THE INNOVATIVE AND EFFECTIVE USE OF ICT IN LEARNING AND

TEACHING IN EXCLUSIVE GAUTENG SCHOOLS

by

BENSIO D.C

STUDENT NO: 920172389

RESEARCH ESSAY

in

BEd (HONS)

INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

in the

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

at the

UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG

Supervisor: Dr GV LAUTENBACH

November 2009
 GENERAL STATEME

The availability of a broadband infrastructure in South Africa is the basis

for the successful implementation of ICT in school. The Department of
Education has committed itself to providing infrastructure that supports
the development and use of data, voice, video and mobile communication
platforms in all schools as stipulated in the Draft White Paper On E-
education. The integration of the Information Communication
Technologies (ICTs) into the curriculum enhances the delivery of teaching
and learning in all Provincial Schools. There are great expectations resting
on teachers to incorporate computer technology into their teaching and to
model positive attitudes to computers to their students. As Ramsey (2000,
p.68) describes, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is
“one of the most significant challenges now confronting teacher
education, teachers and schools”. However, as Lundin (2002) points out,
despite years of concerted effort in all provincial education departments
to provide ICT at school, it is unlikely that more than fifty percent of
teachers have a basic standard of computer skills.Many teachers have a
general awareness that the Internet offers a rich source of potential
learning resources, that multimedia tools and design can make
interesting, impressive, and interactive tools of learning, and that many of
their colleagues are finding ways of harnessing the learning possibilities of
ICTs in unique contexts.

SPECIFIC STATEMENT

The premise of my research will be based the Innovative and effective use
of ICT in learning and teaching in exclusive Gauteng schools. The main
purpose of the rationale of research is to perform the baseline study on
ICT effectiveness and innovation in Gauteng schools. Eight elements of
Becta self-review framework are used as a survey instrument in this
regard. These elements are Leadership and management, Curriculum,
Learning and teaching, Assessment, Professional Development, Extending
opportunities for learning, Resources and Impact on learner outcomes.

MOTIVATION
Despite the imperatives of policy and rhetoric about their integration in
formal education, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are
often used as an "add-on" in many classrooms and in many lesson plans.
The district officials, and the school management team’s (SMT) role in ICT
success has always been a bone of contention. Nevertheless, many
teachers find that interesting and well-planned tasks, projects, and
resources provide a key to harnessing the educational potential of digital
resources, Internet communications, and interactive multimedia to
engage the interest, interaction, and knowledge construction of young
learners. To the extent that such approaches go beyond and transform
traditional "transmission" models of teaching and formal lesson planning,
this research investigates the effective role of management regarding ICT
implementation for curriculum and the various stages and elements of the
learning process.

METHODOLOGY

The first phase of this pilot project is to conduct a quantitative research

which is done exclusively on Gauteng schools. I paid a visit to School from
different quintile groups. The procedures that I used in collecting data for
the research question is as follows: - two research requisition letters and a
questionnaire from UJ were given to the principal. One letter entitled “The
principal consent form, the other entitled “The Educators Participant
consent form. For validation purposes I also issued my student card to the
principals. After verification was done, the principals granted me a
permission to conduct the research in their Schools. I then asked the
principal of each school to nominate one educator who was supposed to
participate in research. The prerequisite for participation was the signing
of research consent forms by both principal and the nominated educator.
After signing the consent forms, the principal had to put a school stamp
on both. Both the principal and the educator were told the names will
remain confidential. I explained each an every question on the survey
form to the participant to avoid miss understanding. The atmosphere for
the conduct of the survey in most school was very much conducive, as
many participant educators were very much prepared to even go an extra
mile in showing me ICT infrastructures.
 SCOPE /LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The study is primarily focused on Gauteng schools.

CURRENT DEBATE

There are serious debates regarding the effective use of ICT by educators
in teaching and learning includes Littlejohn, A. (2002), “Recommendations
for improving continuing professional development in the use of ICT”. In
his book, Littlejohn pointed out how ICT can be used for teaching and
learning. Jacobsen, M. (2000) elucidates how early introduction of ICT can
enhance teaching and learning at school. Bitner & Bitner (2002) on the
contrary identified three spheres as an impediment to the success or
failure of ICT integrations in teaching and learning. Those spheres are, the
teacher, physical and the social spheres.

THE RATIONALE

Research (Coffin & MacIntyre, 1999) emphasises that affective influences

such as negative attitudes toward computers, anxiety and low computer
self-efficacy are primary deterrents to computer use. Learning to use
computers involves learning to adapt to change, to be flexible, intuitive
and above all persistent. School management and Teachers need to
develop adaptive computer learning skills. They need to develop self
efficacious approaches to information technology, an ability to learn from
colleagues, support personnel and students (Rea, Hoger & Rooney, 1999);
in short, they need to engage in self-directed and lifelong computer
learning.

RESEARCH
QUESTION

HOW INNOVATIVE AND EFFECTIVE IS THE USE OF ICT IN LEARNING AND

TEACHING IN EXCLUSIVE GAUTENG SCHOOLS?

Aims and objectives

• To do a baseline study to determine the use of electronic learning

resources in Gauteng provincial schools.
 • Establish the effective and innovative use of electronic resources
• Develop the programme for use effective use of electronic
resources
• Develop long term strategy to support the use of electronic
resources
• Implement and evaluate the developed strategy with role player for
educator development.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Bitner, N & Bitner,J. (2002) Intergrating Technology in the classroom :

eight keys to success. Journal Of Technology and Teacher Education,
10(1), 95-100.DfES (2002) Transforming the Way We Learn, a Vision
for the Future of ICT in Schools. Department for Education and Skills,
London.
• Coffin, R. J., & MacIntyre, P. D. (1999). Motivational influences on
computer-related affective states.
• Computers in Human Behavior, 15(5), 549-569.
• Drysdale, J., & Creanor, L. (1998). Leading new teachers to learning
technology. In Learning Technology
• Goodyear, P., Salmon, G., Spector, J. M., Steeples, C. & Tickner, S.
(2001). Competencies for online teaching: A special report. Educational
Technology Research and Development, 49(1), 65-72. Dissemination
Initiative (LTDI): Evaluation Studies, 13-18. [28 Jul 2003]
• Jacobsen, M. (2000). Excellent teaching and early adopters of
instructional technology. Paper presented at the EDMEDIA 2000: World
Conference on Educational Multimedia/Hypermedia & Educational
Telecommunication, 26 June-1 July. Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
• Ramsey, G. (2000). Quality Matters: Revitalising Teaching: Critical
Times, Critical Choices. Sydney.
• NSW Department of Education and Training.
• Littlejohn, A. (2002). New lessons from past experiences:
Recommendations for improving continuing professional development
in the use of ICT. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 18(2), 166-
174. [verified 9 Feb 2004]
• www.becta.org.uk/schools/selfreviewframework

• http://www.strath.ac.uk/Departments/CAP/allison/papers/jcal/newlesson
s.html