Abstract:

Technology solutions to support teaching and learning are being used across the world in various contexts. Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are being deployed both in formal and information learning contexts to support learning across a number of different disciplines and subjects. In most of the cases, the role of the technology is to enhance and augment teaching and learning with the realization that the technology has to be coupled with appropriate: pedagogical alignment, technology tools, learning models and frameworks. The research and thinking around technology-supported teaching and learning has matured over the years, furthered by the developments from both the Education and the Information Technology (IT) disciplines. One of the insights that has been developed from the IT discipline is that of developing solutions and technologies that are relevant and sensitive to the context of deployment, this is usually considered from the personalization and internationalization perspective. The research on personalization is typically realized within the fields of Human Computer Interaction and Adaptive Hypermedia Systems. These two fields form the theoretical backdrop for our research. In this paper we present research on the use of a VLE within a learning institution in South Africa – we discuss the observations with regards to the usage patterns of the VLE and in particular discuss its role in supporting teaching and learning activities. Subsequently we present two separate efforts that were undertaken to improve the usability and accessibility of the VLE. This was through the implementation of two interfaces for accessing the resources on the VLE. The first was a telephony interface which allowed audio presentation of some of the VLE content with support for Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) interaction from the users. The second was an interface to allow access to the VLE from low-end feature phones. Subsequent to implementing these two interfaces for accessing the VLE, our observation was that they not only sought to improve the usability of the VLE within the formal learning institution context – they also opened up opportunities for usage within an Information and Communications Technologies for Development (ICTD) project that we undertake for eSkilling marginalized rural communities in South Africa. In these communities, the literacy level are typically low and while access to computing facilities is very limited, there is a high availability of low-end feature phones in the community. The literacy level challenge and limited access to computing facilities can therefore be addressed by the telephony interface and low-end feature phones interface respectively. The paper concludes by highlighting general observations on the role of technology to support learning within ICTD contexts and the associated implications on life-long learning in these typically marginalized communities.

Keywords:

Virtual Learning Environments, ICT for Development.