Pupils can't solely rely on e-learning

If learners at primary or secondary level only attend online schools, they will be disadvantaged in terms of socialisation, says CSSA's Rabelani Dagada.

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Learners in primary and secondary schools should not solely receive online education.

This is the view of Rabelani Dagada, president of the Computer Society of SA (CSSA), who notes that online learning at primary and secondary school level should supplement traditional face-to-face teaching and learning.

In an interview with ITWeb, Dagada noted that if learners at this level only attend online schools, they will be disadvantaged in terms of socialisation.

"Such a learner will lack social and academic avenues that can help them interact with others who are working or studying in similar or related research areas," Dagada explains.

On the other hand, he points out that, due to the poor quality of education in most primary and secondary schools in SA, there is a need for good online schools to supplement face-to-face schools.

Kumon.com is a good example of how online schools can complement face-to-face schools by offering personalised after-school mathematics and English lessons, he says.

"Because, in the online class, you learn according to your own pace, learners are able to comprehend learning materials before moving to new lessons."

Dagada also believes online education is advantageous in schools in previously disadvantaged areas, which have shortages of learning materials.

"In places such as Limpopo, this problem has been exacerbated by the failure of the provincial government to deliver textbooks. Had children in Limpopo had access to online supplementary after-school classes, the shortage of books in their schools would have been substantially mitigated."

According to Dagada, online education can also play a critical role at post-matric level in SA. "At college or university level, I would support online education, even if it is the main delivery method.

"Some of the mature students, especially those who are older than 30, find themselves under enormous pressure to cope with studies, careers and family responsibilities. Attending face-to-face classes may exacerbate this problem or become impossible. It is on this premise that online education comes in handy for matured students."

Online education has several benefits for both the learner and educator, Dagada continues. For educators, he says online education centralises and automates several aspects of the learning process.

These include storing and delivering self-paced online courses; registering learners; maintaining a catalogue of courses; downloading online learning modules; tracking the participation and recording the progress of each learner; assessing learners; tracking and recording assessment results; and providing reports to management, he points out.

For learners, he says online education allows students to collaborate with each other through virtual classrooms, chat rooms and discussion forums.

"Online learning also increases the capacity of learners in terms of problem solving. While people find it hard to deal with enormous quantities of data and information, computers can do so effortlessly, allowing learners to focus on learning rather than struggling to deal with information."

Highlighting some disadvantages of online learning, Dagada says some learners and educators do not have access to networked computers in their homes.

He adds that the majority of teachers have not yet mastered how to offer good online learning based on sound pedagogy and instructional design. "There is no Internet in certain parts of SA; schools that have computers have been victims of burglary and crime; telecommunications and hardware costs are still relatively high; as well as the cost of buying off-the-shelf proprietary online management systems, licence fees and maintenance."

Richard Rayne, MD of iLearn, a training solutions provider, says with the increasing challenges facing learners today - including access to resources, geographic and logistic limitations - specialists within the online environment believe taking the virtual route to qualification certainly warrants serious consideration.

iLearn says the current reported unemployment figure in SA stands at 27% and there has been widespread media coverage of skills shortages in several industries, including information and communications technology.

It is the immediate and accessible nature of the Internet that makes it a powerful educational tool, says Rayne. He believes using the Internet to facilitate distance education and secure qualifications online will emerge as a top socio-economic trend in 2013.

"My view is that there is an abundance of very successful tertiary education institutions in SA that are producing highly qualified and employable candidates. However, with regards to vocational training, I think there is a huge gap here - learning institutions need to produce far more candidates with more practical and working knowledge and not theory only," says Rayne.

In his opinion, there is no reason, other than connectivity, as to why online training could not work for the South African market.

"But this (connectivity) is no longer really a barrier to accessing online course products, as Internet speeds are more than sufficient and have become widely available - even at Internet cafes."

Dagada concurs, saying several projects will open the South African Internet market. "These include the completion of the two national fibre rings by Fiberco and the MTN, Neotel and Vodacom partnership; as well as the unbundling of Telkom Local Leased Circuits."