PEDAGOGICAL INTEGRATION OF ICTS IN UGANDAN EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS By Alice Ndidde, Jude Lubega Daniel Babikwa & Grace Baguma Makerere University

Background, Aim and Objectives The PanAfrican Research Agenda Project is a multi-institutional partnership project with a focus on tertiary level research institutions, attached to universities in participating countries. It aims to better understand how the pedagogical integration of ICTs can improve the quality of teaching and learning in Africa. Specifically The objectives of the research in Uganda were: To generate baseline data on the research indicators (Equipment, access and connectivity; Teacher training; ICT Use for teaching and learning; Impact of ICT on educators and learners; Institutional Management, e.t.c.) Recommend policy and practical responses to the identified gaps and challenges PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University Methodology The design was both quantitative and qualitative: A mixed methods approach was used in the collection of data which consisted of: self administered questionnaires, one on one interviews, focus group discussions observation and review of documents Eleven educational institutions were included in this study of which; five (5) were primary schools, four (4) secondary schools and two (2) teacher training institutions All the institutions were of mixed gender except one which was a girls’ only secondary school The institutions were purposively selected from rural, semi urban and urban areas of Uganda. Eight of the institutions were public and only three private PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University Research Results National ICT Policies and pedagogical integration Several ICT policies exist: Broadcasting 2007, Communication 2007, East African e-Government Strategy 2005, National ICT Master Plan Final Report 2006, Uganda Country-based Research, Policy Support and Advocacy Partnerships for Pro-Poor ICT The above do not have a direct relationship on education improvement. However, the draft ICT Policy for Uganda (2008) was found to have a direct relationship on education improvement. In the areas of: Teacher training , making the use of IT mandatory at all levels of educational Institutions, developing relevant IT curricula for the primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

Research Results Contd.. Equipment, access and connectivity The study established that: The studied institutions were trying their best to provide the necessary ICT equipment and infrastructure, BUT The ratio of students to computers was still very high especially in public primary schools with none below 1:15 Access to computers by educators and administrators was also limited Educators in particular had to share computers with learners in all institutions apart from one tertiary institution (DAECS) where all lecturers had access to computers in their offices However, in schools where cyber schooling and computer clubs existed, science students and club members often enjoyed greater access to the computers PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

Research Results Contd.. Equipment, access and connectivity Contd.. PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

Equipment, access and connectivity contd.. Internet Connectivity was found in only 8 out of 11 institutions studied and in all, connected to just a few computers Institutions subscribed to different Internet providers (no policy/support, institutions depend on good will) Bandwidth used was too low for majority of institutions and costly 3 out of the 5 primary schools did not have internet connectivity at all PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

Equipment, access and connectivity contd.. Factors limiting Access and Connectivity: Government policy of not charging fees in primary schools makes it difficulty for public schools to generate resources to set up the necessary infrastructure School Governance and Administration attitude towards computers and Internet Connectivity access rates are very high Absence of a policy that governs all educational institutions in the country on how they integrate ICT in education PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

Research Results Contd.. Teacher training The study revealed that: Majority of teacher trainers reported to be computer literate, had competencies in applications like Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint, Internet explorer and Email Despite the above, Teacher trainers lacked attitude and motivation to fully integrate ICT in their training of teachers This could be as a result of inadequate capacity pedagogical integration of ICT, limited ICT equipment, lack of incentives from both institutions and government to encourage to use ICT, or the design of the teacher training curriculum At secondary level (in-service), majority of educators had participated in less than 50 hours of professional development which included ICT integration. It was only in one secondary school where 62% of educators were reported to having participated in more than 50 hours of professional Development including ICT Integration. PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

ICT Use for teaching and learning Findings indicated that: In 9 out of 11 institutions, educators and learners used ICT for academic purposes with variations in frequency, type of use and course taught using ICT Tertiary institutions and secondary schools used ICT more frequently compared to the primary schools 3 Secondary schools had Cyber rooms connected to internet where teachers and students undertook teaching/learning esp. science subjects Male educators on average used more hours per week on the computers for academic purposes than females PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

ICT Use for teaching and learning Contd.. PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

ICT use for learning by learners Contd.. Results indicate that: There are variations in the ICT use for learning by students and the variations are as a result of levels of access to computers, institutional rules and regulations and the level of ICT skills by the learners At primary school level, students used the computer labs only once a week for about thirty (30) minutes. In two public primary schools, students reported that they rarely used computers At secondary level, students’ use of ICT for learning varied according to school and instruction by educators, class level and whether they belonged to the computer club or not. Students that had access to and used ICT regularly were those who were taking computer studies as an examinable subject at ‘O’ level PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

ICT use for learning by learners Contd.. Challenges to the use of ICT as stated by the learners included: High student Computer Ratio Intermittent power supply, Unstable and slow internet facilities, Regular computer breakdowns and viruses, Limited time for practice, Congested computer labs, Absence of ICT teachers, Limited skills in ICT for most learners, Absence of printing services, Very old computers with outdated operating systems PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

Impact of ICT on Educators and Teaching RESULTS Contd.. Impact of ICT on Educators and Teaching Impact on Lesson planning There was no reported impact as yet by most of the educators because they heavily rely on pens and books to do that. Even where there was effort, issues of access, skills, power supply and the necessary time to do that was still a challenge. In schools where educators reported an impact on lesson planning, ICT helped them in the efficient use of time and coming up with appropriate diagrams and illustrations. In schools where there was the internet connectivity, educators reported that ICT had helped them in updating their teaching content PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

