The digital divide at three disadvantaged secondary schools in Gauteng, South Africa

Chisango, Grasia; Marongwe, Newlin

doi:10.17159/2520-9868/i82a09

Cited by 20 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(19 reference statements)

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“…In South Africa, it is not only higher education that was affected by the digital divide but even secondary schools were highly affected. According to Chisango and Marongwe [47], the fast spread of information and communication technology (ICT) has altered education, as well as other aspects of society, around the world. How students communicate with professors, study, and work have all been influenced by technology, particularly the internet.…”

Section: South Africa Should Strive To Build Digital Capacities Becau...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…How students communicate with professors, study, and work have all been influenced by technology, particularly the internet. Chisango and Marongwe [47] also highlighted that the digital divide was exposed in South African schools through the closure of schools due to COVID-19. [48] also argued that COVID-19 has had a huge impact on colleges across the world, prompting a "great shift online".…”

Section: South Africa Should Strive To Build Digital Capacities Becau...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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COVID-19 and the Key Digital Transformation Lessons for Higher Education Institutions in South Africa

2022

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COVID-19 has left an unmistakable impression on the world stage. It has altered the global socio-economic landscape, forcing individuals to adapt and embrace new ways of doing business, as well as new ways of life. One of the most significant effects of the pandemic was to hasten the adoption of digital technologies by many areas of the global economy. Campus closures were observed in the higher education sector, putting an end to long-standing face-to-face teaching and learning. This necessitated the most rapid paradigm shift ever seen in this industry to continue educating and learning. An abrupt change to online learning, which is primarily reliant on digital technologies, occurred. As a result, the purpose of this article is to investigate and identify ten critical digital transformation lessons from COVID-19 for South African higher education institutions. Secondary data gathered from the literature research were used to meet the study’s goal. The study concluded by laying out the most important digital transformation lessons for South Africa, including the notion that the country should strive to build digital capabilities because digital technology gaps remain wide, among other things.

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Section: South Africa Should Strive To Build Digital Capacities Becau...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: South Africa Should Strive To Build Digital Capacities Becau...mentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 and the Key Digital Transformation Lessons for Higher Education Institutions in South Africa

2022

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“…[23] At the tertiary education level, ICT should also not be taught in isolation but integrated into the curriculum to ensure students can apply it for subject-specific purposes. [25][26][27] Due to limited access to digital tools at the secondary school level in South Africa, [28,29] it is essential to assess students' computer skills, access, and use of the internet and digital devices at the beginning of tertiary education to ascertain their abilities to use technology tools and applications for academic purposes. Consequently, design strategies that could uplift their competencies and address challenges.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First-year nursing students’ digital literacy: A cross-sectional study

Harerimana

Duma²,

Mtshali³

2022

JNEP

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Background: The digital world is rapidly changing, and so do the required digital skills. As physical devices and software are adapted to meet new possibilities and demands, individuals’ skills must adapt to technological advancement. Digital literacy is increasingly used in the public discourse, becoming a core requirement of students, academics, patients and healthcare professionals. Assessing nursing students’ digital literacy at the entry-level is vital to ascertain their abilities to use digital technologies. This study aimed to assess basic digital literacy among first-year nursing students at a selected university in South Africa.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from 1st March 2019 to 31st May 2019 at a university in South Africa. The population consisted of 82 nursing students from the first-year students in the 4-year nursing programme. The convenience sampling technique was used to determine the participants of this study, and 76 respondents completed a structured questionnaire. Data were analysed descriptively using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS®) software (version 25) from the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM®). A reliability test of the instrument was conducted, and Cronbach Alpha was 0.85.Results: The students’ digital literacy included: (i) basic computer skills — performing basic computer operations, MS Word and PowerPoint; (ii) internet skills — using e-mail, Moodle®, social media platforms, accessibility to the internet; and internet searches (iii) digital device usage — desktop, laptops, tablets and smartphones. Overall, the mean for internet skills was 3.61 (SD = ±0.62), 3.11 (SD = ±0.85) for computer skills, and 3.00 (SD = ±0.47) for digital device usage. Computer skills was positively correlated with internet skills (r = 0.278, p = .012) and computer skills corrected with digital device usage (r = 0.384, p < .001). The overall score for internet skills was higher in the female group than in males, with the mean of 4.00 (SD = ±0.62) and 3.61 (SD = ±0.54), respectively (t74 = -0.405, p = .019). Furthermore, the overall score for digital device usage was higher in the age group of 20 years and above with a mean of 3.19 (SD = ±0.38) than in the age group under 20 with a mean of 2.90 (SD = ±0.48), and those differences were statistically significant (t74 = -2.420, p = .018).Conclusions: An adequate digital literacy at the entry-level of the nursing programme is a foundation and a critical factor to academic success and future use of technology in nursing education and practice. Having adequate digital literacy among nursing students would positively impact their ability to perform electronic documentation, communicate and collaborate, and search for information to support evidence-based practice.

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“…Learning with the aid of technological gadgets and platforms is crucial [1,2], though in some instances such gadgets and platforms are also considered to be a source of distraction [3,4]. Meanwhile, owing to factors, such as the cost of technological gadgets, access to internet infrastructure and poor funding, many students and institutions of learning are disadvantaged [5][6][7]. This is more common and profound in institutions of learning, situated in rural areas, which are commonly described as low income environments [5,8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Meanwhile, owing to factors, such as the cost of technological gadgets, access to internet infrastructure and poor funding, many students and institutions of learning are disadvantaged [5][6][7]. This is more common and profound in institutions of learning, situated in rural areas, which are commonly described as low income environments [5,8]. Nevertheless, the roles, played by technology in the teaching and learning environment, are pivotal and cannot be overemphasised.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of the awareness of rural students on M-learning using smartphones

Taiwo

Uleanya

Ayandibu

2022

SR:PE

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The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a sudden transition from face to face to online teaching and learning practices in various parts of the world. Meanwhile, the level of awareness and adoption of mobile learning (M-learning) by means of smartphones in many rural parts of Africa tends to be considered low. The reasons for this include various factors, such as poor access to internet facilities, a lack of funds, the cost of smartphones, amongst others. This study investigates the level of awareness of South African rural higher institution students (SARHISs) on M-learning using smartphones. A quantitative method was adopted for the study. Convenience sampling was used to select the institution and the 75 respondents who took part in the study. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire, entitled “Smartphone questionnaire (SQ)”. The collected data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), Version 25. The findings of the study show that the adoption of M-learning using smartphones by the respondents who are students from the South African Rural Higher Institution (SARHIS) is moderate – a little above the average. Based on the study, it is recommended, that students’ awareness should be raised and that M-learning should be supported given the recent transition from onsite to online teaching and learning practices

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The digital divide at three disadvantaged secondary schools in Gauteng, South Africa

Cited by 20 publications

References 19 publications

COVID-19 and the Key Digital Transformation Lessons for Higher Education Institutions in South Africa

COVID-19 and the Key Digital Transformation Lessons for Higher Education Institutions in South Africa

First-year nursing students’ digital literacy: A cross-sectional study

Investigation of the awareness of rural students on M-learning using smartphones

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