Blurring and reconstituting boundaries: ICT-mediated learning in a developing

country context

Laura Czerniewicz Cheryl Brown

Reflections based onA research project on access and use

started in 2004◦ mixed-method approach◦ two surveys of 10 110 students in total

(undertaken in 2004 and 2007)◦ twelve universities in South Africa◦ quantitative analysis of 58 question survey ◦ qualitative analysis of the questionnaire’s

open-ended questions ◦ selected additional student interviews

Informed by our work at CET over the last 5 years

South African context

Per 1000 people South Africa

United Kingdom

Personal computers 85 600Internet users 109 473

Broadband subscribers

3.5 163

Bandwidth (bits pp) 19 13062Internet costs (US$

pm)63 27

Mobile subscribers 724 1088World Bank 2005

South African Higher Education context

Substantial restructuring of the Higher Education sector since apartheid ended in 1994◦ full-scale institutional mergers and

restructuring has taken place since 2005◦ student enrolments have increased by 30%

since 1994◦ increased student diversity with 22% more

black students entering the sector since 1995 No national educational technology

policySector resource constraints (esp ICTs)

and competing demands

Key assumptions 5 years ago, at outset of project

About access◦ A digital divide in terms of

physical (computers, location, adequacy and ease)

personal (disposition, skills) contextual resources (support, networks,

frameworks)About use

◦ A pedagogy of formal learning in a defined curriculum

◦ Defined learning spaces (on campus and off campus, virtual and physical)

◦ Students’ academic activities as separate from their social ones

Access and use inextricably intertwined

Rethinking boundaries, in four ways1. Some existing binary distinctions

continue to hold true 2. Some distinctions are exacerbated and

increasingly polarisation is occurring3. Traditional activities and categories are

becoming less clearly demarcated with grey areas creating a kind of hybrid, made up of new constellations of elements previously associated closely with distinct categories

4. Some distinctions have dissolved creating entirely new categories and new possibilities

How has this played out?The digital dividePedagogy and the curriculumLearning spacesSocial and academic intersections

Digital Divide: expanding and reconstituting

On campus the digital divide has almost disappeared

On-campus access to computers is reported equivalent for all students (except disabled)

very difficult; 10%

difficult; 18%

easy; 40%

very easy; 32%

Students’ reported ease difficulty of access to ICTs on campus, 2007

Digital divideOff campus, the digital divide is firmly in

placeOff-campus access is varied and unequal

No access Access through third

party

Home access Home and portable access

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Off-campus access by socio-economic group 2007

Digital divideIn other ways, the digital divide is becoming

exacerbated at the extremes ◦ 2007 data shows a small (11%) but distinct group

of South African students display characteristics of “digital natives” in that they have: grown up with computers; are independent when solving computer problems

and learning new skills, and draw extensively on their social networks.

◦ But a significant group of student (22%) still lack both experience and opportunities, as they have: been using a computer for less than 4 years; and have no direct access to ICTs off campus.

Digital divideHowever, in other ways, the digital divide is

being reconstituted or bridged by cell phones◦ Ownership is ubiquitous (98.5% in 2007) ◦ Ownership is not socially differentiated ◦ Students who fail computer literacy tests/

report little access to computers are reporting varied cell phone use

◦ Even student from low SEGs use phones as a means of internet access

Access to Internet by cell phone (544 students) by socio-economic group (SEG)

Low,SEG 35%

Average SEG 28%

High SEG 37%

Pedagogy: entrenched & opening up

ICTs used to entrench traditional roles

Answers that the lecturers put up

Clear information during lectures when projected

Lecturers keep you up to date with what’s happening in your subjects

ICTs used to open up and challenge

Can get more information about certain projects that you can’t get from lecturer, tutor etc

it helps me a lot because it connects me with other colleges, coursemates

I am able to read ahead, and sometimes challenge

PedagogyThe curriculum is opening upCurriculum oriented informal learning becomes easier and more visibleNew opportunities in relation to

◦ content ◦ access to wider networks of people◦ general support for students in terms of basic writing

But when you go to Internet, you'll find that ... maybe in Britain, maybe in Oxford University, they are doing the same stuff as you are doing. And you can get tutorial questions based on that …..

