The Complexity And Compatibility Of ICT Integration In The Teaching And Learning Of Agriculture In Swaziland

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 99-112
Author(s):  
Mzomba Nelson Dludlu ◽  
Nomsa Mndzebele

In Swaziland, ICT integration in teaching and learning is at the infancy stage. Learning opportunities provided by the increasing use of technology in classrooms are not being harnessed in secondary schools. The purpose of the study was to describe ICT integration in the teaching and learning of Agriculture in relation to complexity and the compatibility of the ICT tools in Swaziland. Specific objectives were (1) to describe the complexity of ICT tools as perceived by the teachers and (2) to further describe the compatibility of ICT tools in relation to the teachers’ experiences. A descriptive correlational design employing a mixed method approach was used to conduct the study. Data was collected using a Semi-structured interview guide and a survey questionnaire. The population for the study was (N=325) involving all secondary school Agriculture Teachers (N= 312) and key informants who were Agricultural Education Administrators (n=13). The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) guided the study. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse data. With regard to complexity findings revealed that (1) computers make teaching of complex concepts easy, (2) computer use fits well in my curriculum goals, and that (3) learning to use ICT in teaching is a challenge. In overall findings indicated that the ICT tools were less complex to use by the Agriculture Teachers while teaching. The study further revealed that complexities of ICT use by Agriculture teachers were brought about by the age of teachers and the frequent changing of technologies. In relation to compatibility of ICT usage findings revealed that Agriculture Teachers agreed that (1) ICT is quick in meeting information needs, (2) Working with computers make them feel comfortable, (3) ICT use in teaching was very convenient, (4) Agriculture requires more ICT assistance, (5) computers brought positive changes in the schools, and that (6) computer use suits the learners needs. The study further indicated that Agriculture teachers perceived that ICT devices were (7) compatible with existing practices, (8) ICT philosophy was compatible with the subject content, and that (9) ICT integration allows well demonstration of real situations. It is recommended that a policy articulating the need and usage of ICT integration to support teaching and learning be enacted, thus, compelling Internet service providers to extend their bandwidth of Internet to all schools. It is further recommended, that ICT integration pedagogical skills be part of all pre-service and in-service teacher preparatory programmes.

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 506-517
Author(s):  
Mzomba Nelson Dludlu

The current crisis in Eswatini brought by the Covid 19 pandemic calls for the education sector to move digital education from the peripheral role in leaning delivery to the center of the process of teaching and learning. Digital teaching and learning has become mainstream overnight. All schools were closed and the face-to-face teaching and learning approach was stopped indefinitely. This prompted new direction in research and innovations. The study was therefore conducted to take a snapshot on the E-readiness of Agriculture teachers to integrate ICT in their teaching post the Covid 19 pandemic. A survey research design employing the quantitative approach was conducted with all (N=284) agriculture teachers in Eswatini to (1) describe the E-readiness of Agriculture teachers to integrate ICT in their teaching and learning, (2) identify the support given to teachers towards ICT integration available in schools, and (3) to describe the teachers’ educational level and courses related to ICT integration in teaching. A valid and reliable instrument was designed with a Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of (r = .80) was used to collect data. Frequencies and percentages statistics were used to analyse data. Findings associated with teachers’ readiness to integrate ICT in their teaching were: (1) teachers had personal laptops and were using them to support teaching of agriculture, (2) teachers perceived themselves as digitally proficient in using ICT tools to facilitate teaching and learning, (3) teachers had free access to computers in schools, (4) more than half of the schools offering agriculture had internet connectivity, (5) ICT was offered as an examinable subject in the majority of schools, and that (5) teachers had taken basic computer course their pre-service teacher preparatory training. It is recommended that all teacher training institutions design and offer courses on instructional technology to equip all teachers in schools to use technology to enhance their teaching skills.


Author(s):  
Airen Adetimirin

Deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for teaching and learning affords learners' flexibility in learning such that they can learn as individuals or groups. The dissemination of information by lecturers to learners will also be facilitated by the use of ICT. The University of Ibadan designed a courseware development programme for 20 female lecturers to improve the use of technology for teaching and research. Data was collected using a questionnaire, interview and secondary data. Results revealed that the lecturers found the programme very relevant, appropriate but demanding. The major challenges were limited access to some of the technologies, fluctuation in internet connectivity and poor ICT literacy skills. Improvement in the level of ICT use requires the development of relevant infrastructure and ICT literacy training which were identified as critical for its successful deployment.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 142-152
Author(s):  
Sifat Ullah ◽  
Quazi Farzana

