Teachers' use of cell phones in online teaching of Grade 7 subjects

Abstract

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020 was one of the most difficult years in South Africa. Many institutions and organisations that had not yet adapted their operations to technological innovation were forced to do so in order to survive. This was the researcher's driving force behind the study, which was inspired by his experience teaching Grade 7 learners in Mathematics and Science online, while using a cell phone. A qualitative comparative case study was carried out to better understand how teachers in a township as well as an urban school use cell phones for online teaching in Grade 7. Field notes, document analysis, and semi-structured interviews with fifteen teachers from township and urban schools were used to collect the data. Atlas ti was used to perform the content analysis and coding of both the classroom documents and the interview responses.

The results show that ICT can lead to a lot of uncertainty and that most teachers feel inefficient, even though they are open to new approaches and new technologies in online education. Teachers argue that their inadequacies in online teaching will be exposed if they are not properly trained in ICT. The study's conclusions demonstrate that teachers' technical proficiency and positive attitudes are key factors in whether digital technology is successful in teaching methods using cell phones.

There is a need to provide online training for all teachers, including those in township schools, so that the curriculum can continue to be covered even when schools are closed for daily attendance.

Keywords: Information and Communication Technology (ICT), online teaching and learning, computer integration, township and urban schools.