Challenge Of Effective Technology Integration Into .
Challenge of effective technologyintegration into teaching and learningM Z. RamorolaUniversity of South Africa, Pretoriaramormz@unisa.ac.zaAbstractSouth African teachers are faced with challenges in integrating technology effectively intoa coherent framework at school level. There seems to be little evidence of technologyintegration into classroom activities such as systematic planning and implementation oflessons that require learners to think critically, work collaboratively, and use technologyin support of learning. A study was undertaken to investigate the challenges faced bysenior secondary school teachers and learners in integrating technology effectively intoteaching and learning activities. In-depth and group interviews were conducted withcurriculum specialists, teachers and learners. Observations and document review werealso used to collect qualitative data. Qualitative data analysis strategies were used toanalyse data. The findings revealed unavailable technology policy, insufficient technology equipment, a lack of teachers qualified in technology integration, and maintenanceand technical problems as the major challenges affecting the effective integration oftechnology at school level. Integrating technology effectively requires planning, sufficienttime, dedication and enough resources.Keywords: information and communication technologies, technology, technologyintegration, teaching, learningIntroductionIntegration of information and communication technologies (ICTs) into teachingand learning has risen on the South African education agenda, particularlyISSN1814-6627 (print) 1753-5921 (online)DOI: 10.1080/18146627.2013.853559University of South Africa Press654Africa Education Review 10(4)pp. 654 – 670
Challenge of effective technology integration into teaching and learningwith the release of the White Paper on e-Education in 2003 (Wilson-Strydom,Thomson and Hodgkinson-Williams, 2005:72). According to Wilson-Strydomet al. (2005), the adoption and integration of technologies is a challengingand complex process for schools, particularly where there is limited previousexperience in the use of ICTs to support teaching and learning. They furthermaintain that at many schools that have access to ICTs, the focus has tended tobe on learning about ICTs rather than learning with or through the use of ICTs.South African education is in a state of change. In the normal classroom, wherethe role of the teacher is that of a dispenser of knowledge, technologies areused mainly for word processing and drill and practice exercises. This notionmade the education authorities aware of the importance of technology. Thesubsequent White Paper on e-Education (2003) states that, every South Africanlearner in the General Education and Training and the Further Education andTraining bands will be ICT-capable by 2013. This has raised a concern forSouth African schools in view of the fact that technology is a relatively newapproach currently being included in the school curriculum (Tanui, Kibbos,Walaba and Nassiuma, 2008).South African teachers are therefore faced with various challenges in integratingtechnology into a coherent framework at school level. There seems to be littleevidence of technology integration into classroom activities such as systematicplanning and implementation of lessons that require learners to think critically,work collaboratively, and use technology in support of learning. The reasonswhy teachers are not integrating technology into their teaching activities arenot well known. It has therefore become important to address the question:what are the challenges faced by senior secondary school teachers and learnersin integrating technology effectively into teaching and learning?This article reports on research conducted to investigate the challenges facedby both senior secondary school teachers and learners in integrating technologyinto teaching and learning. It is important to identify such challenges affectingthe integration of technology into teaching and learning in order to find a planthat will assist teachers in integrating technology effectively into their teachingactivities. In this article a literature review relating to technology integration ispresented. The qualitative approach used in the research is described and finally,the findings and conclusion regarding the barriers to technology integrationare put forward.655
