The MELISSA project – Measuring E-Learning Impact in primary Schools in South African disadvantaged areas – commenced as an international research initiative between three universities: Cape Peninsula University of Technology and the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa, and Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) in Lugano, Switzerland. It was jointly funded by the Swiss Secretariat for Education and Research (SER) and the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) for a 36-month period from November 2008. As can be inferred from the project title, MELISSA had the objective to determine the impact of digital technologies in terms of pedagogy in primary schools. The use of „disadvantaged‟ alludes to the fact that these schools are located in areas that are socio-economically deprived, and may face resource difficulties. In which case it was anticipated that the access to and integration of technologies within these schools would be constrained.
BET-K12 – Salvador de Bahia, Brazil
The conceptual development of MELISSA grew out of two preceding initiatives. The first of these, Brazilian eLearning Teacher Training in K-12 (or BET-K12), was implemented in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil between 2005 and 2008. This project was based on prior collaboration between the New Media in Education Laboratory at USI and a Brazilian nongovernment organisation, CEAP – Centro de Estudo e Assesoria Pedagogica (Fanni et al., 2010). BET-K12 was created to help primary teachers in disadvantaged community schools to obtain university degrees by training them in the use of ICTs. The goal here was for teachers to become more equipped in living and working in the knowledge society (ibid.). The project, then, had a clear social directive, which regarded the access to information as an endemic challenge to regional development (see Cantoni et al., 2009).
BET-K12 offered a technology-based curriculum on digital literacy, ICTs in pedagogy, and communication theory for local primary school teachers. The project team intended to measure the role of technologies in influencing self-efficacy: the belief that one is capable of performing an activity or achieving a goal. The results were inconclusive and required deeper analysis. Subsequently, the team at USI determined that self-efficacy warranted further investigation as a construct to explain changes in teachers‟ attitudes toward technologies (Fanni et al., 2010).
85 The Khanya Project – Western Cape, South Africa
In the South African context meanwhile, a regional ICT-in-education initiative was being spearheaded by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). A few years prior, the national government recognised the future prominence of information and communication technologies. The potential for ICTs was specifically acknowledged in the domain of education (as described in Chapter II): digital technologies could strengthen the processes of teaching and learning in local schools (Bladergroen et al., 2012). In 2001, the Khanya project was officially launched by the WCED, in collaboration with corporate and smaller donor agencies. In line with local and national ambitions toward a knowledge society, Khanya was established to promote learning and maximise educator capacity. This was achieved (or envisioned) by integrating the use of appropriate, available and affordable computer technology into the curriculum development process (Western Cape Government, 2011).
The Khanya business model revolved around four central tenets (Khanya, 2011): A critical shortage of teacher capacity
This is inflated by a lack of new entrants into the teaching profession, and a continuous decrease in qualified teaching staff. The Khanya model, then, would address these shortages through the provision of technology. This was not intended to replace educators, but rather to help them conduct their professional duties more effectively.
The need for coordination efforts
The WCED recognised that there was a lack in unitary, consolidatory efforts in the regional education sphere. Industry, local government, and civil society organisations are (or should be) compelled to band together in tackling the problem of education in the province.
Bridging the digital divide
As discussed in Chapter II, much of the ICT4D efforts the world over have been directed at narrowing the „digital divide‟. In the education sphere, this could be achieved by creating environments where technology is accessible to educators, learners, parents and administrators alike.
86 Preparing the Western Cape for the knowledge economy
In view of a global vision of „participating in‟ the information society, the WCED has underpinned technology as a foremost driver of progress in the Western Cape. This would (hopefully) enable and equip individuals to apply knowledge effectively in hyperconnected world.
Based on these business drivers, the Khanya project set the very ambitious objective of equipping every primary school in the Western Cape with technology facilities by the start of 2012. These were typically in the form of computer laboratories, with learner units (internet-connected desktop PCs), teaching aides (interactive whiteboards, personal computers), and administrative tools (printers, network capabilities, and the like). The project intended to go beyond mere computer access, however. Rather, Khanya aimed to facilitate and strengthen the process of digital literacy and curriculum delivery. This is within the context of a constrained pedagogical environment, in which educators and learners are equally deprived of technology access (Khanya, 2011).
By the end of 2011, Khanya had installed computer laboratories in 1402 schools, with another 89 schools in the completion stage. More than 50 000 computers had been in use by this time, with more than 30 000 educators and nearly 1 000 000 learners granted access to technology facilities (Khanya, 2011). By sheer numbers alone, the project was deemed an immense success (see Marnewick, 2011). On Wednesday, 28 September 2011, the responsibility for technology in education was formally transferred from Khanya to the Western Cape Education Department. Henceforth, the WCED would assume responsibility for technology innovation in the classroom through its own internal structures (Marnewick, 2011). The handover was preceded by the resignation of Kobus van Wyk, chief project manager, two months earlier. These activities signalled a new „era for technology in schools in the Western Cape‟ (ibid.).
The apparent successes of the Khanya programme notwithstanding, the process of extensive technology installations in local schools proved challenging, and uncertain. A standard Khanya computer laboratory only contained between 25 and 40 computers. This resulted in high learner to computer ratios in most schools with populations of over 500 learners (Davids, 2009). Computer laboratories also required regular physical maintenance. For lower income schools, this would not always be feasible, and in-house resources were thinly stretched. In some of the schools I visited, there were several instances of poorly maintained facilities: broken PCs, missing/stolen equipment, no network infrastructure, and faulty air conditioners (which, in some
87 cases, leaked onto computers below). These schools also received limited technical support from Khanya, which in most cases was not timely (Chigona et al., 2011).
In addition to these challenges, the low level of ICT skills in local schools was a major concern. Educators did not possess the technical, content management, or pedagogical skills to integrate ICT effectively in their work (Chigona et al., 2011). This was inflated by inadequate training provision from Khanya and unsupportive school management policies (see Davids, 2009). In some cases, computer labs were inaccessible for most of the day, with educators only permitted access in scheduled timeslots. Ineffective scheduling meant that most educators were excluded from accessing the lab during normal work hours. Schools offered little incentive for lab use, moreover, which further impeded the process of ICT adoption in provincial education.
The Khanya programme was hampered by the very problem it set out to address: low technology uptake (among both teachers and learners). The skill level among learners was severely low, especially in less resourced settings. Learners did not generally have access to computer facilities at home, and could not practice what they learnt in school. Even at school, technology contact hours were at a minimum, with some learners only granted an hour per week in the lab. Related to this is the feeling amongst educators that the current curriculum does not require them to use ICT for curriculum delivery. By implication, the integration of ICT is not perceived as important by the WCED (Chigona et al., 2011). These dynamics have not instilled the massive technology uptake that the Khanya project aimed to produce. Whilst vastly successful in terms of introducing computer facilities, Khanya fell short in the adoption and integration process.