Technologies are emerging and affecting our lives in ways that indicate that we are on the verge of a Fourth Industrial Revolution. South Africa also wants to keep up with the latest technologies, however, it is still seen as a developing country as it has many poverty-stricken areas, even more than the financially stable areas. This makes South Africa unfit to even consider integrating technology in schools.
The acceptance of ICTs in education poses challenges in South African schools as most teachers believe that technology is not always the answer. There are many teachers as well as learners that are not for the integration of technology in classrooms and instead, prefer reading print as well as manual writing and see technology only as a distraction. They feel that they are able to teach and learn better without the use of technology.
South African teachers are faced with challenges in integrating technology effectively into a coherent framework at school level. Technology is not always reliable and can sometimes break down due to misuse or age. This can cause the learners to lose work ethic as well as focus. Technology can affect lesson time and flow as some learners will refuse to look away from the screen during instructions and will fail to comprehend the task. In order to implement technology in the classroom, training is essential, and this could be time consuming.
An important factor to consider before implementing the use of technology in classrooms is that not all learners and teachers have access to technology at home, especially in South African homes. This presents challenges for the teachers as they might have to create different tasks for the learners or avoid tasks that include the technological element completely.
Even though there is no doubt that technology can enhance learning, I strongly feel that South Africa should piece itself together first before implementing technology in the classroom. The massive amounts of money given to schools by the department can be used to develop the country as South Africa can’t move forward into a technological era, without fixing the problems of the country first. There is no doubt that keeping up with technology is important, but its value will not change unless the needs of the people are met first.
Jade's Blog 
I agree, as much as I personally want technology to be implemented in schools and made to be seen as a resource for schoolwork, you are right when you say South Africa has to first fully develop, for the power of an electron collider is not fully utilized in the hands of a child, yes?
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Yes, I agree with you. Technology in the hands of the inexperienced can often be dangerous to the child. This is why I feel that South Africa should fix itself first.
Thank you for commenting, your opinion is greatly valued.
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I agree with you that the country needs to develop as a whole. But what I don’t quite agree with is the statement of huge amounts of monies disbursed to various schools. I believe that schools play a very important role in the success of every country’s economy in the future and therefore we should not complain about schools receiving huge amounts of money unless it goes to waste.
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You make a good point. However, reports at the schools have shown that the amount of learners failing have drastically increased over the last ten years. And this was with the normal amount of money that schools have been allocated. This can lead one to believe that the money has not been used effectively.
Thank you for commenting.
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I do agree that South Africa needs to gather itself as a country first but recent articles have shown that there is room for improvement and also recent articles show that we are in the 4th Industrial Revolution already as a country. I feel that if we as a country apply ourselves like you suggested we could prosper in the field of technology but at the same time not tossing out the old system completely as it has proven to be reliable. Thank you.
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Yes, I hope so too. It would benefit South Africa most if it can reach a balance between fixing itself and evolving.
Thank you for commenting.
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I agree with these comments made in this blog, but some school have the funding for these technologies but it is not being implemented. I know about the crime and theft but we should be able to implement it to expose the kids at least to it.
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I fully agree with what you are saying. Learner’s should be exposed to technology, in spite of their circumstances.
Thank you so much for commenting.
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No problem, the future looks bright for us as teachers and the more we learn and adapt the better it will be on our work load in the future
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Very well said, everything starts at home. How can schools be expected to rely on technological advances when there is so many other contributing factors holding them back ? It takes many prior steps as well as post steps to make the whole system work . Instead of rushing into it , schools and the government should consider everything else before implementing such dramatic changes .
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I agree with what you said that the needs of people need to be met first and only then will South Africa be able to move forward. Thank you for enlightening me on your thoughts, enjoyed reading your blog.
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Thank you for agreeing with me.
Your response is greatly appreciated, I am glad I was able to enlighten you.
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Hopefully teachers will see the need to intergrate ICT’s in lessons as it is necessary for learners to learn about it.
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Yes, hopefully they will. It is very important and heavily integrated into our daily lives.
Thank you for commenting.
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Well Said. Look, technology integration Is inevitable. It’s driven by the the 21st century digital boom and with with all things in life we have pros and cons. Reading your blog, assisted me in weighing out the options, and assisted me in moving to a more unbiased opinion. If we don’t equip our future leaders with the right tools we would be setting them up for failure in a digitally governed world. Don’t you think that by the time that South Africa has moved a few steps ahead, our education system would’ve moved a chunk of steps back? We need to improve education, before anything else in South Africa, our students are the martyrs of the future, and only through them can SA move forward.
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Yes you are right. Education is extremely important to us and as a whole because we see the value in investing in it. However, from the learners’ perspective, it is something that will take way too long for them to see results. They do not understand that success and contentment takes time. They value things that are instantly beneficial to them. Such as suitable living conditions like proper housing and irrigation as well as having a meal to eat. These can be achieved by increasing the value of the Rand, which can only happen if South Africa matures into a developed country.
