THE USE OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES OR ICTs IN THE TEACHING AND

LEARNING OF MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCES IN SELECTED GAUTENG HIGH

SCHOOLS.

by

BERNARD MAPAKO MAKONI

RESEARCH ESSAY

in

BEd (HONOURS)
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

in the

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

at the

UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG

Supervisor : Dr GV LAUTENBACH

April 2010
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO STUDY

This study seeks to explore and establish the uses of educational technologies or ICTs in
transforming and enhancing the pedagogy and learning, of such subjects as mathematics and that
array of the sciences, with the intention of also finding possible ways educational technologies can
transform pedagogy to impact positively on student perfomances particulary in above- mentioned,
subjects using a sample of sixty only selected high schools in the Gauteng Province.

Technology is an essential tool for teaching and learning mathematics and sciences effectively ,it
extends the science and mathematics that can be taught and enhances pupils or learners' learning
(www.netm.org/about/position-statements/position-statement-13.htm).

The Twenty-First Century has unexpectedly, globally and technologically overwhelmed humankind
with an astronomical wave that has profoundly astounded even the inventors and manufacturers of
digital media and has compellingly made them look at education, pedagogy and learning from a
different facet and angle, and through the lens of the twenty-first century offsprings, -The Digital
Natives. South Africa, a fast developing and economically stable nation, has not been spared either
but shares in the spoils of the Digital Natives pandemic.

South Africa, after finding itself steeped and utterly submerged in the Technological Age pandemic,
did not sit on its laurels, but tried to put systems into place. The above, coupled with South Africa's
age old crisis in mathematics and science education, which saw it placed last in the Third
International Mathematics and Science Study (Martin, Mullis, Gonzalez, Gregory, Smith,
Chrostowiski, Garden G O' Connon 2000). published “The White Paper” on e-Education in 2004.
This paper manifested its envisaged approach to e-education and the intergration of Information and
Communication Technologies into teaching and learning. Among other things, the Department of
Education put itself at a strategic position to create greater access to learning opportunities, redress
inequalities, improve the quality of teaching and learning, and provide personalised learning
expriences.

This research therefore, aims at finding out, in respect of the pedagogy of mathematics and science
using I.T.Cs in selected High Schools in Gauteng, whether these schools
• leaders utilise I.C.T. to enhance learning;
• leaners are qualified and competent in the use of I.C.T. for planning and management
• teachers are qualified and competent in the use of I.C.Ts. to enhance teaching and learning
and to whether these schools,
• access I.C.T. resources that support the curriculum; and have
• connections to I.C.T. infrastructure.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

South Africa currently faces a crisis in Mathematics and Science education and has since the past
two decades introduced computer and allied digital media to -assist in the teaching and learning of
the subjects. Although the Education Ministry took this stance, the use of educational technologies
in enhancing learning and teaching, leaves a lot to be desired as is evidenced by the very low Matric
pass rate in Mathematics and the Sciences.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of the study is to;

• ascertain or establish whether learners utilise I.C.T. to enhance learning.
• establish whether high schools have qualified and competent leaders who use I.C.T. for
planning and management to enhance learning and teaching.
• establish whether teachers are qualified and competent enough to use I.C.Ts effectively to
enhance teaching and learning.
• ascertain whether these high schools have access to I.C.T resources that support the
curriculum.
• establish whether these institutions have reliable connections to I.C.T infrastructure.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS/SUB-PROBLEMS

• To what extent do I.C.Ts add value to the teaching and learning of mathematics and science?
• What are the major drawbacks in the proper implementation of e-Education in high school
institutions?
• What intervention methods can the High Schools employ to implement e-Education at full
throttle in the pedagogy and learning of mathematics and science?

ASSUMPTIONS OF THE STUDY

The Gauteng Department of Education is aware that:

• not all high schools have access to networked computer facilities for teaching and learning;
and to high quality educational resources.
• not all schools, teachers and learners are confident and competent users of I.C.Ts.
• not all schools intergrate I.C.Ts into the teaching and learning of mathematics and science.
• some students are digital natives yet their teachers are digital immigrants.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The research findings can be used by the Gauteng Department of Education and the Nation at large
to reinvigorate itself to achieve the envisaged 2014 White Paper goal;
• by offering compulsory I.C.T in teaching and learning in teacher development courses;
• by fast tracking high school students to at least adoption level by the end of their studies;
• by training subject advisors to appropriation level through focused intervention in so as to
assist teachers to utilise the resouces for technology intergration.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

• I.C.Ts mean Information and Communication Technologies.

LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

Limitations are those conditions beyond the control of the researcher that may place restrictions on
the conclusions of the study and their applications to situations. Best and Khan (1993). The
success of this study relies on the willingness and truthfullness of the principals and mathematics
and science teachers of the concerned schools.

DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

These are confines and parameters one has to operate within Patton (1990). The research is a study
of a few selected high school institutions in Gauteng Province, whereby the researcher is
researching on the use of I.C.Ts to enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics and sscience
in High Schools.

