Disruptive nature of technology in education

Source:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Preventing_disruptive_technologies_from_disrupting_education.jpg

As highlighted above, there is increasing use of technology in both conventional and ODFL institutions. The main benefits of using technology are that it facilitates communication, illustration of ideas and flexibility in learning. These affordances are particularly important in ODFL where the distance factor has potential to limit communication between the learner and the facilitator.

Technology bridges this gap, which Moore, (1993) refers to as ‘transactional distance’. In distance education, transactional distance does not necessarily refer to the geographical distance between the teacher and learner, but refers to the development of a particular form of interaction between the two parties because of the geographical separation, (Giossos, et al., 2009 cited in Murangi, 2019)²⁶

Michael Moore’s theory of transactional distance is relevant in addressing the objectives that relate to learners’ experiences when transferring from the traditional classroom mode of delivery to ODL, and in particular to an open school environment, (Murangi, 2019). According to Moore, interaction, which can be either synchronous or asynchronous, is core in any distance-learning environment. Whilst technology is important in enhancing learner-teacher interaction in face-to-face learning, because of the proximity of the two parties, learners can still manage even if they make minimum use of the technology. This is unlike in distance education where the geographical distance constrains the communication, hence the compelling need to use technology. Thus, one of the shifts learners and teachers need when they go the distance route is to be able to use technology.

Before you look into various technologies that are used in teaching and learning, you need to reflect on common pedagogical approaches used to facilitate learning.

Activity 1

This activity should take you about 20 – 25 minutes to complete.

In the discussion forum, share your understanding of the term “pedagogy”.
In your practice, what are the main teaching and learning principles that underpin your approach to teaching? Share your answer in the discussion forum.

Click here to post your thoughts

Feedback and comment on Activity 1

According to COL, (2023)²⁷ pedagogy is broadly understood as the science or study of teaching and learning. In some cases, this is more narrowly interpreted in terms of teaching and learning of children as opposed to adult teaching. Andragogy is mainly used for educational methods and principles related to adult learning. With the advent of the popular discourse on independent, self-directed learning associated with ODFL, the term heutagogy has also been coined for the learning approach that emphasises self-determined learning and learner autonomy. This approach believes in supporting the learner to create their own curriculum, allowing learners to choose the courses of their interest. In heutagogy the focus is both on competencies and capabilities. In this unit, the word pedagogy is going to be used in a rather broad sense to include educational methods and principles that relate to adults as well.

As you can see from the definitions above, there are fundamental principles that underpin any pedagogical approach to teaching and learning. Essentially, these principles have to do with people’s assumptions of how learning takes place. The main point here is that teaching and learning is based on sound pedagogical principles of guided-didactic conversation (Holmberg, 1983), and appropriate use of two-way communication tools and technologies that help support dialogue and communication. Interaction between students and other students, students and teachers and students and content results in deeper understanding and is an integral part of ODFL, (Murangi, 2019). To benefit maximally from ODFL opportunities, students need to be guided to develop self-directed learning skills. This is a fundamental aspect of ODFL which has implications for learners, parents, teachers, managers, and national accreditation bodies.

Activity 2

This activity should take you about 30 – 40 minutes to complete.

Read the following extract from the OER Africa Online Tutorial on Design for Learning. The extract gives you insights on principles that underpin teaching and learning approaches.
Reflect on your practice and think of the principles that inform your approach to teaching and learning.
Share your reflections in the chat.

Good teaching and learning principles

Let’s be open right up front. We want you to let go of lecture-based teaching and embrace good teaching and learning principles. In this learning pathway we are going to advocate:

Activity-based learning: A learning style that requires the student to do. We suggest reducing the number of lectures, which is an example of passive learning, and including activities where students learn by applying, evaluating, and interpreting new knowledge and using their new skills.

Student-centred education: Despite a long history of lecturer-based education, where the focus is on the teacher, education research advocates adding opportunities for students to be at the centre of learning. They should have autonomy and be aware of their responsibility to shape how learning happens. In addition to our role as teachers, there will be times when we need to guide and support learning.

Collaborative learning: Education research shows that students learn best when they interact socially and have access to networks of information and different perspectives. Professionally, most of our students will need to function as a team yet we rarely encourage the acquisition of social and intrapersonal skills in traditional academia. We should create opportunities for students to collaborate.

Contextually relevant learning: Ideally we should show our students how conceptual and abstract knowledge are related to the real world. Students are more engaged learners if they can see why something is relevant, how it builds on their prior knowledge, and potential uses for it.

If you are interested in learning more about learning design, you can read through this tutorial here.

Now that you understand what pedagogy means and principles that underpin some of the pedagogical approaches, you need to explore the shifts that need to happen amongst the various stakeholders in education when they move from traditional forms of teaching and learning to distance education. This enables you to identify pedagogical approaches that should be used in ODFL, and the role technology plays in advancing those learning approaches.

Activity 3

This activity should take you about 50 – 60 minutes to complete.

To understand different stakeholders who need to think differently for ODFL to succeed, you should read the following COL resource: Guidelines on Distance Education during COVID-19

After skimming through the COL resource, complete the table below to suggest an enabling environment (or factors) that needs to be in place for the guideline to be operationalised. Note that only a few guidelines have been selected per stakeholder.

As an example, enabling factors for the first stakeholder have been completed for you.

Stakeholder	Guidelines	Enabling Factors
Governments	Develop appropriate national policies/frameworks to mainstream ODFL	Policy guidelines facilitating movement of students and staff from ODFL to conventional face to face system. Funding of ODFL to facilitate enough resourcing.
Governments	Promote national ICT and connectivity strategy	Improvement of ICT infrastructure, including in remote areas. Having national strategy for students to access data at discounted rates (or zero-rated when accessing learning data bases).
Educational institutions	Develop and implement technology-enabled learning policies/strategies
Educational institutions	Share course content developed or curated by faculty members
Academic and support staff	Take proactive steps to adapt to the new ODFL environment
Academic and support staff	Make sure that staff are available at designated times for ODFL students to reach them
Students and student bodies	Develop skills to learn online
Students and student bodies	Stay connected with teachers and other students

Feedback and comment on Activity 3

Stakeholder	Guidelines	Enabling Factors
Educational institutions	Develop and implement technology-enabled learning policies/strategies	Appropriate use of technology Support to staff and students in using technology Updated technology Sufficient back-up to keep the technology functional
Educational institutions	Share course content developed or curated by faculty members	Well-designed courses
Academic and support staff	Take proactive steps to adapt to the new ODFL environment	Staff competent in support learning in an ODFL environment.
Academic and support staff	Make sure that staff are available at designated times for ODFL students to reach them	Staff that is professional & places student at the centre Appropriate use of technology Support to staff and students in using technology Updated technology Sufficient back-up to keep the technology functional Staff that prioritises student success
Students and student bodies	Develop skills to learn online	Proactive students keen to learn online support skills. Hard working students committed to their studies.
Students and student bodies	Stay connected with teachers and other students	Active students who are self-motivated to learn. Inquisitive students who interrogate issues. Students who learn through sharing.