Since the introduction of technological advancements in the 1990s, technology has permeated various aspects of our homes and livelihoods, including the educational system. This shift has led to a greater reliance on web-based tools in education, further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which forced many institutions to transition to…

In many Global South countries, including South Africa, the adoption of Virtual Lab (VL) remains largely conceptual. This paper emphasizes the necessity of understanding teachers' perceptions of VL before implementation to mitigate risks of abandonment or underutilization post deployment. Guided by the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989),…

Despite the promising advantages of cutting-edge technologies like virtual laboratories (VL) for enhancing science education, a significant gap remains between their theoretical benefits and practical application, particularly in rural schools in the Global South. This article argues that the effective integration of VL is largely dependent on…

Literature reflects that universities freely share their teaching materials as Open Educational Resources (OER). The primary objective of this study was to investigate the views of lecturers at faculties of education on the usefulness of OER for academic purposes at selected South African universities. This study is grounded in the Technology…

Background: In South African primary schools, reading is central to curriculum delivery, with a structured three-step process: pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading. Many learners struggle with reading comprehension, which affects their academic performance. Research emphasises the importance of pre-reading for activating prior knowledge,…

We have less time and focus than ever before, while the demand for attention is increasing. Therefore, it is no surprise that when answering questionnaires, we often choose to strongly agree or be neutral, producing problematic and unusable data. The current study investigated forced-choice (ipsative) format compared to the same questions on a…

The COVID-19 pandemic is unarguably one of the most disastrous events whose detriment to the normalcy of the education and training sectors will never be forgotten. To salvage the academic year, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) encouraged historically disadvantaged schools to explore rotational learning. This was supplemented by mobile…

This study examines students' perceptions and preferences for Blackboard at a South African public university. When the South African government, driven by COVID-19, announced the closure of schools in March 2020 for high school learners, home-schooling became the only option despite challenges such as lack of internet access, family support and…

Globally, higher education institutions were forced to use online assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the fast-paced transition to online assessments at the time, the authors saw a unique opportunity to explore accounting educators' experiences and perceptions of assessments conducted in accounting courses in South Africa during this…

In previous studies, problem solving appraisal has been identified as playing a key role in promoting positive psychological well-being. The Problem Solving Inventory is the most widely used measure of problem solving appraisal and consists of 32 items. The length of the instrument, however, may limit its applicability to large-scale surveys…

The present study employs the Technology Acceptance Model to explore secondary school teachers' perceptions towards acceptance of tablet devices in their teaching practice in the classroom. A questionnaire was completed by (N=80) secondary school teachers from South Africa, and the constructs related to technology acceptance were measured along…

The purpose of this paper is to present an empirical investigation of the critical determinants for the adoption of learning analytics in higher education. A conceptual model was proposed to understand better the adoption of learning analytics in higher education by teaching staff. Structural equation modelling is used for testing and validating…

E-textbooks are often considered as having several advantages over printed textbooks. However, research shows conflicting results regarding school learners' satisfaction with e-textbooks. In South Africa a particular e-book platform, EduBook for e-textbooks, is currently used in 170 schools across the country. In this study the satisfaction and…

Mobile technologies illustrate a positive effect when used in mathematics learning. However, user experience evaluations are mostly quantitative. The study adopted a qualitative case study approach using semi-structured interviews to examine the experiences of educators at a special needs school in the Western Cape, South Africa. Thematic analysis…

While originally not designed for academic purposes, the use of social networking tools has gained popularity in academia. The purpose of this study was to explore student and lecturer views, experiences, and beliefs on using social networks for teaching and learning in a rural context. Utilizing the mixed-methods approach, a questionnaire and…