & Ogarte, 2006;Dutton, Cheong & Park, 2004b). Most research work associated with online learning within the African context is thus conducted under the umbrella of open and distance learning, with most reporting on favorable learner perceptions of this mode of learning due to its openness and flexibility (e.g., Ambe-Uva, 2006;Howell, Harris, Wilkinson, Zuluaga & Voutier,2004;Ojo & Olakulehin, 2006).…”

Section: Conclusion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Online Learning in Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Ghanaian University students' experiences and perceptions

Asunka

2008

IRRODL

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This study adopted a qualitative case-study approach to examine the attitudes, experiences, and perceptions of undergraduate students who were enrolled in an online, collaborative learning course at a Ghanaian private university. Data sources included surveys, student and instructor journal entries, email records, individual interviews, and Web-server logs. The study found that the students did not respond favorably to online constructivist teaching approaches such as asynchronous discussions and ill-structured project-based learning activities, and perceived collaborative online learning within their context as a complex, more demanding and timeconsuming experience.

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“…As the current state of Internet connectivity in higher education institutions in Africa has been described as "too little, too expensive and poorly managed" (Gakio, 2006, p. iii), it is not surprising that Internet use in education is still fairly limited in these institutions. In cases where the technology is adopted, it is either implemented as components (e.g., email) of the existing correspondence-type distance learning programs (Axmann, Fourie & Papo, 2002;Rumajogee, 2002), or as add-ons to class-based courses for the reproduction and distribution of course documents (Bongalos Bulaon, Celedonio, deGuzman & Ogarte, 2006;Dutton, Cheong & Park, 2004b). Most research work associated with online learning within the African context is thus conducted under the umbrella of open and distance learning, with most reporting on favorable learner perceptions of this mode of learning due to its openness and flexibility (e.g., Ambe-Uva, 2006;Howell, Harris, Wilkinson, Zuluaga & Voutier,2004;Ojo & Olakulehin, 2006).…”

Section: Conclusion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

IRRODL Volume 9, Number 3

Authors

2008

IRRODL

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You can't step in the same water twice, said Heraclitus. He may have been correct in the literal sense, but even Heraclitus must have had those déjà vu moments when his life seemed to be repeating itself. Standing by a pond while making a video download for this IRRODL editorial recalled identical experiences filming by ponds in 1975 and 1996, and prompted some thoughts on how little institutional policy ever really changes in the world of media-based education. In the mid-90s, television was on its way out as a medium of choice in North American and European education. It had been struggling for credibility for almost as long as it had been in use. The Open University in the UK, for example, started broadcasting course materials on TV in the early '70s, in the middle of the night and often for surprisingly small student enrolments of a few dozen. In 1978 the cost-effectiveness of this effort was questioned at a London University conference with the provocative title "Is anybody there?" It turned out they weren't, at least not in justifiable numbers, and that many courses could have been delivered to the students more efficiently in the mail on audiotapes. Since the late '90s, the same question has been asked about the WorldWide Web, at least in regions where only tiny proportions of the population have Internet access. Turning a blind eye to the inaccessibility hurdle, developing-world institutions have pressed on developing web-based ODL materials anyway, with an eager "If we build it, they will come" attitude. They appear motivated to adopt the most modern techniques available, regardless, and are encouraged in this by western distance educators who apparently regard media older than the web as strange and obsolete. But "Is anyone there, or likely to be so?" Actually not for the foreseeable future. Web-based education has polarised world society into elite and have-not groups far more than TV and radio ever did; and its adoption in the developing world appears oblivious to the fact that today's students would derive greater benefit from media that are actually available to them. Are the hundreds of millions of would-be students who cannot access the Internet a kind of 'untouchable' class, whose problems and needs have become invisible? Fortunately, in India and other developing countries, the needs of disadvantaged students remain very much in focus, and offer inspiration for all educators. For example, the University estimated by that bastion of source credibility, Wikipedia ('mega-universities' entry), as having the 7th largest student enrolment in the world, is named after Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who devoted his life to erasing untouchability from Indian society and to implementing open learning methods for the benefit of all. Today Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University maintains its commitment to these Editorial Volume 9, No. 3 Baggaley 2 ideals by preserving far-reaching uses of radio, TV, and audio/ videotape, while other Asian universities struggle and fail to harness more elitist forms of Internet-based educati...

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Adding Net Value: The Nature of Online Education at a South African Residential Institution

Cited by 4 publications

References 7 publications

Coping with change in ICT‐based learning environments: newly qualified Rwandan teachers' reflections

Coping with change in ICT‐based learning environments: newly qualified Rwandan teachers' reflections

Online Learning in Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Ghanaian University students' experiences and perceptions

IRRODL Volume 9, Number 3

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