Siyavula: Supporting Teacher Communities For Curriculum-Aligned OER in South Africa

OpenEd Conference 2009Mark Horner, Shuttleworth FoundationJoel Thierstein, ConnexionsKathi Fletcher, ConnexionsCynthia Jimes, Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education

Siyavula:

The Importance of Community

Community in education is highly valued:

Siyavula

Online open learning materials

Curriculum framework

online repository

accessible

online tools

curriculum framework

experts

Community development community tools

support

expanded sharing

Bringing Educators Together

Siyavula will transform teaching...

Bootstrapping Development

Siyavula has critical mass on content ...

75% of grades covered

text-based material, ready for print

curriculum-aligned

community enabled

ICS MaterialLeapfrog development 2 years!

SoftwareOnly the Connexions platform satisfies our primary needs:

ICS Material

SoftwareOnly the Connexions platform satisfies our primary needs:

Software

Closed Loop

Communities share, create, use and improve:

Development Partnership

Features for communities of teachers

• Ratings

• Forums on lenses and workgroups

• Curriculum alignment lenses

• Open lenses

Ratings

Forums on Lenses 

   

Forums on Lenses 

   

Curriculum Alignment Lens

OpenEd Conference 2009Cynthia Jimes, Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education ISKME:

Research to Support Teacher Communities For Curriculum-Aligned OER in South Africa

• What are teachers’ current curriculum and curriculum development needs?

• What challenges and opportunities exist for implementing Siyalula in the South African classroom?

Research Questions (First Phase)

Methodology

• School Site Visits

• Teacher and Administrator Interviews

• Workshop Observations (those piloted at SciFest)

• Baseline Teacher Survey

Key Findings

• Teachers face concrete challenges around curriculum, pointing to the need for OER and Siyavula

• Cultural, technological and structural barriers exist to implementation; however,

• Teachers currently practicing offline ‘OER behaviors’ (sharing, reusing, remixing, collaborating), that can be leveraged

• 42% - rural schools

• 38% - urban • 20% - semi urban

Classroom Context

• 37% - computer lab at school

• 32% - Internet at school

• 80% - desks for all learners

• 57% - textbooks for all learnersN=164

Evidence of Need for Siyavula

68%

47%

43%

40%

32%

Not having the curriculum materials needed

Knowing if the materials are of high quality/good

Knowing if the materials meet curriculum requirements

Knowing which materials to choose

Knowing how to use materials in the classroom

We need easy to use materials that meet the standards of

the district and that are easy to adapt. And having

material that the learners understand easily. -

Teacher Survey Participant

“

”

N=192

Teachers reported the following curriculum challenges

N=198

I make use of a lot of 3-D apparatus, which I either

bought or made myself to assist learners in

mastering a concept (numeracy). - Teacher Survey Participant

Evidence of ‘OER Behaviors’ in Place

91%

73%

70%

50%

47%

Teachers reported using the following types of materials in the classroom

Newspapers, magazines or journals

Materials created by other teachers

Information/materials found on the Internet

Textbooks recommended by the Dept. of Education

“

”

Materials I created myself

N=190

The benefits [of working collaboratively with other

teachers] are that one can see the strengths and

weaknesses of ones own work and colleagues can give

constructive suggestions.

- Teacher Survey Participant

Evidence of ‘OER Behaviors’ in Place

74%

72%

38%

31%

28%

Teachers reported the following curriculum development activities

Shared materials I have with other teachers

Created materials in collaboration with others

Provided feedback to teachers on their materials

Received feedback on materials I created

Discussed materials informally with colleagues

“

”

Observations of a teacher “swap and share” group at one

South African school revealed how teachers meet to share

hard copies of science exams and exercises, and discuss

ways to combine the new materials with their own

Evidence of ‘OER Behaviors’ in Place

83%

65%

22%

Teachers

reported

the

following

use and

reuse

activities

I combine materials with other types of materials

I edit or modify materials to meet my needs

I use materials ‘as is’

N=195

Potential Barriers• Technology access - Only 32% have Internet at school (teacher survey)

• Technology skills - 20% do not know what email is (teacher survey)

• Culture - Teachers may face resistance to becoming authorities on content (interviews)

• Culture - Some teachers may not see the value of technology (school site observations; interviews)

Implications for Siyavula• Leverage already existing communities of teachers working collaboratively

• Further support teachers’ existing use, reuse, remix and sharing behaviors

• Support workarounds for teachers without access to computers and the internet

• Integrate discussions of cultural barriers and basic technology skills training into teacher workshops

Cynthia Jimescynthia@iskme.org

Mark Horner mark.horner@shuttleworthfoundation.org

Joel Thierstein & Kathi FletcherJoel.Thierstein@rice.eduKef@rice.edu