M Z. RamorolaLiterature reviewIt was deemed necessary to explore what is meant by technology integrationwithin the context of teaching and learning in senior secondary schools. Redmannand Kotrlik (2004:2) define technology integration as ‘employing the Internet,computers, CD-ROMs, interactive media, satellites, teleconferencing, andother technological means in instruction to support, enhance, inspire and createlearning’. Shelly, Cashman, Gunter and Gunter (2008:327) define technologyintegration as the combination of all technology parts, such as hardware andsoftware, together with each subject-related area of the curriculum to enhancelearning. For the National Centre for Education Statistics (2003), technologyintegration is the incorporation of technology resources and technologypractices into the daily routine, work, and management of schools. Accordingto Woodbridge (2004), technology integration means viewing technology asan instructional tool for delivering subject matter in the curriculum already inplace. Drawn from the above-mentioned definitions and for the purpose of thisstudy, technology integration is described as bringing together or combiningtechnology with teaching and learning strategies in order to meet the curriculumstandards and learning outcomes of each lesson, unit, or activity.Several authors (Benson et al, 2001; Butzin, 2001; Osin, 1998; Rice, Wilson andBagley, 2001; Russell, Finger and Russell, 2000; Yee, 2000) have mentionedreasons for using technology in the classroom. According to these authors,computers were introduced into the school systems of developing countries inresponse to parents’ demands that learners become computer literate. Reasonsput forward by leaders and parents for the integration of technology intoeducation are discussed below.According to Yee (2000:291), learners are prepared for full participation infuture society by acquiring computer literacy skills that include learning ofcommon business tools, such as word processing, spreadsheets and databases.Computers are required for instructional support. They can manage data,reinforce instruction in a random learning environment, promote multimediaconcept learning that addresses multiple learning modes, and deliver ondemanding learning programs over multiple types of e-systems (Benson etal., 2001:121).Educational systems are resistant to change, and a transformation that purportsto accelerate the solution of the problems requires the support of educationaltechnology (Osin, 1998:2). Technology can therefore be more effective whenused in a transformed learning environment than when used in a traditional656
Challenge of effective technology integration into teaching and learninglearning environment (Butzin, 2001:372). This will help teachers to enjoy usingtechnology and to improve their skills in teaching (Russell et al., 2000:158).In support of this view, Rice et al. (2001:211) state that the use of computershelps to bring changes in classroom practice in order to improve subject matterteaching.These potential advantages led developing countries to adopt technology toenhance teaching and learning in the classroom. South Africa, together withother African countries, has followed the footsteps of the developed countriesand introduced technology into its education system. Literature shows thatSouth Africa has transformed its education curriculum based on social needs aspart of a globalised world. It is driven and shaped by technology which broughtwith it the need for new knowledge, skills and values (Gauteng Department ofEducation, 2005:3). Every day, computers help many individuals accomplishjob-related tasks more efficiently and effectively. For teachers, computers andother technologies serve as the tools needed to implement new and evolvingteaching strategies. Teacher involvement with technology is a trend that hasshifted from learning how to use technologies to seeking ways to supportlearning with technologies. Teachers therefore, need to guide their learnerstowards engaging in activities of technology.Technology integration depends on the understanding and the commitmentof teachers. What they find may challenge their educational philosophy andpractice in expected ways – some good and some not so (Olson, 2000:1).Tondeur, Van Braak and Valcke (2007:13) highlight the need for South Africanschools to develop a school-based ICT curriculum that will translate the nationalICT-related curriculum into an ICT policy. This ICT plan will make ICTcompetencies visible for all parties involved, and stimulate the dialogue amongschool managers, teachers and parents about ICT use in the local curriculum.Theoretical frameworkIn the world of education new movements, frameworks and theories to explainhow learning occurs or how it should be conducted, are emerging. The changesthat are taking place in today’s teaching and learning are being brought aboutby a wide range of tools, and by the Internet itself that has created a newparadigm in the delivery of learning (Papert, 1998:141). The study on whichthis article is based was informed by the constructivist theory. Constructivistsbelieve that knowledge and truth are constructed by people themselves anddo not exist outside the human mind (Duffy and Jonassen, 1991:9). This isin opposition to behaviourist beliefs that learners should be told about the657
