Patience Kelebogile Mudau

This study examined rural pre-service teachers’ preferences for online learning platforms, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Moodle discussion forums in the Open Distance e-Learning environment. This group of students experiences digital illiteracy, limited access to assistive technologies, and network challenges, which may prevent them from optimally utilising formal learning platforms such as Moodle. They can, however, use Telegram and WhatsApp, as they regularly engage informally on these platforms. Against this backdrop, this study explored rural pre-service teachers’ experiences with Moodle and these social media platforms in an Open-Distance e-Learning space. This study employed a descriptive, qualitative case study with semi-structured interviews, guided by Siemens’s Connectivism theory. Fifteen student teachers from the College of Education in an ODeL institution were purposively sampled to provide in-depth insights into their lived experiences of platform use. The findings revealed that, although each platform served a unique instructional function, their perceived professionalism, safety, and interactivity differed substantially. Social media platforms such as Telegram and WhatsApp were lauded for their immediacy, accessibility, and low bandwidth usage, chiefly among rural pre-service teachers from economically disadvantaged communities. However, participants perceived these platforms as unprofessional, disruptive, and unsafe. Conversely, Moodle’s discussion forum was viewed as a credible, structured space that fostered academic discipline through the presence and guidance of lecturers. These contrasting perceptions highlight tensions between accessibility and academic regulation within ODeL environments. Although prior studies support incorporating social media platforms into LMSs, this research extends this discourse by emphasising the need to balance accessibility, interaction, and academic integrity within resource-constrained contexts. The study concludes that social media platforms and discussion forums can complement each other in ODeL, encouraging student interaction and inclusion, while discussion forums ensure educational rigour, safety, and institutional integrity.

Open education has been prevalent for years, and its history can be traced back to various movements and initiatives. However, openness encompasses a range of dimensions, each with inherent possibilities and challenges, especially when considered within diverse contexts. Open Education Practice (OEP) is an innovative way educators and students can use open educational resources (OER) to improve teaching, learning, and collaboration. This study aims to report on the lessons learned from OER's design and co-creation with students. This study used qualitative research within an interpretivist paradigm. Six master-in-education students co-created OER using lecture notes and formative assessments during the current study in 2021/2022. Data were collected using an open-ended questionnaire administered through Google Forms, completed by students involved in creating the OER. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that open education practices could allow students to construct and share their ideas through ownership of learning, collaboration, contextualization, and access to learning through openness. Students and their lecturers can co-create OERs aligned to the African context and applicable to real-life situations by participating in the construction and sharing of knowledge, collaboration, and contextual aspects.

School leadership is regarded as the cornerstone of the successful provisioning of quality education. This qualitative study draws from principals' accounts of their instructional leadership challenges in rural multigrade schools. The research, situated within an interpretivist paradigm and the theoretical lens of instructional leadership, sought to understand the challenges that principals experience as instructional leaders and how they mitigate the challenges they experience in their rural contexts. Ten purposively selected principals from rural multigrade schools situated in the Vhembe district of Limpopo province participated in the study. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews and were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings show that principals in rural multigrade schools do not participate in induction training to equip them with the knowledge and skill to commence their roles as principals. As a result, they struggle to balance their teaching and management roles. However, fostering teamwork with teachers may be a strategy that could assist principals in managing and successfully executing their duties. Lack of access to technological resources and staffing are serious concerns for the participants in their aim to provide quality education. Active parental involvement supports principals and teacher in their multigrade rural context. This study recommends that principals should undergo training for their role as principals in rural multigrade schools and training on multigrade pedagogies is recommended for both principals and teachers. Understanding challenges that principals in rural multigrade schools experience could help policymakers establish relevant policies that address leadership issues in rural schools.

This study explored learning which occurred when mature distance education students co-developed an open educational resource (OER) with their lecturers using Smith’s critical reflection as a method to guide reflection on their learning. This study is significant since student learning on the co-development of an open educational resource could not be found in the literature. Within an interpretative paradigm, we used questionnaires with mainly open-ended questions to determine a particular group of students’ learning. Findings indicate learning about themselves, their interactions, and their contexts. The study puts forward specific implications to improve future practices based on the findings. The specific contribution is that students who engage in critical self-reflection change their perspectives, allowing them to self-examine and reflect on future actions. This learning experience assists students, lecturers and institutions of higher education in their approach toward critical reflection and the co-development of OER.

A few studies have been conducted to understand how secondary school teachers made sense of quality teaching and learning and assessment in general, and particularly in the financial literacy component of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS), a subject outlined in the South African Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). Learner performance in the financial literacy component of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) has been poor, hence the reason for exploring the experiences of teachers teaching the financial literacy component. The study adopted an exploratory case study design qualitative approach within an interpretivist paradigm. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with teachers, departmental heads and Subject Advisors considered experts in teaching, in addition to classroom observation. The collected data were analysed by means of thematic analysis. The study findings revealed that many factors influence the teaching of the financial literacy component of EMS. It was recommended if these factors were addressed it could enhance learner performance. In addition, the notional hours allocated to EMS should be increased and it is suggested that projects and case studies should be done away with as forms of assessment as they do not give a true reflection of learner performance. Learners should only be assessed with controlled tests and examinations so that a true picture of their performance could be determined, and proper intervention strategies mapped out.

