scholarly journals COVID-19 and the Digital Transformation of Education: What Are We Learning on 4IR in South Africa?

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 180 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Mhlanga ◽  
Tankiso Moloi

The study sought to assess the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in motivating digital transformation in the education sector in South Africa. The study was premised on the fact that learning in South Africa and the rest of the world came to a standstill due to the lockdown necessitated by COVID-19. To assess the impact, the study tracked the rate at which the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) tools were used by various institutions during the COVID-19 lockdown. Data were obtained from secondary sources. The findings are that, in South Africa, during the lockdown, a variety of 4IR tools were unleashed from primary education to higher and tertiary education where educational activities switched to remote (online) learning. These observations reflect that South Africa generally has some pockets of excellence to drive the education sector into the 4IR, which has the potential to increase access. Access to education, particularly at a higher education level, has always been a challenge due to a limited number of spaces available. Much as this pandemic has brought with it massive human suffering across the globe, it has presented an opportunity to assess successes and failures of deployed technologies, costs associated with them, and scaling these technologies to improve access.

Author(s):  
David Mhlanga ◽  
Tankiso Moloi

The study sought to gauge the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in unleashing digital transformation in the education sector in South Africa. In order to gauge the impact, the study tracked the rate at which the 4IR tools were used by various institutions during the COVID-19 lockdown. Data were obtained from secondary sources, mainly newspaper articles, magazines and peer-reviewed journals. The findings are that, in South Africa, during the lockdown, a variety of 4IR tools were unleashed from primary education to higher and tertiary education where educational activities switched to remote learning (online learning). These observations point to the fact that South Africa generally has, some pockets of excellence to drive the education sector into the 4IR, which has the potential to increase access. Access to education, particularly at a higher education level, has always been a challenge due to a limited number of spaces available. Much as this pandemic has brought with it massive human suffering across the globe, there is an opportunity to assess successes and failures of deployed technologies, costs associated with them, and scaling these to technologies improve access.


2022 ◽  
pp. 422-437
Author(s):  
Tawanda Chinengundu ◽  
John Chakamba ◽  
Jerald Hondonga

This study assessed the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in motivating digital transformation in the education sector in Zimbabwe. The study tracked the rate at which the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) tools were used by various institutions during the COVID-19 lockdown. Data were obtained from secondary sources. The findings are that, in Zimbabwe, during the lockdown, a variety of 4IR tools were unleashed from primary education to higher and tertiary education where educational activities switched to remote (online) learning. These observations reflect that Zimbabwe generally has some elements of excellence to drive the education sector into the 4IR, which has the potential to increase access. Access to education, particularly at a higher education level, has always been a challenge due to a limited number of spaces available. The pandemic has presented an opportunity to assess successes and failures of deployed technologies, costs associated with them, and scaling these technologies to improve access.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeynep Hizir

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of digital transformation on jobs and to assess whether or not the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution will lead to mass redundancies. The piece also looks at the role human resources (HR) departments will have to play in the implementation of, and response to, digital transformation within the workplace. Design/methodology/approach This paper combines research based on media articles, a parliamentary report and wider digital transformation industry research. The author looks to explain what digital transformation is, deconstruct misconceptions around digital transformation, assess the true evidence-based impact of digital transformation on jobs and advise HR departments on the impact of digital transformation within the workplace. Findings This piece finds that there remains a considerable degree of misunderstanding and many misconceptions around digital transformation and that while digital transformation will lead to the loss of some jobs, it will also lead to the change of existing ones and creation of new ones. Furthermore, this piece finds that HR departments will play a crucial role in the implementation of digital transformation, but that they too will need to pivot and adjust to new workplace realities as a result. Originality/value Many HR departments face confusion and misconceptions around the impact of digital transformation on the workforce, and there also remains concern among many employers that technology will replace their jobs. This piece seeks to dispel the myths and paint a clearer picture to both HR departments and employees around the impact of digital transformation.


