Teachers have lost confidence in the Education Department. There have been too many curriculum changes; too many training courses of variable quality; too many dodgy teaching methods introduced.

Eight years ago an experienced teacher said to me, ‘I used to feel that I was a good teacher. But now, with OBE and all the changes we must make to the way we teach, I feel totally incompetent.’ That teacher tried hard to adapt. What must she feel now? Do you think she will wholeheartedly throw herself behind the next lot of changes that are brought in?

I fear that further changes will deepen the problems as teachers become more confused by new academics telling them they are doing things wrong and showing them yet another way…

The one bright star shining in the darkness is the Khanya Project in the Western Cape. I sincerely hope that what has been started with technology will be sustained for many years to come.

Technology (and its implementation) and not the curriculum, is the greatest challenge in education. Despite the curriculum implementation changes that took place over the past decade or so, educators should be ensured and comforted that although technology changes are even @ a faster cyberspace speed pace than the curriculum changes, IT can help with the curriculum, whatever the “shape, size, layout, format or content” might be of the curriculum.
Can we assist educators? Yes we can by politely starting and suggesting a mind shift in their teaching practices inside their classroom and beyond. We @ Khanya can be the pacesetters and pioneers that can & that must introduce the ways / steps in which our educators / teachers could and should follow to break through the technological barriers, cross technological canyons and shape technological rocky areas in the rapid ICT river to be smooth. (I will post ideas on a continuous basis).
Training + Confidence = Curriculum Delivery. Presently, many educators are in their golden years (40 – 60 or is it silver years ?) and have been teaching for 20, to 30 or more than 40 years in the same manner – black/greenboard + chalk + textbook + A4 hardcover notebook !! In South Africa, ICT only surfaced @ schools in the 1980’, thus many educators have not have been TRAINED in how to use ICT in the classroom, left alone being trained in HOW to use the electronic equipment together with the curriculum!! To ensure effective use of ICT inside a classroom, a very effective, efficient, proper and adequate training plan in how to use ICT resources available @ schools, should be implemented so that educators can gain CONFIDENCE to use the technology. Thus TRAINING is the most important step, even an on-going training plan, i.e. Khanya. (This is step / way no 1).
EIAWB Technology + Computers + Classroom = 21st Century Educator. Many educators / teachers just don’t like the use of TECHNOLOGY (or even the word) in the classroom as they feel that the learners become dependent on for eg. the computer / EIAWB. They argue that the learner’s mental development of concepts is “left” behind (is it now in the left or right brain compartment?) as the technology is doing the “work” for the learner. All I can say about this notion is that it is not the electronic equipment that is the problem, but how it is used in the classroom that is the problem. Use it correctly should be attended. (This is step / way no 2).
The EIAWB is used MAINLY and ONLY as a display and presentation piece of electronic equipment, showing and presenting to learners what needs to be done and accomplished re e.g. the content of a subject (2011 terminology), while it is “packed” with many other “interactive activities” that can make the content of the subject more visual and “alive”. Interactive action between the educator, learners and the EIAWB should be the MAIN AIM. To overcome this scenario of one-way display action by an EIAWB, workshops should be done in such a fashion that educators can be empowered with first the basic EIAWB skills followed by more advanced skills. Rome was not build in a day, nor should EIAWB be done in the same fashion. (This is step / way no 3).
Step / way no 4 ….. to follow.

Albie

I want to agree with Kathy…too many changes…too soon. I feel educators must be given the freedom to teach and not told every minute when to teach what. They are not children. They don’t need child minders. last week I assisted in training educators in the use of ICT in their maths lesson. In the old end I learnt more than what I trained. I am glad there are many changes this time around since what was expected by the “OBE” system was over-ambitious. In many cases, using Physics as an example, it was and still is too much university-based.

An example: The old method of teaching Work and Energy has changed to the Work-Energy theorem…. Its the correct Physics but more complicated to use. I had to hit the old university text books to check what goes for what.

Doppler effect….equations are being taught and applied without getting behind the concept of why and how it works.

Organic Chemistry….structures, physical and chemical properties, reactions, conditions under which reactions occur and the use of organic compounds. How is the learner and educator going to cope with all this? And it counts a third of the final paper. The whole idea is that we are educating learners for university, but what about those who will do Physics and not reach university?

Solutions:
Allow the educators the freedom to teach without frequent interference by district staff. We must support where we can.

An example is to source technology which will assist in teaching Organic Chemistry. There is no science software available in the Khanya Project to teach organic chem with. Nick Greeves from the University of Liverpool kindly pointed to a java-based free-ware program we can use. Not only must the software be made available but support for its use must be highlighted frequently.

Facilitators must be given the time to research relevant materials to get best practices to share with educators. We must not be made to spent all our time visiting schools just because the WCED/officials/Khanya Senior management must see us there.

Facilitators must also get the time to teach classes with the very technology they(we) “sell” to educators…to experience what educators do. We need the info to pitch our training to hit the spots where the problems exist.

Please get more tech staff to get Windoze running properly with minimal hitches. From the grapevine I believe that this is wishful thinking. I may be wrong.

For now…this is all…have to go for supper.

School management must really be looked at holistically from the WCED side of which Khanya should also play a role. A proper course should be in place which includes the management of ICT in schools. A forum for solutions must be created for problems experienced and solutions sought. Iḿ thinking about a type of MBA in education management. Education managers learning various skills which can be practically implemented.

Some educators do not use/embrace technology simply because…..they do not want to. I think in the majority of schools, Khanya and its partners have done their damnedest to exhort/coerce educators to use technology with superlative results. However there is a not-so-negligible number which seems to have missed the bandwagon.

I think peer education/training would go a long way in making educators embrace technology. When an “outsider” conducts training, some educators feel intimidated and are not at easy to ask pertinent questions.

Hello all

I’m writing an article on interactive whiteboards and their role in SA schools, and it would be really valuable to get a few comments from teachers who have actually used the boards. If anyone would be willing to share a few thoughts following their experience with the boards, please could you contact me on lezette@itweb.co.za.

Kind regards
Lezette Engelbrecht
ITWeb

thanks for keeping me up to date on this subject.