Abstract:

Technology for teaching and learning has been adopted for many years by most institutions in South Africa, but some rural institutions have been behind as a result of not having the necessary IT Infrastructure, skills and factors originating from the past where institutions in Previously Disadvantaged areas were underfunded. However, the use of technology for teaching provides new practices for teachers to engage learners in their teaching process and there is a challenge in how teachers can incorporate pedagogy in the use of technology in the classroom for teaching. Research has demonstrated that Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge (TPACK) has been used as a theoretical lens which identifies the nature of knowledge required by teachers for technology integration in their teaching. This study reports on experiences during the integration process in consideration of the skills of academic staff and their working environment. Academic staff were asked to critically evaluate the current state of the courses they are teaching using the SWOT analysis approach to identify areas that can be possibly improved by using Technology, specifically a Learning Management System (LMS). The analysis was done at the beginning of a semester, a strategy was formulated to tackle the identified challenges using TPACK Model and again mid-semester an evaluation was done to determine progress and the necessary support was continuously given as the way forward. The TPACK Model approach is used to find the solution to encountered problems.

Keywords:

TPACK, SWOT Analysis, LMS, Technology.