In this an era of technology, new technologies particularly computer, multimedia, mobile phone and the internet offer possibilities for overcoming geographical and cost barriers in teaching and learning. This study attempts to trace the use of technology in teaching English at the S.S.C. (Secondary School Certificate) level in Bangladesh. It also focuses on the impact of using technology in teaching and learning English. Eight teachers and 60 students from four private schools in Dhaka city were selected to survey the use of technology in teaching the English Language. The researchers employed the mixed methods research to carry out the study where two sets of questionnaires for the teachers and the students and a semi-structured interview only for the teachers were used to collect data. The findings showed that using technology in teaching has both the positive and the negative impacts. Teachers like to use technology in their classroom but limited time and lack of training and technical support from the authority hamper the mode of teaching. The students also feel comfortable in technology affiliated classroom, but sometimes they fail to catch the concept clearly as they become inattentive due to the lack of proper engagement of the teachers in the classroom.


Author(s):  
Elis Kakoulli Constantinou ◽  
Salomi Papadima-Sophocleous

Developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have transformed the way people communicate, interact and also the way they learn. ICT tools are widely used in language teaching and learning, and the benefits have been repeatedly expressed in literature. ESP is yet another area of language education that has been affected by these developments. Despite the fact that there are ESP practitioners who utilise technologies in their teaching, more research is needed in order to identify how widely technology tools are used in ESP, so that action is taken to empower practitioners and provide them with the help they need in order to integrate technology in their practices.  This paper reports on the findings of a study conducted among 67 ESP practitioners from Tertiary Education in Greece and the Republic of Cyprus, the data of which were obtained through the use of an electronic questionnaire. The paper aims at examining the profiles of ESP practitioners in Greece and the Republic of Cyprus describing their use of technology (hardware and software) for the preparation and delivery of their courses. Furthermore, it outlines ESP practitioners’ views on the inclusion of a component on the use of technology in ESP teacher education. The paper concludes with suggestions regarding opportunities for professional development on issues related to the integration of ICT tools in ESP teaching and learning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-14
Author(s):  
Zahid Hussain Sahito

We are living in an era of technology where everything demands knowledge, understanding, and handling of digital technology. Technology has renewed all spheres of social and professional lives and in this regard teaching and communication are not exceptional. Effective use of technology for real Communication is widely followed in teaching and teachers need to know the use of ICTs in classrooms for delivering lessons to inculcate sound knowledge and understanding of concepts. It is found that despite the significant impacts of ICTs on teaching and learning teachers are reluctant to use technical aids in the classroom. They report various issues that hamper them to use technology in their day-to-day teaching practices; moreover, a majority of teaching professionals are not convinced that they can make their teaching more and more effective by using technology. The paper aims to find out the CHALLENGES THE teachers face to use ICTs in classrooms and perceptions of teachers about the same. A qualitative research method was used to carry out the study.  A well-designed questionnaire comprising of open-ended questions was served to randomly selected serving teachers from government schools of District Khairpur. The responses of the participants were analyzed to identify the challenges faced by the teachers while using ICT during the teaching and learning process. The collected data was analyzed and it was found out that teachers find it difficult to use technology in classrooms because they are not provided appropriate computers, technical support, and professional training to learn to use technology. It was also identified that because of time constraints teachers are unable to use ICTs in their teaching practices. Further, it was explored that teachers believe that teachers have limited perceptions about technology as they hold the view that technology just wastage their time. Based on findings, it was concluded that the integration of ICT tools is highly effective as it makes students more creative, productive, and hard-working as compared to traditionally managed classrooms. Schools administrations should provide not only the technology but also technical assistance to the teachers. Schools administrations need to help teachers to know the importance of ICTs and to use it for a meaningful purpose to improve the standard of education.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 389
Author(s):  
Siti Jayanti Rahma ◽  
Bambang A. Loeneto ◽  
Soni Mirizon

In a globalization era, everything depends on technology. Technology has been developing in the role of teaching and learning process. This study aimed to find out: (1) the teachers’ perception of ICT use in their teaching and learning process; (2) to evaluate the progress of ICT integration program during the last five years at the school;(3) the problems faced by the teacher and students in using the ICT in the classroom; and (4) effects of using ICT in teaching and learning process. Twelve students and two teachers of English were chosen using purposive sampling as the respondents. Method of the study was descriptive qualitative research. The questionnaire, interview, observation, and documentation were used to collect the data. The results of the study showed that first, the teachers had positive attitude toward the use of ICT; second, the integration of ICT was found from the school’s facilities, the teachers’ participation in attending seminar and trainings, and the use of ICT for assignments in and outside the classrooms; third, the number of computers and a power blackout were the problems faced by both teachers and students; and fourth, from the questionnaires and interview, the teachers and students claimed that the ICT had great influence in teaching and learning process.