Thank you, your comment is appreciated.
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The fact that our curriculum and our assignments all involve the use of technology is a great concern as all the issues with the involvement and use of technology as you mentioned is the main problem. South Africa doesn’t have enough resources as is, how would they cope with all the issues of technologies in a classroom aswell.
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Thank you for your response.
Yes, South African classrooms are lacking basic resources. In some places in South Africa, there is no real guarantee of a quality education and the availability of primary, secondary and university level education are not always assured.
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I fully agree, the country should first provide for all the needs of the people before becoming more advanced with technology. You can’t move forward if the structure is still broken.
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Thank you for commenting.
Yes, hopefully the government will realize its mistake and to provide for all the needs of the people first before becoming more advanced with technology.
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I believe that implementing technology asap will be the difference. We’ve been waiting too long for this integration, even though our country’s going through tough times. We are financially backed for this.
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Implementing technology in South African classrooms will be very beneficial to teachers as well as learners, no doubt. However, there are still many barriers to the growth and implementation of new technologies as well as many limitations to making e-learning available for everyone to access.
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In agreement to your post, yes there are challenges that pose as a threat when integrating computer technology in the classrooms. As technology is evolving, I think teachers need to evolve with it. Technology should assist the teacher rather than replacing the teacher completely. It will take time to convince certain teachers but like you said they should undergo training. With the right training I’m sure the results would be successful. With that being said, south Africa should assist teachers and improve on ICTs because as the fourth industrial revolution approaches, students should be well prepared.
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Yes, I fully agree with you. Technology is constantly evolving and teachers need to adapt to change and improve on ICTs. Learners should be well prepared and equipped with the necessary computer skills as South Africa is approaching the fourth industrial revolution.
Thank you for your comment.
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I agree with you and it’s so important that learners get to see this and understand it, it should be made clear what will be beneficial in the end.
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This is true. Everyone has their own preference but to be able to cope with the change that is happening in the world we need to equip our learners accordingly.
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Thank you for commenting.
Yes, I agree with you. SA needs to equip their learners with the necessary skills needed in order to cope with the change that is happening in the world.
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I agree with you, technology is evolving bit some under developed schools do not have the money or resources to be part or prepared for the fourth industrial revolution, it will be pricey for teachers as well who will then have to learn how to make use of a computer or projector, but it will make learning much easier, however, it can allow some learners to become disruptive
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Yes, many under developed schools do not have the money or resources to be part of the fourth industrial revolution. This puts many schools at a disadvantage as they have not been introduced to technology.
Thank you for commenting.
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It is true that our country is not at the best it could be and that the needs of the people need to first be addressed, but in the same way we need to be up to date with technology so that we can provide for the needs in a more efficient manner. So in a way I only partly agree with what you have said.
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Thank you for partly agreeing with me. I strongly encourage that the government should to meet the needs of the people first and hopefully then, will the government stop contributing to our country’s poverty.
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If we cannot provide for the needy and poor, how exactly will the 4IR benefit us? I understand your point and fully agree.
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The fourth industrial revolution will only truly benefit us when the government sees to the needs of the underprivileged.
Thank you for your response.
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Agreed.
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We as future teachers should really take note to technology and how it benefits us as teachers and how it benefits learners mostly. If we take note of this we will begin teaching and slowly implement ICts into our classrooms making the teaching and learning experience something both you and the learners enjoy. What we can do to slowly Implement ICTs and keep up with the 4th Industrial Revolution is buy using the simplest technologies like cellphones, With a cellphone learners can access your blogs, join chatroom’s and watch educational videos and the list goes on. There is just so many positives, but yes there will be cons like cyber bullying and children being distracted but that is up to you as a teacher to take note of.
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I agree with you. The South African government need to bridge the gap that is evident in many of the schools. I also believe that in order for quality education for all the government need to put more emphasis on helping poorer school and technology is not the answer for school situated in rural communities, these schools need proper learning facilities and writing books and so forth.
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I agree with you 100% as there are still schools in SA that lack the basic level of infrastructure that every school must meet in order to function properly. These schools are no where near ready to implement technology in their classrooms.
Thank you for commenting.
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Yes, South Africa should piece itself together first before implementing technology in the classroom, and also taking into account the disadvantages that we could be faced with, however I agree that technology has to be implemented in classrooms as we are in the 21st century and 4IR. How do you suggest we piece the country together before implementing technology in South African schools?
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The South African Government should improve the lives of the poor and to help many South Africans escape the burden of poverty. Only then, can technology be introduced to South African schools.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
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I agree with this argument but also we should provide ways so that government can implement methods to make all school have access to technology with the necessary training.
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This is true yes, we need to find ways for the government to make all school in SA have access to technology with the necessary training.
Thank you for your response, I fully agree with you.
