Worth reading (time, please!). I agree with Mubuuke regarding Chapter 3 (IT as a Game Changer).
What has interested me, though, was Chapter 5, dealing with learners in similar situations as those I am involved with. It gives an interesting view on the characteristics and
barriers of these 'no longer uncommon' (p 68-69) learners and emphasises the point
that alternative approaches to and methods for teaching can no longer be
considered a choice, but is a given. The importance of recognition of prior learning is discussed - an issue we can associate with, especially for learners who come from backgrounds where motivation and support in the direct circles are more often absent or minimal and where recognition could prove even more valuable for support and motivation.
A fact: IT innovations can only change the game for
nontraditional learners if people have access to that technology. (p79 ), and that is often the big issue when experimenting with alternative methods of teaching. An interesting fact: the United States ranks only fourteenth in the world in its broadband penetration rate - where do we come in? South African nontraditional learners are not primarily handicapped by the limitations of broadband technology, but, to a great extent, by not being able to afford even simple technology (most of our students send "Please call me's" when they need to communicate with the lecturers). In our rural set-up it would imply a limitation on the 'tools' that are available in the broader sense - for now, anyway. IT innovations indeed has the promise of greater access to an education.
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