It is argued that learning management systems (LMS) are mainly used for formal and informal learning at the expense of non-formal learning. This ignites reluctance in students to use LMS to their maximum potential in institutions of higher education (IHE). Through two contrasting qualitative case studies in two IHEs, ways in which LMS can be used for non-formal learning are proposed. Data were generated using reflective activities, Zoom group meetings and one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 31 students who were purposively and conveniently sampled from teacher education programmes at a South African and an American university. The theoretical framework of connectivism was used as a lens to make meaning of data that were thematically analysed. Findings suggest that students did not have a love of using LMS but used the Moodle and Canvas LMS primarily for downloading readings and participating in discussion forums. The study therefore, proposes a non-formal learning framework for self-direction, and concludes that ignoring students' personal (non-formal) experiences which stimulate a love of using LMS may result in IHE to needing to change from one LMS to another.

Online teaching results in knowledge building. Knowledge building is the teaching and learning process that helps academics and students to generate specific personal values used to understand their personal identities. Academics have been forced by COVID-19 lockdowns to go online in teaching their students. The purpose of this study is to explore and understand academics’ knowledge of teaching for knowledge building in two higher-education institutions (HEIs) (RSA and USA) during the COVID-19 era and the 4IR. Reflective activities, focus-group discussions, and semi-structured interviews were used for data generation. Purposive with convenience sampling was used to select the twenty most accessible academics to participate in this study. The findings reveal that this situation compelled the academics to self-actualise on their knowledge-building to address the “why” questions of teaching that help students to understand and address their needs. The self-actualization was framed by “technological pedagogical content knowledge” which produced societal, personal, and professional knowledge building. It was interesting to note that the USA HEI participants were supported by educational technologists, while the RSA HEI participants helped themselves. This was because the RSA HEIs do not have educational technology centres. Consequently, this study recommends a follow-up study that can qualitatively and quantitatively compare the two HEIs. In this way it can be established whether the success of online teaching and learning is influenced by the presence of educational technology centres.

Decolonising students' knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and mathematics content is important because it helps students understand their learning needs. Decolonisation is a process of critiquing and renewing the curriculum. Learning needs are circumstances that demand individuals' actions in order to address professional, personal, and/or social needs. The purpose of this article is to explore and decolonise students' knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and content in the learning of first year Bachelor of Education mathematics. Ten students learned a mathematics module at a South African university and were purposively selected to participate in this study. Semi-structured interviews, observation, and reflective activities/questionnaires, framed by critical action research, were used for data generation. The students' knowledge revealed that the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) was useful when used as the learning framework, which generated curriculum concepts for the module to support the student knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and content. The concepts were learning needs, content, goals, activities, time, environment, community, assessment, and GeoGebra resources. GeoGebra was the main learning resource that helped the students to integrate other resources into the module. The study concluded that, although the technological and content knowledge dominated the learning in other cases of the module, the pedagogical knowledge which was a result of their self-reflection to understand their identities, drove the module all the time. This study, consequently, recommends that students should use their knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and content as taxonomies of learning, in order to address mathematics, individual, and societal needs through the integration of technology.

This time of COVID-19 has compelled higher education institution (HEI) academics to embrace a digitalised curriculum in teaching, learning, and research. A digitalised curriculum is a plan for and/or a plan of teaching, learning, and research, driven by specific hardware, software, and theories. HEI leaders of teaching and learning have been unsuccessful over the years in promoting the use of various kinds of learning management systems (LMSs) with the aim of embracing a digitalised curriculum. The unsuccessful promotion of LMSs was caused by the lack of compelling situations that forced digital technology refugees to use the LMSs. In 2020, when COVID-19, which originated in China, started to affect other countries, academics desperately transformed their minds in embracing the digitalised curriculum. They started to attend any workshops on the use of digital technologies through Zoom. The findings of the study reveal that the transformation experiences of these academics were reflections, translation, rotation, enlargement, and reduction. These transformation experiences addressed the tension between a performance curriculum and a competency-based curriculum. This study explored the transformation experiences of academics at an HEI in South Africa. Zoom observations, semi-structured interviews and focus-group discussions were used for data collection. A mixed method and pragmatic paradigm were used to frame this study. The study applied purposive with convenience sampling in selecting twenty participants. This study concludes by recommending the identification of values or ideologies relevant to the enactment of the digitalised curriculum that comes to the rescue of HEIs at this time of COVID-19 and beyond.

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