SUMMARY

This chapter provides the background as well as the problem of study, research questions,
significance of study, definitions of terms, limitations and delimitations of the study. The next
chapter reviews the related literature to this study.

CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

INTRODUCTION

This chapter focuses on the uses of educational technologies or I.C.Ts to enhance learning and
teaching of mathematics and sciences in selected Gauteng High Schools. In trying to understand
use of educational technologies in the teaching and learning of school subjects particulary
mathematics and science and their trends, studies by different authors will be reviewed.

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (DIGITAL MEDIA)

In his book (Teachers Discovering Computers) G.B.Shelly et al (2008) says computer technology
and digital media play an important role on how individuals work, live, play, and, more importantly
learn. He continues to say that organisations of all sizes-even the smallest schools and businesses
rely on technology to help them operate efficiently and effectively. In many fields of life,
computers help people to work faster, more accurately and even in ways that were once impossible.
Nowadays, more people are using computers and other technologies for education, entertainment,
information management, and business purposes. They also use computers to access information
and communicate with others globaly. In the classroom, computers and allied digital media are
having a profound influence on the way teachers instruct and students learn. Now, to get to where
we are today, how did it start?

EVOLUTION OF COMPUTERS AND DIGITAL MEDIA

Dexter, S and Anderson, R (1999). say the evolution of technologies sprouted over a century ago,
starting with Alexander Graham Bells invention of the telegraph in 1876, the telephones, radios,
television, early computers, large and bulky mainframe computers, and, finally, the development of
the personal computer in the early 1980s. The enormous popularity of the internet, mainly the
World Wide Web, has made the computer morph into a device used for communication, media
creation, learning and a myraid of other uses. What effect did and has this advancement in
computer technologies have on the global community and its major activities?

THE DIGITAL AGE

In his Book, “The World Is Flat” Thomas Friedman (2006) describes how “lightning-swift changes
in technology and communications put people all over the globe in touch with each other as never
before, creating an explosion of wealth in India and China and challenging the rest of us to run
faster just to stay in place.” Meaning, just like how the ancient people used to veiw the world,
therefore the world has become flat basing on how instantaneous global communicattons have
become. This outcrop of advancement has permitted greater participation by man in the creative
process, turning viewers into producers where people can customise formats, outcomes, and usage
of the information presented to them. Currently, people use digital technology to input, edit,
manage publish and share all kinds of information that was previously either impossible for an
ordinary person to create and share. This Digital Age sired Digital Students. Now, who are these
Digital Students and how do they learn? Prensky M. (2001) says the digital revolution has
culiminated into an unprecedented consequence. He says, todays youth have become rewired to
accommodate mammoth hours they spend gazing at computer monitors, watching and creating
video, listening to music and playing computer games. He again purports that today's youth
actually speak with a digital accent.

He continues to say that todays students play on virtual electronic play-grounds using a spectrum of
powerful media functioning as their recreational equipment. These students can be seen reading e-
mails, sending instant messages and text message over hand held devices, and speaking to one
another in short sound bites and appear are also very visually oriented. It is understood why the
world has coined them the “Digital Generation.”

Shelly Cashman (2006) contrasts the characteristics of previous generations of students with today's
digital generation of students. She says the previous generation of students were passive
communicators who tackled tasks one at a time. She further says that the past generation was so
work oriented of whom linear thinking was the order of the day. Their learning had no relevancy
and operated on single sensory input emanating from text-based platforms. This generation put
more emphasis on basing undertakings on reality and all in all, working at conventional speeds.
The above is very opposite to the current generation. She purports that the digital students are
multitaskers, and hypercommunicators that are very much play-oriented. These students rely on
random access thinking where learning has to be relevant and captivatingly funny. Their learning is
multi-sensory, fantasy-based which needs no textbooks but digital and graphics feats that operate at
twitch speed. Now, most of today's teachers, determined by the time they attended school, belong
to the previous generation of students. They cannot dovetail with digital students but yet they
should instil and inculcate knowledge and skills into latter-day students. What sort of a vicious
repulsive force exists between the Digital generation which I shall now call the “Digital Natives”
group and the previous generation of students, who are now teaachers, of whose group I am going
to call “Digital Immigrants?”

THE DIGITAL NATIVE LEARNERS VERSUS THE DIGITAL IMMIGRANT TEACHERS

Most of the schools today where designed for the Indusstrial Age but the students going to these
schools are currently living in the digital age. The world environment in which the digital students
reside has and is changing drastically at a techno-supersonic speed. Because of this, many schools
have failed to keep abreast with the speed and change. Marc Prensky (2001) said the digital kids
are the digital natives and their teachers, the digital immigrants. There are quite a number of
profound differences between these two groups, which almost equate to differences between
previous generations and digital students.

