Android tablets and MXit testing provided an über-modern approach to learning maths and science for 530 Grade 10 to 12 pupils from 80 previously-disadvantaged schools.
They were exposed to the technology as part of a one-year pilot study linked to Saturday maths and science “incubator” schools, which were run by Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s Govan Mbeki Mathematics Development Unit (GMMDU) in six districts of the Eastern Cape to supplement classroom instruction, which in many cases is not up to par.
The recent completion of the six schools – which took place in Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage, Humansdorp, Somerset East, Graaff-Reinet and Cradock – marked the successful end of the pilot study, in which the cutting-edge technology and support package called TouchTutorTM was implemented in the incubator schools.
GMMDU has run the constantly-evolving and expanding incubator schools for the past seven years – but this year was the first that every pupil received a tablet with curriculum-aligned video-based content to act as a “24/7 personal tutor”. It was also the first year that allowed for independent self-assessment via MXit.
“It is the first time in South Africa a school like this has been run – it follows global trends in education,” said GMMDU head Prof Werner Olivier.
The high-tech blended teaching and learning model was researched and developed by GMMDU and NMMU’s First Rand Foundation research chair, occupied by Olivier. “We’re aiming to use the latest technology to close the gap between teaching and learning, in terms of the expectations of the new Generation Z, which is also called the ‘Facebook Generation’ or the ‘Screen Generation’.”
The model, which blends different technologies, is not dependent on Internet access or Windows skills and its material is “100% aligned” to the new CAPS curriculum.
In anonymous feedback surveys carried out at the incubator schools, one pupil described the new technology as a “lifesaver”. “It made learning fun, with access to information at my fingertips… It was a valuable friend that was lifesaving with maths and science.”
Another wrote: “The tablet and TouchTutor really helped when I did not understand the teacher, I could just go home and look at the video of the topic I did not understand. It was a huge advantage and improved my understanding of maths a lot. Working through past question papers on the tablet also proved very useful.”
Many wrote of improved school marks. “Not only has it helped me but it has also helped my friends,” wrote another.
Olivier said the use of MXit for assessment was not without its challenges, which were being researched and addressed. “Essentially, you’re taking maths as you see it in a textbook and putting it onto a [mobile
phone] screen. We’re very excited about the possibilities.”
Old exam papers and a glossary of maths and science terms are also included on the MXit app, which is open to all learners in the country and not just those attending the incubator schools. “We’re aiming towards a much bigger support system.”
As part of the pilot, the touch screen tablets were also introduced in Grade 10 classes at schools in urban, rural and deep rural areas throughout the region, where research and development is taking place under the auspices of the FRF chair, and in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education and the Meraka Institute at the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
“This research will continue for the next two years to determine the impact of the model on learner performance,” said Olivier.
The techno-blended teaching and learning model is also being utilised in accredited skills development programmes for teachers.
Uitenhage pupils Thandi Oxen (left) and Gcobisa Zuma (right), from Molly Blackburn Senior Secondary School, with Noluvuyo Saki, from Gamble Street Secondary School, learn maths and science using a touch screen tablet. Picture: Liz McHugh
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