Impact of ICT on Educators and Teaching Contd.. Impact on in-class Teaching Most educators reported that the impact is not yet felt mainly because: They do not have the necessary ICT equipment (e.g. LCD Projectors, Beamer Boards, Laptops) and the computers are not in class, but in centralized computer labs Lack skills in ICT integration in their subjects Most teachers have not under taken ICT training courses However, in DAECS, St. Kizito secondary school and other institutions where ICT is integrated, it was reported that; ICT helped in enriching teaching content that had been obtained from text books ICT had improved confidence for the educators as they were well informed and prepared ICT facilitated more interaction and participation with the students as there was no constant reading or writing on the part of the educator. PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

Impact of ICT on Educators and Teaching. Contd.. Impact on evaluation methods Educators reported a big impact in this area Easy access by educators to students performance records and tracking them. This helps educators to give appropriate guidance and counseling to prospective learners Management of student information esp. monthly and end of term assessment as well as report making However, Assessments that required inquiry and research of information from the internet were limited Many educators used manual ways to evaluate and assess students. In some institutions exams were hand written and forwarded to the examinations master who together with the schools secretary type them and compute results. PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

Impact of ICT on Educators and Teaching Contd.. Impact of Student/Educator Communication Over all there was limited impact on student /educator communication using ICT due to: Lack of internet connectivity in many of the institutions esp. primary Lack of personal email addresses even by the educators Strict ICT rules in some schools regarding internet access High teacher student ratio at all levels However in some schools there has been improved communication between learners and educators. For example, in Kibuli SSS, students in upper secondary (S3-S6) are mandated to own email addresses, and teachers give 10 minutes to students of every ICT Class, to check on their emails. Also in this school students use NetTalk to share notes, questions and answers electronically. PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

Research Results Contd.. Impact of ICT on Learners and Learning The Learners' stated impact of ICT on their Learning included; Increased access to quality educational materials especially through surfing on the Internet resulting into accessing to update educational information, thus making learners’ more enthusiastic to put in more effort and perform better Abstract concepts in science were simplified for students when taught using Cyber rooms - thus increasing student motivation, willingness to learn and generally changing the traditional belief of saying “science subjects are difficult” Making learning more interesting and exciting as well as improving the level of participation on the part of learners compared to other subjects where there was no integration of ICT at all. Facilitated individual, inquiry and engaged learning approaches as students can get notes; compare notes and other educational resources from the Internet. PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

Impact of ICT on Learners and Learning. Contd.. Increased independent learning, making learners more responsible and focused Builds a good relationship between educators and learners there by increasing academic excellence. However, some of the negative impacts were mentioned to include: The fact that once students get addicted to digital learning they don’t easily learn from other methods; Use of internet for non academic purposes like chatting and watching pornography. Some educators complained that students had become lazy as they hoped to get all the formulas and information they wanted from the Internet. Therefore, it was reported that ICT has on some occasion discouraged hard work and the spirit of innovativeness and makes students less functional in a situation where computers are not available. PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

Institution Management and ICT Research Results Contd.. Institution Management and ICT Majority of institutions (8 out of 11) did not have well written out ICT integration plans: what the researchers found at institutional level were the expressed views and ideas of the educator in charge of ICT Overall the institutions did not have written down strategic plans on how to sustain the ICT they had acquired However, a computer fee was being levied every term from every student and had helped very much the institutions in acquiring and maintaining of computers and internet connectivity where they existed. Barriers to ICT sustainability in institutions Inadequate funding especially to access software as most schools use licensed as opposed to open source software Negative attitude of education managers and teachers towards use of ICT Government policy of removing the payment of institutional fees and other costs by parents in public primary schools Current teacher training has not mainstreamed ICT in the curriculum CPD Programmes for educators do not include ICT integration PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

Lessons learnt & Implications for policy and practice Educational Institutions are doing their best to acquire computers for teaching, learning and administration purposes; Students are enthusiastic in using computers for learning despite the high student computer ratio Public education institutions have a higher student to computer ratio than private ones Educator to computer ratio still high With regard to connectivity, access rates are still high and most institutions can not cope with connectivity There is need for policy guidelines to cover education institutions with regard to ICT equipment and connectivity PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

Lessons learnt & Implications for policy and practice Contd.. ICT Integration is still inadequate, More individualized than institutionalized Schools that have embraced public-private partnerships like cyber schools technology solutions have gone along way to integrate technology in science subjects Existence of computer clubs has enabled peer learning sharing and documentation of information Effective utilization of ICT for teaching and learning purposes requires: Competencies and skills/interest of educators in ICT integration and availability of supportive institutional ICT policies Easy access to adequate and functioning computers and reliable Internet connectivity Continuous in-service training for teachers on Programmes that embrace ICT integration Capacity building for the development of ICT enhanced content by both the private and public sector PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

Lessons learnt & Implications for policy and practice Contd.. Development and availing of ICT enhanced content that cuts across the curriculum There is need for Government to expedite the finalization of the draft National ICT Policy that will address challenges of equipment and infrastructure, training of educators in pedagogical integration of ICT and developing ICT enhanced curricula materials Government should take a leading role in equipping the institutions it supports with adequate ICT to realize its long term vision of providing quality education Need for institutions to develop institutional level ICT policies and guide lines including sustainability plans. Need to mainstream Pedagogical integration of ICT in the Teacher training curriculum PanAf project/Observatory/panaf-edu/Makerere University

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