Development of ODL in a newly industrialised country according to face-to-face contact, ICT, and e-readiness

Authors

  • J Marinda van Zyl School of Continuing Teacher Education, North-West University
  • Christoffel Johannes Els School of Continuing Teacher Education, North-West University
  • A Seugnet Blignaut School of Continuing Teacher Education, North-West University.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v14i1.1342

Keywords:

Open Distance Learning (ODL), Development Phases, Pedagogical Support Platforms, Contact Classes, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), e-readiness, m-learning.

Abstract

A large number of unqualified and under-qualified in-service teachers are holding back socio-economical development in South Africa, a newly industrialized country. Open and distance learning (ODL) provides an innovative strategy and praxis for developing and newly industrialized countries to reach their educational and socio-economical objectives through professional development and training. In order to examine factors which affect the success of ODL offered by the North-West University in South Africa, a qualitative and quantitative research approach is used. Factors examined include face-to-face classroom contact, the implementation and use of ICTs, and e-readiness. The relationships between these factors are also discussed. A questionnaire was administered to 87 teacher-students in four Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) programs to collect quantitative data regarding aspects of their classes and the e-readiness of students. This data was qualitatively elaborated upon by three semi-structured, open-ended focus-group interviews. Besides descriptive statistics, Spearman’s rank-order correlations (r) were determined between variables pertaining to negative feelings towards face-to-face classroom contact, ODL as students’ choice of delivery mode, and students’ positive attitude towards information and communication technology (ICT). Combined quantitative and qualitative findings were used to evaluate the effectiveness of contact classes as well as the e-readiness of students towards the attainment of ODL development Phase D. This phase refers to UNESCO’s description of ICT implementation, integration, and use. Relationships (Spearman’s rank-order correlations) between ODL, as teacher-students’ choice of educational delivery mode, and aspects of their e-readiness suggest that the e-readiness of teacher-students is implicit to their choice of ODL as educational delivery mode for professional development.

Author Biographies

J Marinda van Zyl, School of Continuing Teacher Education, North-West University

Johanna Maria (Marinda) van Zyl has recently obtained a PhD from the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus in South Africa.  She is the administrative head of the off-campus programmes at the School of Continuing Teacher Education.  Marinda regularly publishes and speaks at international forums.

Christoffel Johannes Els, School of Continuing Teacher Education, North-West University

Christo Els is a research projects coordinator at the School of Continuing Teachers Education of the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus.  His research focuses on archetypal psychological types, teaching and learning styles, the development of educational and psychometric web-based applications, and the use of ICTs in education. He is currently completing his PhD in Psychology.

A Seugnet Blignaut, School of Continuing Teacher Education, North-West University.

Research Professor, Learning Technologies, School of Continuing Teacher Education, North-West University

Downloads

Published

2013-01-22

How to Cite

van Zyl, J. M., Els, C. J., & Blignaut, A. S. (2013). Development of ODL in a newly industrialised country according to face-to-face contact, ICT, and e-readiness. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 14(1), 84–105. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v14i1.1342

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 1 (2013)

Section

Research Articles

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. The copyright of all content published in IRRODL is retained by the authors.

This copyright agreement and use license ensures, among other things, that an article will be as widely distributed as possible and that the article can be included in any scientific and/or scholarly archive.

You are free to

  • Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
  • Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms below:

  • No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.