Researchers that have delved deep into this issue have uncovered very valuable issues that need to
be addressed to bridge the gap between these two groups. Today's digital native learners prefer
receiving information quickly from multiple multimedia sources yet their teachers want a slowly
controlled release of information that comes from limited sources. John S. Brown (2006) talking
about “New Learning Environments for the 21st Century” says digital natives prefer parallel
processing and multitasking as opposed to the immigrants' single or limited tasking. When
immigrant teachers provide text first; natives process pictures, sounds and video before text.
Immigrant teachers are obsessed with presenting information linearly, logically and sequentially but
today's students prefer the random access to hyperlinked multi-media information. Natives again
interact with many and collaboration defying the immigrant's notion of wanting to work
independently. Immigrants are exam oriented yet natives prefer to learn just in time. Natives
search for instant gratification and rewards in opposition to immigrants' far-flung gratifications and
rewards. Immigrant teachers are like limpets, they teach to the curriculum guide and standardised
tests yet natives gear for learning that is relevant, instant, useful, and funny. Now, what sort of
learning theories should teachers employ to motivate these learners of today?

LEARNING THEORIES, EDUCATIONAL RESEACRCH AND TECHNOLOY

INTERGRATION.

Since learning is a complex task, understanding how students learn is an internal process that is
difficult to observe. Educational research and learning theories are important because they facilitate
educators comprehension of how students learn. From learning theories and research, teachers can
improve their instruction and the way they present and provide information to learners and also can
improve on the teaching and learning environment.

Intergrating technology into teaching is a very powerful way to weave these learning theories
throughout the curriculum. Gardener (1943) said, digital media technology appeals to a variety of
learning styles and learning intelligences. Bruner (1915) also purported that students are more
actively involved or engaged in their learning when teachers effectively intergrate technology.
Vygotsky L (1896-1934), Dewey (1859-1952) and Bloom (1913-1999) concur when they say
technology is effective with group projects, working in teams and, and problem solving activities
requiring higher-order thinking skills that allow students to build new ideas from their current
knowledge base. Pavlov (1849-1936) and Skinner (1904-1990) say teachers can also use computer
time effectively as part of behavior management system.

Since learners are dynamic and unique, theorists help teachers understand how to adapt instruction,
information, and the environment for a spectrum of learners. So, much is to be gained by
comprehending learning theories and what each theorist has contributed. Their ideas can help
educators piece together the complex task of teaching all learners. Intergrating learning theories
and technology into classroom instructional strategies can make a difference in student motivation
and also can increase student achievement in the classroom, the above theorists very much concur
on this.

I.C.T. IN SOUTH AFRICA'S SCHOOLS

The White Paper on e-Education, published in 2004, officially launched the use of I.C.Ts in South
Africa's public, private and independent schools. This paper guides the Department of Education's
approach to e-education and the intergration of information and communicattion technologies
(I.C.T) into teaching and learning. In addition, the paper says, I.C.T. is to be used to create access
to learning opportunities, redress inequalities, improve quality of teaching and learning and provide
personalised learning expriences.

The White Paper propounds that schools that implement e-education are characteristic of:

• learners that utilise I.C.T to enhance learning.

• qualified and competent leaders who use I.C.T for planning and management to enhance
learning and teaching.
• having access to I.C.T. resources that support the curriculum.
• reliable connections to I.CT. infrastructure.

Since this research is going to target teachers, the White Paper emphatically stresses that teachers
will thus require the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes, as well as the necessary support, to
intergrate I.C.T into teaching and learning, that will help them in their spectrum or array of roles as
mediators of learning, interpreters and designers of learning programmes, leaders, administrators,
scholars, assessors, subject specialists and so on. Last but not least and in so doing, the government
is trying to bridge the digital divide by providing the have-nots with I.C.T. resources and develop
those people's competences to access and process the knowledge that these resources make
possible. Now, has the government lived up to its promises as per the White Paper?

SOUTH AFRICA'S WORLD-RANKING IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE

EDUCATION

South Africa currently faces a crisis in mathematics and science education which has seen it placed
last in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (Martin et al. 2000).

EDUCATION'S INTERVETION OF THE ABOVE

The launching of the White Paper on e-Education in 2004 encouraged the use of I.C.T in schools
countrywide. The Government hoped the introduction of I.C.Ts would alleviate the deepening
crisis by enabling shifts in pedagogical practices and thus potentially benefitting student's learning.
Much has also been said about the computer's ability to act as a catalyst to transform pedagogical
practices in classrooms. (McLoughlin and Oliver, (1999), Hawkridge, Laworski and Machon,
(1990). Some researchers say there is a remarkable dearth of research regarding how I.C.Ts can
transform pedagogy, especially in schools where access to I.C.Ts has only recently become
available to both students' and teachers; or to schools where the students are digital natives and the
teachers, digital immigrants and to schools that are educationally and economically disadvantaged.
Now, this research is focused on the use of I.C.Ts in the teaching and learning of mathematics and
sciences.

SUMMARY

The chapter gave an overview of the literature related to I.C.Ts and their intergration to enhance
teaching and learning in subjects particulary mathematics and the sciences. Various studies have
cited possible ways I.C.Ts can be used to enhance teaching and learning and causes of a continued
failure by students and teachers to effectively and profitably use and integrate technology with
learning areas. The following chapter focuses on research methodology.