Author(s):  
Ismail Anas ◽  
Andi Musdariah

<span lang="EN-US"><em>In response to the extensive use of technology in the field of education particularly in English language teaching (ELT) context, both the pre-service and in-service ESL teachers are expected to use ICT tools in their teaching and learning environment. It is important to have a closer look at the use of ICT tools and the ease of access to the internet to see the opportunities to harness the technology resources for effective blended learning. Recently, although many studies revealed merely to promote the student’s self-directed learning and the successful of CALL, it is the teacher as a key role to blend such technologies into an effective teaching strategy. This study strives to develop a conceptual framework for teaching English with technology.<span>  </span>The framework delineates six perennial aspects of e-teacher development; they are; (1) teacher technology competency, (2) professional use of ICT tools, (3) professional use of the Internet, (4) web-based technology skills, (5) ESL teacher’s digital literacy, and (6) ESL materials and resources development.<span>  </span>This concept will bring many contributions to the way ESL teacher exploit the technology resources for an adaptive and interactive teaching strategy.<span>  </span>This paper also provides the implications for the practice, teacher, and student</em></span>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Başak Ercan ◽  

Globalization and technology have changed educational settings, and information and communication technology (ICT) literacy has become inevitable in this new era of teaching and learning. ICT is believed to help to transfer educational environments into learner-centered ones and to enhance the quality of teaching learning and management in education. Over the last fifteen years, Turkish education system has been undergoing some reforms both in schools and universities, trying to equip education settings with at least a projector, a computer and Internet access. The survey presented in this article examines language teachers’ beliefs and attitudes towards ICT in teaching English at a state university. It aims to better understand the challenges teachers face in integrating ICT in teaching and learning and thus to search for the answer to the question ‘What are the main components of quality management in ICT use in higher education language learning settings?’. A semi-structured interview and focus group discussions were used to collect data. Twenty-eight teachers participated in the survey and the results showed that the majority of the participants had positive attitudes towards the integration of ICT in language learning environments; yet some of the teachers found the practice not that easy concerning finding the most suitable materials while preparing and delivering lessons. They also stated that their lack of classroom management skills, bad student behavior hindering learning and students’ lack of using ICT made the integration of ICT into education settings quite challenging and added that the lessons were quite short to implement ICT strategies appropriately. Another noteworthy result was that the majority of the teachers’ understanding of effective use of ICT in class seemed rather limited and unproductive. Therefore, the teachers were looking for support from the management to provide them with the required equipment and technical support when necessary. They also needed exchange of experience in learning of ICT skills in language teaching, which all showing that quality management in ICT use needs developing. Concerning all these, the researcher suggests ideas to improve the quality management in ICT use in language learning in higher education institutions.


Author(s):  
Lingam Orpha Vijaya Sunanda ◽  
Syed H. Mazhar ◽  
Jahanara Jahanara

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is an important source for sharing and receiving of agricultural information. The present study explored the constraints faced by farmers and suggestions for effective utilization of ICT services for agricultural information. The study was conducted in all villages of Nandyal Mandal of Kurnool District of Andhra Pradesh. 2021. Responses from the 120 farmers were collected through well-structured interview schedule. It was revealed that that lack of knowledge about ICT tools, poor condition of equipment, relevant information not received in time and awareness of new ICT service among farmers about the use of ICTs for the educational and agricultural purpose were the major constraints in ICT use. All these constraints can be overcome by implementing suggestions by farmers like; proper and improved infrastructural facilities at the village level, providing relevant information at a time and skill development updating with training, creating awareness regarding use of ICTs for educational and agricultural purpose. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis in finding relationships between variables. The findings show that most of the farmers in Nandyal Mandal that use ICTs as a source of agricultural information.


Author(s):  
Salini Rosaline ◽  
J. Reeves Wesley

In the recent years, technology has been an important component in teaching and learning. The literature has highlighted many studies investigations on the students' intention to use technology in many Western, African and South East Asian countries. This article brings in the factors influencing students' adoption of ICT tools in higher education institutions in India. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model was used to determine the predictors of ICT adoption in learning their coursework in colleges. The results were obtained by structural equation modelling, using the data collected from 398 students doing their undergraduate engineering programs. The findings show that performance expectancy, effort expectancy and social influence has a positive significant relationship on behavioral intention to use ICT tools and facilitating conditions has a direct relationship with usage behaviour. The findings have led to relevant theoretical and practical implications and future researches are suggested.


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