Every year sizable numbers of South African students leave school before completing twelve years of education – these are commonly referred to as school dropouts.
It is reported that less than 25% of learners who enter the education system complete their schooling.
Why do learners drop out of school? There are many contributing factors, but an important one is that these learners have been unsuccessful in school, do not enjoy it, and want to get out of the system as soon as possible. This implies that, even during their years at school, they learn very little. When they leave school, they destroy any further opportunities to learn.
Should one try to keep these learners in school at all costs? There are two aspects to consider. Artificial measures to "keep" potential dropouts in the system may have minimal effect. You can lock a horse in a stable with a trough of water, but is there any guarantee that the horse will drink? Secondly, these learners are often disrupting elements, making learning for others difficult.
Should one force them to stay at school? It seems as if nobody benefits – imagine what they do to the stress levels of teachers.
How about a win-win situation: remove extreme cases (those identified as potential dropouts) from the mainstream classroom and put them in a computer facility. Perhaps the different learning style offered by computers is just what these learners need to stimulate their desire to learn. And the rest of the learners can continue learning without disruption. And teachers can chill.
Do you think this could work?
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A number of postings in this blog allude to the possibility that computers can be used to teach learners in the absence of qualified teachers. See for instance the following postings:
The weakest link
Remove the barrier
A dog in the manger
This is a very sensitive issue: as soon as one mentions the possibility that computers can be used to teach, there is an outcry: "Do you think that you can use computers to replace teachers?" Yet, that is not what is being implied.
Nobody wants to get rid of educators. We can never have enough of them. However, when they are not available (many teachers have left the country, left the profession, died of AIDS) we are morally bound to search for alternatives.
One of these alternatives should be technology: computers in many instances, but also other available forms of technology.
Do yourself a favour and read the extensive article by Frederick Bennet, entitled Computers as Tutors: Solving the Crisis in Education . It is a long article (perhaps more of a book than an article); but give careful consideration to the issues presented.
If computers can be used as tutors, the Western Cape has a head start over the rest of the country. Over the past few years we have installed over 32 000 computers in our schools. This means that, if each one of these machines is used in tutor mode, the number of tutors in the province can be doubled!
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One of the goals of Khanya is to help all educators and learners to attain technological literacy . What is technological literacy?
It is defined as knowledge about what technology is, how it works, what purposes it can serve, and how it can be used efficiently and effectively to achieve specific goals .
This means more than just having knowledge about how a computer works.
True, a person who is technologically literate will display a sound conceptual understanding of the nature of technology and will also be proficient in the use of it. But one will also be able to use different technologies effectively to be more creative – that means finding innovative ways in which technology supports teaching and learning. Similarly, one will endeavour to become more productive – doing more work in less time.
A technologically literate person will be able to use electronic communication tools to reach out to the world beyond the classroom and learn to communicate ideas in powerful ways. The internet will be used optimally; likewise will one ensure that mobile phones, email and Mindset materials are used to their full potential.
The more technically literate a person becomes, the more one will use available tools to access, evaluate, process and synthesize information from a variety of sources. Does this seem complicated? That is the level of proficiency one must aim for.
Technological literacy does not simply mean that a person has been exposed to a computer. Clearly, much more is involved.
How are our educators and learners progressing in this regard?
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The word "smog" was created about a century ago when it was observed – in great cities – that polluted smoke combined with natural fog to create a most undesirable environment.
Smoke + fog = smog.
Smog is unhealthy, in some instances lethal; it also impedes visibility. When trapped in a smog-filled environment, it is easy to lose a sense of direction; it is no longer a matter of not being able to see the wood for the trees – it becomes impossible to see the trees for the smog.
A decade ago the term "data smog" was coined. Data smog refers to the massive amounts of data that one is bombarded with. In an information overloaded society, one is often overwhelmed by too much information. Imagine you are doing a Google search on a specific topic: the search returns five million references – that is data smog.
Data smog may cause us to lose our sense of direction. While the ability to have access to data is superb, there is a flip side to the coin: how do you remain focused on the real reason why you wanted to access the data in the first place? How do you retain a sense of direction? How do you find your way when data smog obscures what you are searching for?
It should be clear that we need a special set of skills to be able to navigate our way through the data smog. It should also be clear that we have to equip our learners to cope with the denseness of data smog that is increasing exponentially.
If we need fog lights to see through data smog today, in a decade from now people will require machetes to find their way.
Are we equipping ourselves and our learners with the required skills to cope with this situation - one that will intensify?
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In 1970 Alvin Toffler coined the term "information overload" in his book Future Shock. Little did he know how overloaded we would be thirty-eight years later.
This term is used to refer to the state of having too much information to make a decision or to remain informed about a topic. It is often used in the context of the advances of technology which makes the production, distribution and retrieval of information easier than before: email, voice mail, blogs and the internet are only a few of the ways in which information is made available in bewildering volumes.
The ease with which information is made available has reduced the natural selection processes which would otherwise have kept all but the most relevant information from being published. The result is the explosion of rubbish – irrelevant, inaccurate, and useless information. It becomes increasingly difficult to see the forest through the haze of counterfeit trees.
How are we dealing with information overload?
How can we help our teachers to deal with information overload?
How can we help our teachers to help our learners to deal with information overload?
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