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Very well written and informative blog Ms Davids. I fully agree with what you are saying with regards to our country first having to fix itself before even considering implementation of ICT’s in the classroom. Our time and money could be better spent elsewhere. I am not saying put it off and all technology is bad no, but we should grasp that with technology comes more issues. So rather work on the issues we have now, than add onto it. We have a long way to go as South Africans but I am positive that eventually we will catch up with the rest of the world.
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Thank you for commenting.
Yes, I agree that South Africa should rather work on the issues that is has now before considering to implement ICT’s in the classroom. We should first focus on the financial crisis in South African schools and help to work towards better schooling conditions.
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I agree, with what you and Nikita said , governments need to bridge the gap to level the “playing field” for all students so that they have an almost equal ability and skill to use technology adequately and effectively.
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Thank you for commenting.
Yes, hopefully the government see this problem and find a way for all learners to have an equal ability and skill to use and have access to technology.
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You make a valid point when saying that not everyone has access to technology or even the internet and yes, the value of technology will not change unless the needs of the people are met.
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Thank you commenting.
Yes, I hope that the government will see the need to better the lives of the South Africans and only then will we be able to implement technology in our schools.
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Lovely blog!
I agree with your view points on the matter and this clearly changed my perspective about the up and coming 4IR.
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Thank you for your response.
South Africa is still a long way from being able to participate in the up and coming fourth industrial revolution.
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I agree with most of the points made because of our historical background, the people who gained in the previous dispensation are more likely to benefit again. Schools in disadvantaged areas don’t have the technology that schools have in previously model C schools. Some of the schools in disadvantaged areas lack proper resources such as data projectors and whiteboards. Safety and security is also an issue in these areas. If we want technology to be used successfully in all schools, all teachers need to be skilled in the use of the latest technology and also need to keep up the latest technological trends.
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Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Your input and ideas are very informative and helpful.
Yes, schools in disadvantaged areas lack the proper resources needed in every classroom. Hopefully, changes will occur to benefit these disadvantaged schools.
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Hi Jade, I agree with you because i think that as South Africans not everyone can afford the use of technology and also learners tend to use technology for the wrong reasons in the classrooms!
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Yes exactly. I couldn’t agree more.
Thank you for your response.
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Hi.
I was reading a few responses and opnions on this blog. Its very typical of people to demand from government . All rightious and squeeaky clean to moan and all the time exxpect and not even try and help. All well moaning and stomping ones feet on here. You ae preaching to the choir . Its like you are all just stroking each others egos. Are you angry ? Are you disgusted with me ? Yes.. good. Now use that energy . Go and help. Do somthing . Make a change . Stop expecting the goverment to bow to your every comand. We are all st fault. Do somthing to help. Plant a tre by a schol. Help a child get home. Read a book a few pages every day to the old blind man down the street. Just do somthing…because when we all start making small positive little cjanges . We change the world. Things become easier . So stop waiting for the government. Stop payting each others backs and try . Ohh just try and do somthing for others and not have to showcsse it on facebok or instagrsm
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Thank you very much, sir. You are extremely right! Expecting the government to change everything by themselves isn’t going to work out.
The world can only truly change when we, the people, put in the necessary effort.
Your comment is very much appreciated and I hope that all my viewers can see this.
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Relevant points have been brought up in this post and I do acknowledge them and can see your what point your are trying to bring across, but I will have to disagree. How can you say that technology will not benefit the learners from underprivileged areas? To those that agreed with this statement, I will be bold then to insinuate that you are all in favour to this injustice? Baby steps just wont cut it. The schools that are not exposed to technology have to awarded this opportunity as soon as possible. Education is a ‘need’ of this country and that goes hand in hand with getting a quality education. And by quality education I mean that the learners need to graduate with life long skills. What is the point of going to school for 12 arduous years and not know how to type on a keyboard or know how to open up a spread sheet on Excel?
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Yes, you are right. I did not disregard education, as I said it was very important. You have a good point, however, the country lacks the proper funds, as we’ve seen in the news reports. And so, to have the technology in the classroom, we need to have money available to fund it. But the money will only be available after SA pulls itself together and out of debt.
Thank you for commenting, Ms Rawat.
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I agree with you in saying that it is important for South Africa to focus fixing the more prominent issues we’re facing first such as our economy. You are right in saying that our people’s needs aren’t being met and that is due to our economic issues. But I also feel that it is possible for our education system to start learning more about where technology is going even with the basics we have. We need to start somewhere or else we’ll always be left behind as a country.
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Yes, technology will definitely make South Africa better, but only when it has fully developed.
Thank you for commenting.
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That’s right, South is a crumbling mess, it needs to pull its socks up and take responsibility and care for and of itself.
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Thank you for your agreement. Hopefully it will.
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You make really interesting points , however , don’t you think that ushering the technology into the classrooms is whay South Africa needs to improve itself?
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That is a really good point, but the solution will take even more money, one that South Africa does not have.
Thank you for your comment.
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