When fishing, a person may conceal a hook in a piece of bait in the hope that the unwary fish will be fooled into thinking that an unexpected morsel of food has come its way. The fisherman is, in effect, offering the fish a free lunch. But since there is no such thing as a free lunch, the fish has to pay the price and become a lunch itself.
One should take a lesson from this. Beware of anything that seems to be free. Investigate carefully to determine where the hook is. In the case of free and open software, one has to look carefully at the hidden costs and then decide whether it would be expedient to go the free and open route.
But the free lunches take different forms. A product that is overtly commercial may be offered to schools at no cost. The generous Microsoft license agreement to schools in South Africa comes to mind. According to this agreement, the use of most products from this company that a school may need is free. So the question immediately comes up: what is the hook?
Could it be that schools are made so dependent on this brand of operating software that they are locked into its use? If schools have this software installed on their networks they will purchase educational software products that run only on this platform. Once an investment has been made in software, it would be very hard to switch to a system which may require additional expenditure.
It has also been argued that the hook is even more subtle. Learners are getting used to a particular software platform. When they later purchase their own computers or become the decision makers in companies where they will be employed, there would be no question about their preference of operating software.
Are we prepared to take the bait and swallow it with the hook, line and sinker?
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TANSTAAFL is an acronym for the adage “There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.” This expression probably started in pubs where free lunches were offered to patrons on condition that they purchased at least one drink. Of course, the price of the drink, as well as all the potential subsequent drinks, was greatly inflated so that the benefit of the free lunch was cancelled.
Over time TANSTAAFL came to be applied to any situation where there was an offer of something free but with a hidden cost that would only be revealed in due course.
What are the free lunches in educational ICT that one has to be aware of?
The first one that comes to mind is FOSS – Free and Open Source Software. The name implies that something is free. Apart from the fact that the software is open in the sense that the source code is available to be manipulated, it is also promised to be free. That means that one should not have to pay for it: just download it from the internet or copy it from a friend without feeling guilty because there are no license fees.
Where is the catch? The answer lies in another acronym: TCO – Total Cost of Ownership. If one accepts the offer of the free software, what will be the cost to make it fit into the ICT installation?
Consider what will be required to achieve the desired functionality: add-ons, plug-ins, emulators, etc. Also remember that there may not be too many people around who have the necessary skills to support relatively unfamiliar software. So the lunch may be free, but the cost of the drinks could be hidden in expensive consultancy fees of individuals and companies who are ready to cash in on the high demand for scarce skills.
It does appear as if truly free software is as elusive as the proverbial free lunch.
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A medical dictionary defines an enzyme as “a protein that, in small amounts, speeds up the rate of a biological reaction without itself being used up in the reaction.” This means that an enzyme acts as a catalyst in metabolic processes in the human body. The interesting thing about enzymes is that in their absence these processes could still take place, but at a rate that is far too slow to be effective. In fact, sometimes it is too slow to sustain life.
This can be used as a metaphor for the education system. When one considers the dismal levels of literacy and numeracy and the low pass rate in mathematics and science, one is reminded of a body where the biological processes take place at an unacceptable slow rate. The traditional education system is like a body that needs to be kick started with some enzymes.
What could play the role of an educational enzyme (EE)? Consider technology as a possibility.
Many educational processes are simply not effective any longer. Large classes make it impossible for educators to give personal attention to individual learners. Poor schools often do not have the required resources to accelerate teaching. Under-qualified educators cannot provide enough stimuli to encourage learners to learn. In such cases technology could serve as a catalyst to speed up learning.
Like small amounts of enzymes that speed up biological processes, small doses of technology may be sufficient to improve teaching. For example, a teacher may have a computer in the class room and use it throughout the day to display pictures to the class to explain unfamiliar concepts. This simple use of technology will go a long way to impart understanding in class rooms that are under resourced in terms of reference works and other books. On the other end of the spectrum, educators could use technology to allow learners to explore, investigate, reason and develop other cognitive abilities.
In the light of the potential catalytic role of technology it is appropriate that schools carefully consider their EE status.
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Vince Lombardi, the legendary American football coach said: “After the cheers have died down and the stadium is empty, after the headlines have been written and after you are back in the quiet of your room and the championship ring has been placed on the dresser and all the pomp and fanfare has faded, the enduring things that are left are: the dedication to excellence, the dedication to victory, and the dedication to doing with our lives the very best we can to make the world a better place in which to live.” This philosophy seemed to have worked in producing winning football teams; it is also fair to say that it works in achieving success in incorporating ICT in teaching and learning.
One needs the WOW factor: the pats on the back, the accolades, the success stories that prove that ICT does indeed play a significant role in improving education. But one also needs people with dedication to excellence, people who are determined to succeed against the odds. Without that an ICT project in a school is doomed to failure. Is the lack of such dedication perhaps the reason why this type of project has failed consistently?
“Dedication” is defined as “complete and wholehearted fidelity”. It also carries the notion of commitment and devotion. A project plan, no matter how well developed it is, cannot display this quality. Only people can. It is only a passionate person, who does not view the task as a mere job to bring in a salary at the end of the month, who is displaying complete commitment to the project, who can truly succeed where many other have failed.
If this sounds reasonable, how is it that some people think that it is possible to bring ICT to African schools through consortiums that are motivated by commercial gain, where the dedication to excellence of the implementers are not given enough emphasis? Or how could one even think that the massive task of training our educators can be done by technology alone, without the intervention of passionate people dedicated to victory?
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The unexpected consequence of trying to solve a problem with only partial knowledge could very well be the creation of another problem.
An example of this is when, years ago, wheat farmers experienced problems with birds eating some kernels as the wheat was ripening. It was not as if the birds were destroying the entire crop, but farmers believed that a flock of birds could make a significant difference to their profit margin. They therefore launched a focused campaign to get rid of the birds. They shot them and they poisoned them. Within a few years they practically wiped out the entire population of those birds that posed a threat to them. As the farmers were congratulating themselves on being rid of the bird pest another disaster hit them. Swarm upon swarm of locusts came and completely devoured their crops. The farmers did not realize until it was too late that the main diet of the birds that pecked at their wheat was in fact locusts. When the birds were destroyed, the locusts multiplied so rapidly that a plague developed. What seemed to be a solution for a relatively small problem resulted in a catastrophe.
ICT was introduced to schools to bridge the digital divide. It is also seen as a solution to the educator shortage problem. Is it possible, however, that while we are solving social and education problems, we are creating far greater ones?
One possibility is that musculoskeletal (neck and back) problems could develop as a result of the long hours and the way learners are sitting in front of the computers. As we become more dependent on computers to teach learners, the periods of engagement will increase and the potential physical problems may increase accordingly.
To put it simply: while solving the education problem by using computers, we are at risk messing up the backs of our learners. We may very well be raising a crooked generation.
A project introducing ICT in schools can therefore not be complete unless adequate attention is given to ergonomics and posture education. Khanya values their partnership with the Physiotherapy Department of the Medical School of the University of Stellenbosch where extensive research in this area is currently taking place. The results of this research will inform Khanya about the preventative steps that need to be taken.
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