Browsing by Author "Duku, Ntombozuko 0000-0002-2897-5091"

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    Innovation and Technology: A Panacea to Teaching and Learning Challenges during the Covid-19 Lockdown in South Africa
    (OpenED Network, 2022-03-15) Adu, Kemi O. 0000-0002-7787-0157; Badaru, Kazeem Ajasa 0000-0002-3372-8220; Duku, Ntombozuko 0000-0002-2897-5091; Adu, Emmanuel O. 0000-0002-0304-5138
    Innovation and technology brought by the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) have become an urgent reality to all teachers because of the need for a virtual classroom. In South Africa, over 13 million students in almost 25,000 schools have been affected by the COVID-19 lockdown. Most school teachers were not trained for online teaching, which was the only safe method of teaching during the lockdown period. This study, therefore, investigated how innovation and technology were utilised to mitigate the virtual classroom problems during the COVID-19 lockdown. This study employed a qualitative research approach using interviews to collect data based on the phenomenological research design. The sample for this study consisted of 12 lecturers purposively drawn from one university in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Thematic content analysis was performed on the data. The findings revealed that a majority of the participants have poor pedagogical skills especially those related to using technologies such as Blackboard, Microsoft Teams, and V-Drive on computers for online teaching engagements during the COVID-19 lockdown; strategies utilised by the participants for their teaching activities during the lockdown included Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp voice notes, email attachments for sending bulky teaching materials to students, and other Computer-instructional resources. Thus, this study recommends an urgent need for capacity development workshops to equip lecturers with computer and ICT skills, knowledge, and strategies for online teaching delivery and increased provision of adequate learning and teaching facilities in all public educational institutions, including those in the rural areas.
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    Teaching in a Pandemic: An Exploratory Study into University Instructors’ Perceptions of Workfrom-Home Opportunities and Challenges during the COVID-19 Lockdown in South Africa
    (Society for Research and Knowledge Management, 2022-07-28) Badaru, Kazeem Ajasa 0000-0002-3372-8220; Adu, Kemi Olajumoke 0000-0002-7787-0157; Adu, Emmanuel Olusola 0000-0003-1345-5517; Duku, Ntombozuko 0000-0002-2897-5091
    Recent studies have investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, organisations, and education in South Africa. However, research on the work-from-home opportunities and challenges during the COVID-19 lockdown is still scarce in the context of South Africa. This study, therefore, explored university instructors’ perceptions of work-from-home opportunities and challenges in South Africa. Thstudy, guided by the SWOT analysis as the theoretical framework, was located within the qualitative research paradigm. It leveraged a sample of ten academics drawn from the Faculty of Education at a rural-based university using a purposive sampling technique. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview and analysis was thematically performed. The findings revealed that WFH arrangements offered opportunities for working from home without incurring the cost of travelling, saved commuting time, provided new ways of teaching and learning with evolving digital platforms, and allowed for prioritising of time for self-development and relaxation. WFH challenges included social isolation, disconnection from colleagues, fatigue from performing monotonous routines daily, inadequate data, and poor internet connectivity. Thus, the study recommends the provision of internet facility support and technological training of academic staff of universities on innovative and pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning for blended and/or online teaching in preparation for any similar disruption of education in the future.