Barriers affecting the integration of ICT in South African schools

The government is always looking for ways to improve the level of education in our country. This is a good thing as "education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world" and it is the key to success. So we can use Information and Communication Technology (ICT), as it is an umbrella term used for any communication device and applications such as computers, television and cell phones. By so doing we will be making sure that we improve education through the use of technology as it is taking over the world.  

As we focus on implementing the use of ICT in our schools  we must also be aware of the barriers to ICT integration as some of these barriers are intrinsic, meaning that the only way to eliminate them is to change our beliefs and attitudes towards ICT. But most of these barriers are from the environment that we live. This   includes the lack of resources, like not having enough computers for all the learners in a classroom. Lack of time as most periods are for studying using textbooks and the general knowledge of educators. There should also be support in every school for the integration of ICT and the teachers must have enough knowledge and skills for using technology.

By eliminating these barriers we will be making it easier for the learners to be more familiar with ICT as they will be having enough computer and teachers who are well trained. We also need to teach our children that the is more to the internet than social media and that we can use social media as a way of gaining more information from other people. This will even make education more fun and children can start to see learning as a way of living than viewing it as a job.

Let us make a difference in this world and the best way to do this is to make a difference in the education system. As they always say that, together we can do more.

My final year at Sobantu Senior Secondary School in Mpumalanga

My final school year at Sobantu Senior Secondary School in Mpumalanga

A final school year (matric) is the most important year in every learner’s life. It is a year where a learner cannot wait to complete school and excited about life after matric. I completed my matric in 2014 in a town called Ga-Phahla next to Siyabuswa. It is a very small town that has only 3 schools ( a primary, senior phase and senior secondary school). So there is not much to say about that place except that it was named after a certain man who used to own the biggest supermarket back in the days (1980’s).

In matric I had 7 subjects that is Mathematics, Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, Life Orientation, English, Afrikaans and my home language Isindebele. My favourite subject was Life Sciences because we learnt about things that we came across in our daily lives. Most of those things are the ones that we experience as humans like reproduction, evolution and many more. Unlike the things that we used to learn about in other subject like in Physical Sciences, were we used to deal with forces that some of us have not seen up to this day.

Most of the time we used laptops to download previous question papers from the internet. That did not favour every learner because most of us (learners) did not have laptops so the teachers used to print those documents and make a copy for each learner. We also used projectors for extra information and for our informal and formal experiments. That made thing easier for us and the teachers. So I can say that technology does play an important role in improving education in our country. 

Reflection on the Service Learning project

The past few months have been the most challenging months ever as we were expected to work on our service learning project. But we all know what they usually say, that challenges help us to learn new things and grow.


Service learning is defined as an educational approach that balances academic instructions and directions with the opportunity to serve in the community in order to provide a progressive learning experience. Service learning is a valuable pedagogy as it is the best way to apply the theory that we are taught in lectures in real life. It serves as a platform for us to display the good qualities that we as future teachers have and gives us the opportunity to experience the real life of a classroom. Our service learning task was to prepare a carnival day for the grade R learners in Mareleng.
  

When reflecting we have what we call the DATA process, which is the process that entails the description and the analysis of a certain event. It also involves the theories that may relate to that event and also the action that a person will take after reflecting.


It all started when we were asked to form groups, so that we can work on the project as a group. That was not a problem at all, as we started to work on our project as a group. We came up with suggestions for the name of our group and Ndlelehle Group is the name that we choose for us. After that we discussed the kind of games that we wanted to have on our carnival day. We wanted games that will be fun but also educational, as this was a service learning project meaning that we had to bring in some change in the community.


We then searched for different educational games on the internet and got exactly the kinds of games we were looking for. It was then time to construct this games and have samples as we were expected to present the games to our lecturer before the carnival day. I must say that we had an amazing presentation and we delivered things that were expected and more. 

That was not the end of it. It was actually the beginning of something else. As it was the time were the hard work really started, with the big day coming up. During this time there were obstacles standing on our way and at some point we had doubts. We made a lot of mistakes but we had to find ways to rectify them.

Finally it was the 05^th of May, the day we have all been waiting for. We found a perfect spot in the given venue, were all our games will be visible. After putting everything together, we really appreciated the efforts, hard work that we`ve put into this project and the late nights we had to sacrifice. At that moment I personally understood the quote saying,” hard work beats talent when talent does not work hard” because we had to work hard in order to reveal the talent that we have.The children finally arrived and the joy that was on their little faces, it was priceless. They played and enjoyed all games that were prepared by the groups and loved the gifts they got at the end of the day.