BUILDER ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 266 (9) ◽  
pp. 15-17
Author(s):  
Anna Tryfon-Bojarska ◽  
Ewelina Wińska

The fourth industrial revolution leads to a comprehensive digital transformation of enterprises. Its nine pillars also affect the construction industry. This article presents the impact of digital transformation on innovative projects which are implemented in the construction industry. It describes examples of digital innovations that are used in the life cycle of a property development undertaking, as well as examples and case studies of applied innovative project management models.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7206
Author(s):  
Huifang Liu ◽  
Jin-Sup Jung

What corporate social responsibility (CSR) attributes determine the CSR authenticity of a company? In the face of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, what direction should the CSR strategy pursue? In the electronics industries in Korea and China, are there any differences in CSR attributes? In this study, we start with some of these basic questions. Considering the promotional and actual costs incurred from CSR activities, CSR strategy are not an issue that can be easily determined from the corporate perspective. However, now it is essential for companies to carry out CSR and sustainable development goals (SDGs) activities, and businesses cannot overlook social issues either. Companies cannot pursue only growth through corporate interests without social value. In this study, we derive three attributes of CSR fit, CSR sustainability, and CSR impact to verify the authenticity of CSR activities. Moreover, we demonstrated the impact of these three attributes on CSR authenticity for the electronics industries in Korea and China. As a result of empirical testing, most of three attributes above mentioned (i.e., CSR fit, CSR sustainability, and CSR impact) produce meaningful results for CSR authenticity. However, CSR sustainability was rejected for the Korea sample, and CSR fit was rejected for the Chinese sample, showing some differences between the two countries. Meanwhile, the digital transformation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution had strong partial mediating effects between CSR attributes and CSR authenticity. This means that digital transformation can be an important pathway to achieve CSR authenticity and suggests that important mediating effects can eventually lead to a firm’s competitiveness.


Author(s):  
Aslam Fataar

The notion of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) has recently entered the public and policy domain in South Africa. It has rapidly found resonance in policy discourse and the popular media. It has also entered the language of educational policy and institutions. The impact of 4IR on educational thinking and practice has hitherto not featured in academic discussion on education in South Africa except for a keynote plenary session at the annual conference of the South African Education Research Association (SAERA) in Durban (October 2019). The South African Education Deans Forum recently published a call for the submission of chapters for a book on teacher education, 4IR, and decolonisation. In this article, I develop an address that I delivered at the SAERA 2019 conference as part of the plenary panel. The article consists of four sections. The first offers a consideration of the entry of 4IR discourse into the educational imaginary. I suggest in this section that 4IR discourse has installed a socio-technical imaginary in South Africa's unequal educational dispensation. The second section concentrates on the construction of educational governance. Based on research on 4IR-related policy making, I discuss the policy directions taken by the Department of Higher Education and Training and the Department of Basic Education in giving effect to ways of engaging with 4IR in each of their domains. The third section features a discussion of the impact of technological disruption on society, the economy and education. The final section presents a discussion of the emerging educational architectures in the 4IR and a critical consideration of the curriculum and pedagogical dimensions of 4IR, which, I argue, are informed by an orientation that prioritises the acquisition of generic skills. Sidelining knowledge and concepts as central to the structuring of the curriculum, a generic skills approach succumbs to what might be called a knowledge blindness that holds pernicious consequences for epistemic access in South Africa.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (195) ◽  
pp. 38-51
Author(s):  
E.P. Kochetkov ◽  
◽  
A.A. Zabavina ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  

