ICTs Used Effectively to Re-Envision and Restructure E-Schooling for Underprivileged Communities

The purpose of this chapter was to investigate how effectively information and communication technologies (ICTs) were used at primary schools in the Ekurhuleni South district of Gauteng Province, South Africa for re-envisioning and restructuring e-schooling in underprivileged communities. Governments and schools made huge investments, integrating ICTs and providing computer-based education, to support teaching and learning. There have been numerous initiatives, which have been endorsed by national and international bodies worldwide. The main aim of all ICT-based initiatives was to enhance the quality of education and prepare learners for the emerging digital world. Numerous studies across the world have provided impressive outcomes for the use of ICTs in schools, and more evidence is also emerging regarding the sustainability of ICT transformation in schools. There has also been abundant literature, which emphasized the need for teachers to change their beliefs about and perceptions of ICTs in order to realize the full potential.

Supporting EFL Science Students Through a Multilingual Approach to Blended Learning

Throughout the history of mankind, language has been used as a tool of ascendance and colonisation to consolidate power and create governable subjects. In this way, the coloniser's language became the colonised country's official language. Upon attaining political independence, several of these nation-states embarked on educational reforms by revising their curricula in the name of ‘decolonising education'. A closer look at these countries' curricula shows they are still largely Eurocentric following the monolingual ideology of ‘one nation, one language' with foreign languages being the lingua franca for these multilingual societies despite this approach being singled out as the major cause of academic underachievement in most countries. This chapter investigates the available technological approaches to support the teaching of science to English foreign language (EFL) students who are taught through a language different from their home language.

Revitalizing Blended and Self-Directed Learning Among Adult Learners Through the Distance Education Mode of Learning in Ghana

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are witnessing increasing participation of non-traditional learners, learning by distance education (DE) mode. Blended learning (BL) strategy is adapted to create opportunities for adult learners to improve knowledge, skills, and intellectual capacities to impact, among others, productivity at workplace. This chapter explores the use of technology to conceptualize BL and self-directed learning (SDL). It discussed blended learning as practiced in the global north and the global south. It examined SDL and focused attention on blended learning as practiced in HEIs, using University of Ghana as a case study. It identified issues involved in blended learning and mapped up solutions in revitalizing self-directed learning culture among the young adults in Ghana. The chapter concludes that the state-of-the-art computer laboratories which power the Sakai LMS should be refurbished and retooled to deepen BL and SDL culture among adult learners in Ghana.

Re-Envisioning and Restructuring E-Learning Through Engagement With Underprivileged Communities

The purpose of this study was answering questions regarding the impact of effectively using information and communication technologies (ICTs) in classrooms on re-envisioning and restructuring e-learning through engagement with schools in underprivileged communities. Its importance is justified regarding positioning disrupted pupils' education towards the development agenda in South Africa. It draws on the latest findings and is located within relevant conceptual/theoretical frameworks on ICTs for teaching and learning. In quantitative aspects of the research design, issues of reliability and validity were considered, while in qualitative aspects, issues of dependability and interpretation were important. Results presented showed that laptops, smartboards, projectors, cell phones, desktops, printers, and iPads were used effectively in classrooms. A discussion of the results suggests solutions and making recommendations that are applicable and useful. In conclusion, ICTs had a positive impact on pupils' education, by helping them to concentrate and understand difficult concepts.

Integrating Technology to Support Learners With Barriers to Learning in the Rural Classroom

To reduce extended academic delays and disruptions, in-service teachers (hereafter teachers) enrolled for an online BEd Honours Learner Support programme had to re-think the integration of technology when supporting a learner with a barrier to learning in their classrooms. The teachers, of whom a few are educators in rural schools, had to complete a practical paper-based portfolio as a formative assessment. The portfolio expected the teacher to identify a learner with a learning barrier and develop a support plan over six months. With the schools closed, the portfolio in its original form became a challenge since the teachers could not have face-to-face interaction and interventions with their learners.