The carnival day would have been a better if the given venue was not exposed to the sun, as this was not a good condition for some of the children. Also there should have been some snack and drinks to offer the children as they were hungry after playing for an hour. But all in all, this day proved that we (as future Foundation Phase teachers) can do anything. We are willing to work hard in order to obtain this degree. This is a day that we will all remember as it was one of the most amazing days of our lives. 

The kind of a teacher I strive to be.

This essay aims to cover my personal teaching philosophy. I will address the following elements . Firstly my goals and purpose as a teacher. Secondly my views when it comes to the process of teaching and learning. Thirdly the roles of the learner and the teacher in the teaching and learning situation. The context in which optimal learning can take place. Lastly my personal values as a teacher.

I believe that learners are the future of each and every nation. Every learner has the potential to bring something unique and special to the world. In order for the potential to be realised the learner neeeds to be assisted in life to reach that potential. One of the people who have a great impact in a child`s life is a teacher, because children spend most of their time with teachers. So teaching is an important and honourable occupation that demand commitment, care and  discipline. Each and every teacher should have a purpose and goals that she would like to achieve.

The first and most important goal I have as a teacher is to bring change in each and every learner`s life.  I want to improve the quality of education for everyone. I will like to work in schools that need talented and commited teachers. In schools that need change the most. By working in this kind of schools , I will be able to bring change and make a difference. As a teacher my goal is to educate learners. I want to impart information to learners and work with them to ensure that they understand not only the concepts but practical applications as well. I want to develop teaching strategies that motivate and inspire learners to learn.

One of my goals is to inspire the learners in all aspects of their lives. I want to be their role model so that I can encourage them to strive for greatness. To teach the learners through experience and commitment how to realise their full potential to become the best they can be. I want to motivate my learners to work hard, so that they can live a better life than the one they are living. To make them believe that everything is possible. The only thing they need to do is to set goals for themselves. They need to have big dreams,through hard work and determination they will turn their dreams into reality.Learning is a goal for me as a teacher because in the teaching profession you deal with different people at different times. Teaching is one of the professions that takes you out of your comfort zone and opens your eyes to many things you may have never been exposed to before. Learning will also broaden my perspective about different things in life.

My purpose as a teacher is to help learners to learn by communicating wuth them and making sure that the lesson is understood by all learner. As a teacher I must get the learners excited about learning, support and guide them. My purpose is also to instruct learners in ethical behavior, discourage lying, cheating, stealing and bullying.

The processes of learning and teaching must be those processes that are beneficial to the learners, as they are the ones that are being taught.The teacher must use a range of teaching strategies to effectively meet the needs of individual learners. Different learning strategies should be used, such as self-directed learning, co-operative learning, role playing, behavioural rehearsal, peer education and parental involvement. This will help the teacher as she will  be able to view the strength and weakneeses of the learners. The learners will also be able to display their strength as the strategies are different.

The role of a teacher is passing on the content of a given subject to the learners and the learners role is learning and understanding the content of the subject. The role of a teacher is to build strong relationships with the learners. Teachers must be approachable so that learners feel comfortable talking to them about their academic progress, peer-to-peer relationships and classroom needs. The role of the learners is to voice out their concerns. If they do not understand the teacher, they sould say so. It is very important that the teacher plays his/her roles and the learners play their roles so that effective learning can take place.

As a teacher I must make sure that my classroom is fully furnitured and it is always clean. So that the learners are all sitting down during lessons, in a clean place. I will make sure that my classroom has posters and pictures that relate to what we are learning about. the posters and pictures must be neatly pasted on the wall. It is essential for a foundation phase classroom to  have posters and pictures because foundation phase learners use visual or pictures to learn.

In life one of my important values is making a difference in a persons life. Being remembered for all the good things I have done is very important to me. Education is also important as it is the most powerful wepon we can use to change the world. In order to be the best I can be, I need to be commited to what I am doing, so commitment is my value. Approachability is an important value to have as a teacher because it makes the learners to be more open to you. Care is one of my values because as a foundation phase teacher I need to care about my learners so that they can feel safe and loved when they are with you.

Teaching is the best profession for me, because I get to deal with children and I love them. They are the most innocent living beings that rely on us to bring them up in the best way ever. As a teacher I am willing to do that and even more.

References

Grasha, A.F. (1996). Teaching With Style: A Practical Guide to Enhancing Learning by Understanding Teaching and Learning Styles.Alliance Publishers. Pittsburgh.

Elmaifi, F. (2014). The Goal OF Teaching-An Experienced Teacher`s Viewpoint. http://edtechreview.in/news/906-the-goal-of-teaching-a-teacher.com

Seldin, P.(1993). Successful Use of  Teaching Portfolios. Anker. Bolton

Brookfield, S. (2006). The Skillful Teacher. Jossey-Bass. San Francisco.