In the context of the fourth industrial revolution and the development of digital technologies, their implementation in all areas of the economy has become a necessity. Currently, digital transformation as a set of measures to modernize the company's internal processes is becoming a key element on a highly competitive market and it is one of the few ways to survive. The current economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has sharply demonstrated the need for digital transformation of business. In this regard, the problem of successful digital transformation has become a key issue for almost all companies in various sectors of the economy. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of the digital transformation process of the business on its effectiveness. The theoretical analysis of the digital transformation process was used as a methodological basis. On the basis of statistical data and digital strategies of companies, an analysis of the reasons for the success and failure of such strategies implementation, as well as a correlation analysis of the main indicators of the company's performance and the process of its digitalization, is carried out. In the course of the study, the essence of the concept of company digital transformation is established, the key features of this process are identified and generalized, the main prerequisites for digital changes and their results are determined by the example of large multinational corporations – representatives of various sectors of the economy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica Simmons ◽  
Grace McLean

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the changes that will impact learners and learning in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and provide recommendations for transforming education to meet the needs of the maritime industry. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews the definition of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the changes that have occurred in industry as a result. It looks at key Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and its impacts on the maritime industry. It then presents some strategies for how the maritime education sector can begin to address the paradigm shifts that will be needed to transform education so as to focus on the advantages that can be derived from the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Findings Rapid technological advances are transforming the process of education around the world and will continue to disrupt not only the education sector but entire industries – education being only one of them. The maritime sector has some specific technologies that will drive digital transformation of business models. Maritime educational institutions around the world will need to be prepared to respond rapidly to this paradigm change and provide the skilled labour the industry will require to remain competitive. Research limitations/implications While the technologies that are impacting the Fourth Industrial Revolution have clearly been identified, the education sector still needs practical applications and integration into curriculum and learning to truly embrace the opportunities for the development of workforce competencies in this new age. Practical implications The maritime education sector must now start implementing strategies to expose students to new Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, blockchain and automation technology and how they are changing the future of work. A new shift in the conscious application of these game-changing technologies will be required, and examples of integration are discussed as a starting point for building a long-term plan. Social implications The development of the human capital needed in the Fourth Industrial Revolution must begin now, and it presents challenges to those in the maritime education sector. It, therefore, requires that a digital transformation strategy is in place to deliver the specialized skills and new knowledge workers will need in the future. Originality/value This paper discusses the disruption that the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies will bring to maritime education. One of the findings demonstrates that it clear that it is no longer competitive to ignore the disruption that is happening, and action is needed now.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice Barbazzeni ◽  
Michael Friebe

With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution accompanied by the Internet of Things, the implementation of smart technologies and digitalization already had a great impact in our society, especially when considering exponential innovation and human development. In this context, some types of employment have already been replaced or have been enhanced by the use of robots, human-machines interfaces and Artificial Intelligence systems. And there is likely more to come. If innovation can be viewed as a direct or indirect outcome of scientific research, which role will a scientist play in 2035? We developed a survey to investigate the opinions of scientists with respect to the possible future implementation of disruptive technologies, their feelings and approaches to digitalization, and particularly the impact of digital transformation on scientific education. In a futuristic scenario, we can imagine that scientists will be supported by technologies, carrying out numerous experiments, managing big datasets, producing accurate results, increasing communication, openness and collaboration among the worldwide scientific community, where ethics, regulations and social norms will always be observed. The new era of Digital Science is coming, in which humans will start to incorporate more disruptive and advanced technologies into their daily life; essential aspects for exponential innovation and development.


2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (11) ◽  
pp. 533-541
Author(s):  
Dr. Premila Koppalakrishnan

The world stands on the precarious edge of an innovative transformation that will on a very basic level modify the manner in which we live, work, and identify with each other. In its scale, degree, and unpredictability, the change will be not normal for anything mankind has encountered previously. We don't yet know exactly how it will unfurl, however one thing is clear: the reaction to it should be incorporated and exhaustive, including all partners of the worldwide nation, from the general population and private segments to the scholarly community and common society. It is The Fourth Industrial Revolution, the digital revolution. The digital revolution has opened way for many impacts. All of the emirates are experiencing the effects of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution.” This revolution reflects the velocity, scope, and systems impact of a digital transformation that is changing economies, jobs, and work as it is currently known. Characteristics of the revolution include a fusion of technologies across the physical, digital, and biological spheres.


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