Exploring the Use of Universal Design for Learning to Support In-Service Teachers in the Design of Socially-Just Blended Teaching Practices

This chapter examines the pivot to online and bended learning which occurred during the COVID health crisis and highlights how blended learning has emerged by far as the most popular and sustainable delivery option. The COVID pivot has also demonstrated, however, that blended learning too often ignores social inequities, and as a result allows them to become exacerbated. The chapter examines ways to support K-12 teachers as they seek to support social justice objectives within blended learning environments and suggests that universal design for learning can serve as a user-friendly and hands-on framework to address learner diversity in these innovative hybrid learning environments. The chapter further explores the repercussions this reflection has in relation to pre-service teacher training, in-service professional development, and leadership culture.

Content Developers as Stakeholders in the Blended Learning Ecosystem

Within the blended learning environment, it is important to consolidate expert content and pedagogy inside and outside the classroom. Subject experts who serve as content developers play a vital role by contributing quality controlled subject content covered by the curriculum, which can be made available to students on digital platforms. However, in developing countries and in communities where resources are limited, good and complementary digital content may not be accessible to all learners. Teachers are often left to their own devices to develop teaching content. When considering Afrikaans language teaching in South Africa specifically, there is a great need within the language community for learning and teaching support. This chapter reports on the role that the Virtual Institute for Afrikaans (VivA) is playing as a content provider of quality Afrikaans linguistic material in the blended learning environment. The aim is to present VivA as a case study or prototype of an independent organisation acting as a key stakeholder in the blended learning ecosystem.

Sinking or Swimming?

This chapter presents the findings of a recent study conducted on the adult learners of the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) that explored how Moodle enhanced self-directed learning among the adult learners and how these adult learners mastered the content using the Moodle platform. It was found that while some learners excelled in using the platform, others lacked the technological skills to manoeuvre the platform. Also, participants lamented that the lecturers did not post material Moodle. Notably, Moodle enabled independent learning for those learners who were employed. The following conclusions were made: 1) lecturers need to post more material on Moodle, 2) refresher videos to keep learners abreast with Moodle should be made, and 3) periodic institutional assessment on the uptake of Moodle should be done.

Quality Assurance in Blended Learning at Institutions in Privileged and Underprivileged Communities

Blended learning enhances education and offers effective teaching and learning. Its success is well-documented, as well as the criticism regarding quality assurance in blended learning. Quality assurance (QA) is an invaluable aspect of teaching and learning and has a rightful position in higher education. QA strives to ensure a standard of teaching and learning which is relevant, effective, and resourceful, and it occurs within an established framework. Research suggests that the implementation of an effective QA framework is a complex matter, with great emphasis on context. Such a framework contains various elements which are often denoted by benchmarking. This chapter highlights the implementation of sustainable and effective policies at an institutional level as one such element. Meaningful collaboration between institutions will lead to greater success in the implementation of an effective QA framework. Institutions in underprivileged communities find this implementation challenging, but there are some encouraging examples of success and progress.

Principles and Guidelines for Establishing Communities of Inquiry in Blended Learning to Broaden Student Participation

Blended learning provides possibilities for redesigning courses to be more inclusive and to accommodate diverse student learning needs. Various factors, including socio-economic inequalities and the digital divide, hinder students in higher education from experiencing the full potential benefits of blended learning. Events around the COVID-19 outbreak required that educational programs be offered online or in a blended mode, ensuring the continuation of educational programs. The community of inquiry (CoI) framework is a valid instrument to measure quality of online learning focusing on four important presences that contribute to quality learning. It can therefore be used by lecturers to (re)design and evaluate effective blended learning environments. The study focused on developing practical guidelines with applicable examples for establishing and sustaining CoI in blended learning to include more students with diverse access to resources. In addition, overarching recommendations for amelioration of the digital divide of students in blended learning were made.