Digital Divide: Secondary School Learners Experience of Using Educational Technologies

Le résumé fourni par la source

In the wake of COVID-19, most secondary schools in South Africa and Lesotho were forced to fully migrate to and adopt educational technologies (Ed-Tech) for teaching and learning.The gunpoint use of the Ed-Tech showed that learners do not have access and are struggling to use Ed-Tech because of the digital divide (DD).Consequently, this mixed methods study informed by pragmatism sought to explore learners' experiences of using Ed-Tech in the face of digital divide.Thirty-five learners were randomly selected to respond to the questionnaire.Thereafter, ten learners were purposively and conveniently sampled to participate in Zoom semi-structured interviews and e-reflective journals for data generation.As such, the study was framed by the resources and appropriation theory, and data were quantitatively and qualitatively analysed.Findings suggest that lack of preparation by schools on the use of Ed-Tech perpetuated first level DD (material access and Internet connection), second-level DD (technological skills and usage) and third-level DD (benefits of technology).The study thus recommends both theoretical and practical initiatives by secondary schools in Lesotho and South Africa to address and curb digital divide in order to effectively use Ed-Tech and allow all learners access to high quality education.

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