Volume Two - Academic Conferences

Fortunate Gunzo and Lorenzo Dalvit
One big challenge in using computers is the different backgrounds that the learners are
coming from, for an example there are learners that have computers at home. Those
pupils can have their enthusiasm dampened if the activities they are asked to do are not
challenging. Such pupils can also become frustrated if the school equipment is slower
than the computer at home.
Issues of classroom management were also raised by the teachers. One teacher said “I am aware
that children will probably do other things as they like to explore, I will give them the chance to do that
once they finish the activity”. Another teacher said “I know that it is children’s nature to get excited
when they see visitors and new things in the classroom. So to reinforce good behaviour I will reward
the best behaved group with a merit”. These two examples show the resourcefulness and
innovativeness of the teachers in trying to make the intervention successful.
Language was noted as one of the main challenges especially for younger learners. Teachers
indicated that they felt the computer terminology might be a bit confusing to the learners, given that
computers are the domain of the English language. One teacher expressed concern of whether or not
the learners would understand the terms used for computers and resolved that she would code switch
to try and explain and make it easy for learners to understand “I have started teaching in English now
since my learners are in grade four as is stated by the education policy, but I know that my learners
will struggle to understand computer terms so I will have to explain to them in IsiXhosa (local
language)”. Teachers were optimistic that learners would be able to improve their command of the
language through the use of the computer. One teacher said “their language (English) will improve
since they will be using the spell checker during their writing times (on the computer)”. As an
alternative, open-source software already available in indigenous South African languages could be
installed on the netbooks (see Dalvit et al 2006).
5. Conclusion
In this paper, we discussed the perspectives of a group of 20 teachers working at various
marginalised schools in South Africa on a possible intervention using a mobile computer lab in their
schools as part of their professional development course. Most teachers supported the use of
computers for learners. The most popular suggestion was to use the mobile lab to teach computer
literacy (and introduction to computers) for learners. Special emphasis was made on the final grade
12 since they would be going into tertiary institutions and would need computer skills there. There
were suggestions for the use of the lab to teach subjects to learners. In this case teachers anticipated
that they could use online resources to search for information for the subjects they taught. Another
suggestion was to upskill colleagues to use computers for administrative purposes.
Although a longer term intervention would be necessary in order to have a real impact, these
suggestions seem reasonable within the constraints of the proposed intervention. Teachers
mentioned the support of the school's management bodies as a key success factor and see an
experience using the mobile lab as a way to spear-head the implementation of ICT in their schools.
Lack of infrastructure and large classes were cited as challenges to the use of ICT in school which the
an intervention with a mobile lab could help to overcome. Teachers could foresee problems of
classroom management due to the heterogeneous levels of prior experience with computer and by
excitement about the novel technology in their classes. Particularly for younger learners, language
was also identified as a possible problem. Teachers collectively devised strategies to overcome these
possible challenges in the upcoming implementation phase.
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