The curriculumBut for some students this blurring is making

learning harderSome students are finding information

overwhelming, and lack of support daunting

when I’m using an internet you know that’s where I get some frustration I only know some [of] the addresses, 3 of them you know while other people know more than I know and from there actually sometimes I don’t get what I want from the internet

not all information is100% accurate - books are more reliable, I think

I feel a lot better when I actually went out and found books for research. For instance … going on line… you have to find the right site and once you do find the right site your information might not be all be there so personally I feel that I do a lot better without computers

The curriculumThere are signs that ICTs are reconstituting the

role of students, giving them more agencyA notion of curriculum-oriented informal learning

mediated by ICTs, where goals of learning are explicitly defined by the learner but linked with the curriculum

lot of extra questions that could not be covered in the allocated lecture time could be posted on [the LMS], so the student can go through extra questions in their own time

Creating our own sites (not using an existing one) was very useful in a number of group projects that I have done. It provides an easily accessible centralized place to collect and access our work

Learning spaces: intact and fluidThe binaries of location continues to be relevant ito access to computers

◦ on and off campus remain relevant◦ students negotiate issues of adequacy, sharing, etc

I cannot access it as much as i would like to because the lower campus labs close and it is late to go upper campus and my friend would be busy or sleeping and i cannot use her phone

Learning spaces

But learning spaces are being reconstituted as students use cell phones for access and use in unanticipated ways

Access is increasingly being determined by connectivity not by location

You can access it [the LMS] anywhere even from your cellphone

You can use your phone via google. Maybe I don't have time for a computer. Or maybe it's late, and the assignment must be submitted. Then I use my phone.

Social and academic: separate and interwoven

The binaries between social and academic do still existThe uptake of social software in South African higher

education is low ◦ 71% of students hardly ever publish their own online content◦ 42% hardly ever upload resources to the Internet

Especially for learning◦ 71% hardly ever keep an online journal or blog as part of their

courses ◦ 60% hardly ever share resources as part of their courses◦ 66% hardly ever collaborate online with other students

This may be a conscious choice

I consider [our LMS] to be an academic resource. Other social networking sites are better suited to non-course activities

Social and academicBut there are signs of blurringSome students would like technology that integrates the

twowish we had a university calendar including all social, activism,

seminar, etc eventsIt [the LMS] needs more social network features (twitter-like status

updates at the very least) so that one can develop an online academic community rather than the highly restrictive per-course communities at present

Some move back and forth easily between the twobecause if you don't know anything, you can just go search, and

you can type back to your assignment. As you are doing your assignment… it's encouraging. Because you can do something recreational on the computer to refresh your mind, and then go back to your work

Social and academic ICTs have also increasingly blurred

the realm of academic and affective dimensions of learning.

◦ This happens through increasing connections

I even get some SMSes from my friends from church during exam stress. I think cell phones are very useful. They help me very much emotionally.

◦ And connections at a safe distanceIt's [ICTs] much easier than looking someone in the eye,

sometimes, to open up [when you are stressed about studying]

Social and academicThere is evidence of a reconstitution of learning with tools

normally associated with one kind of activity being used for another◦ Chat rooms are being used for studiesmaybe you are chatting with someone in Alice and you are asking

them what life is like…and (at the same time] you can send them your assignment, and they can send it back. …and you check it while you're chatting. And then you can re-do some things and send it back

◦ Use of LMS for non course related activities 32% of students find the LMS valuable for social networking 51% find it valuable for student activism

◦ Use of social software for academic activities 134 students say they use Facebook ONLY for academic use 174 students saying they use Flicker etc ONLY for academic use

In summaryNo single neat trendsMultiple simultaneous realitiesEmerging and conflicting practicesEvidence of

◦ Existing divides and distinctions, both continuing and becoming exacerbated

◦ Divides being reconceptualised and bridged◦ Both opening up and closing down◦ Hybrids, overlaps and re-constellations◦ Entirely new practices

ConclusionChallenges for educators

◦ Designing for increased diversity and new practices

◦ CL Gaps between students are getting wider How can educators respond to this

“dilemma of justice” simultaneously supporting students’ participation in new global practices without further marginalising previously disadvantaged?

◦ Given that even students with poor access and computer literacy have new forms of “cell phone literacies, how do educators leverage these “characteristically contemporary literacies” in order to build them into integral components which strengthen education

◦

ConclusionChallenges for institutions

◦ Responding to access issues in a context where on campus access remains crucial

◦ Responding to the needs and pressures of “digital natives” and of social/academic blurring

◦ Opening up the curriculum to “curriculum-oriented informal learning”

◦ Enabling maximum flexibility of tools for multiple purposes

◦ Rethinking assessment where students can access multiple resources and learning paths

ConclusionChallenges for research

◦ Gaining an “insider perspective” as to how technological habitus is being constituted in a new communication order

◦ Lecturer and student perceptions of benefits and drawbacks of the opening up of the curriculum

◦ The impact of distributed learning spaces on students’ sense of being a “community of learners

◦ Reconceptualising pedagogy