The work landscape is evolving with the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), potentially rendering current jobs obsolete and necessitating new skills or retraining of existing occupations for future employment. This revolution is disrupting nearly every sector, including education, highlighting the need for education to address issues…

This study reports on the usefulness of computer skills for enhanced teaching and learning among lecturers in an open-distance e-learning (ODEL) environment. Computer skills have become fundamental due to increasing new technological tools of web-based management systems, laptops, digital tablets, learning management systems, webinars, and the…

There is an increasing global call to adopt information and communication technologies (ICTs) in teaching and learning. ICTs have become so essential that the South African government has introduced the e-education policy. ICTs are powerful enabling tools that play a significant role in the teaching and learning process. This article reports on a…

South African universities' use of digital technologies in learning has increased in recent years. Given that social exposure, the context and pedagogic uses of technology influence learning expectations and learner involvement, it is important to understand students' experiences of the use of different technological tools. This article employs…

Although online distance education provides adult learners with an opportunity for lifelong learning, technology-enabled learner support remains a challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced additional complications. The purpose of the current study was to determine which form of technology-enabled academic learner support students would prefer,…

Notwithstanding the benefits that information and communications technology (ICT) offers to learning processes, the majority of learners in rural and township areas in South Africa either do not have access to computers and the internet, or they lack sufficient skills to exploit the benefits of ICT. This lack of skills and access to computers may…

The inclusion of career guidance in the life orientation (LO) curriculum has posed a number of challenges for LO teachers in South Africa. LO teachers seem to experience confusion, feelings of incompetence, and insufficient training that points to a need for training and professional development. The purpose of this article is to explore the…

Considering the importance of digital skills in university education, this article reports on a study which examined access to technology among first year students at a rural South African university. The study focused on the digital readiness of students prior to their admission to the university, since many universities provide access to…

Many studies have identified the fact that most mathematics teachers experience challenges in using technology in their teaching, and learners also find it difficult to use it in their learning. Teachers often fail to address opportunities regarding this usage to address the situation. This paper explores factors contributing to teachers' and…

The concept of digital and information communication technology (ICT) literacy is receiving renewed empirical attention. This focus is attributed to the changing nature of society and the move towards the ideals of the knowledge-based economy. Further, universities in South Africa and internationally are encouraging the fusion of technology in how…

Background: IsiXhosa students enrolled for the BEd Foundation Phase qualification at a university in South Africa failed their first year in identified at-risk subjects, namely Mathematics in Education, Language in Education and Computer Literacy. The students stated the reasons for failure as not understanding the concepts and terms of the…

South Africa's communication landscape has changed and is still changing because many previously disadvantaged areas have benefitted from the construction of roads, provision of electricity and installation of satellites. As a result, many previously disadvantaged learners have access to digital media in their homes. In this article, we argue that…

Student engagement is a prerequisite for successful learning. Due to the tremendous change in the use of information and communication technologies, the nature of this engagement has had to adapt to fit a hybrid approach of teaching and learning. In this qualitative study, three focus group discussions were conducted that aimed to investigate…

This paper sought to determine the effects of three self-efficacy measures on the academic attainment of students who were enrolled for the first time at the University of South Africa (Unisa) in 2015. The measures of interest were self-regulated learning efficacy, distance learning self-efficacy and computer and online technologies self-efficacy.…

South Africa participated in the electronic version of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (ePIRLS) in 2016 but faced many challenges during implementation. Accurate databases on information and communication technologies (ICT) capacity of schools were not available for sampling in Gauteng, many schools had old and/or…