Student Teachers’ Experiences of Open Distance e-Learning Support in a Posthuman Era: A Learner Engagement Perspective
Online learning uses information and communication technologies which rely on reliable connectivity. While this is a giant step to widen access in South African education as shown by a number of studies conducted already regarding online learning, less focus has been paid on rural students which ar...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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OpenED Network
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Curriculum Studies Research |
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| Online Access: | https://curriculumstudies.org/index.php/CS/article/view/158 |
| _version_ | 1797861457254154240 |
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| author | Siyabonga Alfa Zwane Patience Kelebogile Mudau |
| author_facet | Siyabonga Alfa Zwane Patience Kelebogile Mudau |
| author_sort | Siyabonga Alfa Zwane |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Online learning uses information and communication technologies which rely on reliable connectivity. While this is a giant step to widen access in South African education as shown by a number of studies conducted already regarding online learning, less focus has been paid on rural students which are under-resourced. They are presumed to have access and support to online learning and assistive ICTs that make online learning possible. Therefore, the focus for this study was on KwaZulu-Natal rural student teachers’ experiences of open distance e-learning in a posthuman era. The study focused on students’ experiences regarding online support tools like discussion forum and others as tools for student engagement and support on myUnisa platform. The problem was investigated using a descriptive qualitative case study, which used individual interviews. The study involved fifteen UNISA student teachers from KZN and the findings revealed that, notwithstanding the countless challenges, students were very passionate about the use of online learning in open distance e-learning and they showed a desire to engage more using different types of devices and platforms as they learn through social media and also showed that learning resides in technological appliances they use(posthumanism), hence the study’s conclusion and implications stress that the distance between the student and the institution, student and lecturer and student and other students can be mediated and reduced through proper student support services such as provision of gadgets for internet connection, proper telecommunications infrastructure, ICT workshops and training for all students and in posthumanism terms, formal integration of social networks in learning in light of the finding that learning is non-linear and resides in technological devices used to connect students.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T22:02:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fbdc37b485aa447bbfb42d186159be17 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2690-2788 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T22:02:47Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | OpenED Network |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Curriculum Studies Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-fbdc37b485aa447bbfb42d186159be172023-03-23T12:54:37ZengOpenED NetworkJournal of Curriculum Studies Research2690-27882023-03-015110.46303/jcsr.2023.3Student Teachers’ Experiences of Open Distance e-Learning Support in a Posthuman Era: A Learner Engagement PerspectiveSiyabonga Alfa Zwane0Patience Kelebogile Mudau1College of Education, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South AfricaCollege of Education, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa Online learning uses information and communication technologies which rely on reliable connectivity. While this is a giant step to widen access in South African education as shown by a number of studies conducted already regarding online learning, less focus has been paid on rural students which are under-resourced. They are presumed to have access and support to online learning and assistive ICTs that make online learning possible. Therefore, the focus for this study was on KwaZulu-Natal rural student teachers’ experiences of open distance e-learning in a posthuman era. The study focused on students’ experiences regarding online support tools like discussion forum and others as tools for student engagement and support on myUnisa platform. The problem was investigated using a descriptive qualitative case study, which used individual interviews. The study involved fifteen UNISA student teachers from KZN and the findings revealed that, notwithstanding the countless challenges, students were very passionate about the use of online learning in open distance e-learning and they showed a desire to engage more using different types of devices and platforms as they learn through social media and also showed that learning resides in technological appliances they use(posthumanism), hence the study’s conclusion and implications stress that the distance between the student and the institution, student and lecturer and student and other students can be mediated and reduced through proper student support services such as provision of gadgets for internet connection, proper telecommunications infrastructure, ICT workshops and training for all students and in posthumanism terms, formal integration of social networks in learning in light of the finding that learning is non-linear and resides in technological devices used to connect students. https://curriculumstudies.org/index.php/CS/article/view/158rural studentsinformation and communication technologiesopen distance e-learninglearning management systemscooperative learningposthuman era |
| spellingShingle | Siyabonga Alfa Zwane Patience Kelebogile Mudau Student Teachers’ Experiences of Open Distance e-Learning Support in a Posthuman Era: A Learner Engagement Perspective Journal of Curriculum Studies Research rural students information and communication technologies open distance e-learning learning management systems cooperative learning posthuman era |
| title | Student Teachers’ Experiences of Open Distance e-Learning Support in a Posthuman Era: A Learner Engagement Perspective |
| title_full | Student Teachers’ Experiences of Open Distance e-Learning Support in a Posthuman Era: A Learner Engagement Perspective |
| title_fullStr | Student Teachers’ Experiences of Open Distance e-Learning Support in a Posthuman Era: A Learner Engagement Perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Student Teachers’ Experiences of Open Distance e-Learning Support in a Posthuman Era: A Learner Engagement Perspective |
| title_short | Student Teachers’ Experiences of Open Distance e-Learning Support in a Posthuman Era: A Learner Engagement Perspective |
| title_sort | student teachers experiences of open distance e learning support in a posthuman era a learner engagement perspective |
| topic | rural students information and communication technologies open distance e-learning learning management systems cooperative learning posthuman era |
| url | https://curriculumstudies.org/index.php/CS/article/view/158 |
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