Graded online discussion forums allow students to interact with course content, peers, and instructors. These discussions have the potential to enhance students’ learning experiences significantly. By adding graded online discussions to an online structured Master’s program in Education, it was necessary to determine the value of these discussions and their contribution to creating an online community. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine how a community of inquiry could support graded online discussions. The study used the Community of Inquiry theoretical framework as its basis. A qualitative exploratory case study design was used, involving eleven purposefully selected participants who were enrolled for a structured master’s program in Education. Data were collected from two sources: feedback from students on their experiences of the online discussions, and the actual online discussions. The data were analyzed using the six-phase thematic analysis approach following a deductive approach. This study revealed that these discussions supported students’ learning and created an online learning community promoting social, cognitive, and teaching presences. These findings have implications for practice. Firstly, fostering social presence is essential for online discussions because it leads to increased engagement, motivation, a sense of belonging, and collaboration. Secondly, online discussions need to be designed with clear guidelines, structured questions, and discussion opportunities. Lastly, online discussions designed to promote cognitive presence challenge students, encourage debate, and assist them in gaining the needed knowledge and higher order thinking skills. Based on these findings, the unique contribution of this study is to provide guidelines for fostering discussion forum participation within the Community of Inquiry (COI) framework. The suggested guidelines can serve as a resource to facilitate effective graded discussion forums in higher education contexts.

This article explores student perceptions of writing online examinations for the first time during the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, examinations at an open and distance learning institution in South Africa were conducted as venue-based examinations. From March 2020, all examinations were moved online. Online examinations were introduced as an emergency measure to adhere to safety and health protocols. Although students in developed countries have indicated benefits to online examinations, less is known about students living in the Global South when it comes to writing examinations online. Not enough is known about the benefits and challenges of online examinations since they were implemented as an emergency measure. We aimed at exploring student perceptions of writing online examinations for the first time, improve examination processes by including student views. Through an analysis of 336 written responses to an open-ended question posed at the end of an online survey, we established that digital access, duration of the examination, and the examination system interface affected students’ success in online examinations. Based on the findings, we recommend that students need to be given tools and data to participate in online examinations. Furthermore, students should be granted ample opportunity to practise writing online examinations while receiving the necessary support.

Online learning uses information and communication technologies which rely on reliable connectivity. While this is a giant step to widen access in South African education as shown by a number of studies conducted already regarding online learning, less focus has been paid on rural students which are under-resourced. They are presumed to have access and support to online learning and assistive ICTs that make online learning possible. Therefore, the focus for this study was on KwaZulu-Natal rural student teachers’ experiences of open distance e-learning in a posthuman era. The study focused on students’ experiences regarding online support tools like discussion forum and others as tools for student engagement and support on myUnisa platform. The problem was investigated using a descriptive qualitative case study, which used individual interviews. The study involved fifteen UNISA student teachers from KZN and the findings revealed that, notwithstanding the countless challenges, students were very passionate about the use of online learning in open distance e-learning and they showed a desire to engage more using different types of devices and platforms as they learn through social media and also showed that learning resides in technological appliances they use(posthumanism), hence the study’s conclusion and implications stress that the distance between the student and the institution, student and lecturer and student and other students can be mediated and reduced through proper student support services such as provision of gadgets for internet connection, proper telecommunications infrastructure, ICT workshops and training for all students and in posthumanism terms, formal integration of social networks in learning in light of the finding that learning is non-linear and resides in technological devices used to connect students.

Online courses have risen in popularity over the last few years, mainly because of the convenience of studying from anywhere and at a time that is suitable for students. The Covid-19 pandemic has made online courses a convenient way to learn in a safe environment. Online environments that can instil a strong sense of community therefore need to be created to support students adequately. One way to create such an online learning community is to engage students in online asynchronous discussions. The purpose of this paper, therefore, will be first to determine successful strategies and the value of online discussions from the previous research literature. Second, we will report on our research findings and provide guidelines for designing online graded discussions that support a community of inquiry. We will employ the Community of Inquiry framework to conceptualise the community in online discussions. In the research, we will use a qualitative approach to collect data within an interpretative paradigm. The context of this study is a structured online master’s programme offered at an open distance e-learning institution. It is envisaged that the insights from this research would guide facilitators in selecting suitable strategies when designing online graded discussions. Graded online discussions have the potential to encourage student engagement and to create an online learning community if they are designed to encourage social, cognitive and teaching presences.

Web-based technology has proven itself indispensable in education, especially in distance education and in developing countries. Technological advances and the COVID-19 pandemic have forced higher education institutions to be innovative in delivering education in their countries. This article seeks to demonstrate the role and value of e-portfolios as an alternative teaching and learning tool in distance education and the online environment, especially in developing countries. A systematic review of peer-reviewed academic studies of e-portfolios between 2010 and 2020 was conducted. A total of 18 papers were selected according to the inclusion criteria. The review shows that the use of e-portfolios is still a relatively new trend in developing countries. The study also revealed that e-portfolios can infuse important skills such as self-directed learning, critical thinking, and lifelong learning. These results have the potential to help institutions to creatively design appropriate support tools and strategies alongside the implementation of e-portfolios in their contexts.