M Z. Ramorolaworld and are expected to replicate its content and structure in their thinking(Jonassen, 1996:6).Jonassen (1996) describes four principles of constructivist learning: theprinciple of knowledge construction; the principle of active learning; theprinciple of social interaction and cooperative learning; and the principleof situated learning. According to the principle of knowledge construction,knowledge is not simply transmitted to learners, but constructed by learnersthemselves using their own interactions and experiences with those phenomenain meaningful learning environments. Teaching is not seen as a process oftransmitting, imparting or mapping the teacher’s knowledge onto the learner,but as helping learners to construct their own knowledge and to reflect on it byguiding them in the meaning-making process. Knowledge building also includesopportunities for learners to articulate, express and represent what they havelearned in a verbal, written, visual or auditory format (Jonassen, 1996:3–5).The principle of active learning states that knowledge construction resultsfrom the activity. Constructivists believe that knowledge of phenomena cannotbe separated from experiences and interactions with those phenomena. Theimplication is that the meaning constructed of phenomena emerges from theinteractions with them (Jonassen, 1996:3).Social interaction among individuals plays an integral part in how peoplelearn. From a constructivist perspective, learner-learner and learner-teacherinteractions are important ingredients of learning. Peer interaction is a sourceof experience that evokes cognitive conflict (disequilibrium) in children, andhuman beings all have a tendency to reduce this conflict and re-establishequilibrium at a higher level (Piaget, 1970). Humans are social creatures whorely on interactions with fellow humans to determine their own identity andthe viability of their personal beliefs (Jonassen, 1996:5).According to the principle of situated learning, part of the meaning of aphenomenon is embedded in its context. Learning and cognition of phenomenashould be situated in the social and physical context from which the phenomenaoriginate. The knowledge of phenomena that learners construct and theassociated skills they develop include information about the context in whichthey experience those phenomena. The more directly and interactively learnersexperience phenomena in a meaningful context, the more meaning they arelikely to construct. The implication is that teaching and learning a new conceptshould always take place in its real-life context, the context in which the conceptis embedded and from which it originates (Jonassen, 1996:3–4).658
Challenge of effective technology integration into teaching and learningThe integration of technology in the classroom practice is a new way oftransforming pedagogy. Shifts in pedagogy include a move to problem-basedor investigative learning, which not only requires learners to assume increasingresponsibility in the learning process, but also requires teachers to surrenderthe type of control over the learning process that they have in conventionalpedagogy. Learning is not simply an event that happens naturally; it is also anevent that happens under certain observable conditions.Research design, sampling and data collection methodsThe research was focused within the interpretive paradigm and aimed atdescribing the challenges faced by teachers and learners involved in teachingand learning with technology (Greenhalgh and Taylor, 1990:740). A qualitativeapproach was followed in this research to explore areas about which little isknown and to gain information about phenomena such as attitudes and thoughtprocesses, that are difficult to extract through more conventional researchmethods (Strauss and Corbin, 1998:11). The research was done in the form ofa case study of senior secondary schools in Gauteng. A case study helps theresearcher to learn more about little known and poorly understood situations(Leedy and Ormrod, 2005:135).The research techniques used were interviews, focus group discussions,observations and document review (McMillan and Schumacher, 2001:428).Semi-structured instruments were designed and used to generate data fromcurriculum specialists, principals, deputy principals and technology teachersof three core research sites (Bell, 1993:33), and the researcher conductedfocus group interviews with learners (De Vos, Strydom, Fouché and Delport,2002:306). These interviews were complemented by lesson observations anddocument reviews. The documents that were reviewed include the technologylessons, textbooks, learners’ activities and records of learners’ progress.Observations were negotiated with individual teachers and conducted onceper subject lesson during normal teaching hours.Sampling was purposive and involved two senior secondary (one publicand one private) schools situated in the northern part of Tshwane District,Gauteng, South Africa. The schools were selected for this study to provide anin-depth picture of technology integration in teaching and learning (Drever,1995:7). Three teachers from each school were selected to participate in thesemi-structured interviews, and 16 learners participated in the two focus groupdiscussions. These participants were purposively selected to participate in thestudy based on their experience relating to the use of technology for teaching659
M Z. Ramorolaand learning (Cohen, Manion and Morrison, 2005:103; Maree, 2007:257).The focus was on a number of people who work together but have differentroles, and the aim was to understand them as a group, with their different butinterdependent functions and ways of thinking (Drever, 1995:7).Data was manually processed and rigorously and systematically analysed basedon empirical evidence gathered through interviews, observations and documentreview. After leaving the research sites, the researcher continued to make contactwith the study participants using e-mail and the telephone to clarify issues thatarose. Thus, data analysis was a recursive process that occurred across all phasesof the investigation rather than a distinct final stage of research. Qualitativecoding that generally adhered to the process suggested by Neuman (1998)was used. Following these strategies, data were examined, sorted, categorised,evaluated, compared, synthesised, and presented to different points (Neuman,1998:240). These strategies allowed the examination of patterns of relationshipsand the creation of new concepts and theory by blending together empiricalevidence and abstract concepts in order to come to terms with their diversityfor the interpretation of data.To ensure trustworthiness, research protocols such as credibility, dependabilityand confirmability were followed. Ethical consideration was foremost in theselection of participants. The selection of participants was informed by consentfrom the respondents, emphasising the voluntary nature of participation,addressing concerns regarding privacy, anonymity, confidentiality, and offeringfeedback to participants. The sampling method ensured that the results wouldbe applicable to the specific population of senior secondary school teachersand learners. The supporting literature that was studied, the information thatwas obtained by means of in-depth interviews, and the observations anddocument study helped to ensure relevancy and clarity. The research designand methodology were aimed at making the study replicable and thereforeensured trustworthiness. Bias was avoided by means of a well-planned samplingstrategy and the study of relevant recent literature to guide the design of theinterviews, observations and the document analysis schedules.Findings and discussion of the empirical dataPatton (1990:172) suggests that in using the case format for reportingqualitative research, ‘important shared patterns that cut across cases derivetheir significance from having emerged out of heterogeneity’. The participantgroups in this study were heterogeneous. Both males and females participatedin the interviews. All the participants in the semi-structured interviews had660
Challenge of effective technology integration into teaching and learningmore than three years’ experience in teaching and had used technology forcertain reasons. Their schools, varying in size from 987 to 1,110 learners, werelocated in a township and in the suburb of the geographical area. The schoolswere also in different stages in the process of technology integration.The objective of the study was to explore the challenges faced by teachers andlearners when integrating technology into teaching and learning. The findingsrevealed major challenges such as unavailability of policy on technology,technophobia, insufficient resources, a lack of qualified technology teachers,maintenance and technical problems, risks and security problems, poor parentalinvolvement, insufficient time, and computer jargon. These challenges arediscussed below.Unavailability of policy on technologyThe findings from both the interviews and the document reviews showed thatthere was no common policy on technology integration into teaching andlearning, and there were no well-structured procedures to be followed to guideschools on the implementation process. Therefore, it appears that schools donot know what is permissible and implementable. This raises a concern ase-Learning is a new concept which was introduced in 2003. Participants indicatedthat the only policies available were the e-Education White Paper (2003) andthe White Paper 7 (2004). This was also evident from the observations and thedocument review. From the list of documents reviewed, there was no indicationof a policy on technology designed by either the national or the provincialeducation departments. The only policy available – and the one that was usedfrequently by teachers – was the White Paper on e-Education. Based on thischallenge, it seems that schools have to devise their own policy according tothe guidelines of the White Paper. An ICT policy seems to be an importantincentive to foster the integration of ICT use in the classroom, but only whenteachers are
learning. For the National Centre for Education Statistics (2003), technology integration is the incorporation of technology resources and technology practices into the daily routine, work, and management of schools. According to Woodbridge (2004), technology integrat
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