INTERVIEW DATA EXPLICATION
5.7 Information and communication technology
instance, a deputy school head from earlier intakes that had unimpeded completion of the programme said that, during their time in the programme, ―Once you were a member of ZOU, you would use any library free of charge like; Parliament, Seke Teachers College and the University Library‖ (DT3B:398). The impact of the availability of the modules on adult learners‘ coping with DL is discussed after comparing the interview results with those from the survey.
For example, there were six of the participants like the male urban deputy school head from earlier intakes whose experience with access and use of ICT at ZOU in the DL programme, ―-was challenging-- many of us didn‘t have access to computers‖
(DT4B:402). There were some participants like the senior female teacher who was still on the programme who expressed ignorance of the existence of ICT at ZOU. She said, ―I am not even aware of the information and technology the ZOU offers‖
(DT4C:403).
There were other participants who acknowledged the existence of ICT at ZOU but said there were management and geographical factors that prevented them access to ICT. For instance, one urban female senior teacher from later intakes that had completed the programme said they used ICT to, ―--find information for the assignments but not to communicate with lecturers‖ (DT4A:402).Another urban female senior teacher also from later intakes but was still on the programme said that when they went to the library, ―-we were only told that we would access the books and not the internet‖ (DT4C:404). An urban female head of department who had delayed completion and was still on the programme attributed her lack of access to ICT to too many students using few computers. She said, ―I could not access because there were so many of us‖ (DT3P:404). Other participants had experience with access to ICT similar to that of a remote rural teacher from earlier intakes that had unimpeded completion of the B.Ed. programme but said ,―I was divorced from that kind of communication because of the-- area where I was based‖(DT4Z:405).
A view that summed up learner access to ICT at ZOU in later intakes was expressed by a male school head and member of SRC that was still on the programme. He said,
―At ZOU the computers are only accessed by their workers. When they are not accessible to me I say-- we don‘t have that facility‖ (DT4CH:404).
5.7.1 Learner training in ICT
The importance of ICT in DL necessitated the inclusion of a course on Computer
Application in the B.Ed. programme curriculum at ZOU. I probed further in order for participants to describe their experiences in that course. All the participants acknowledged attending that course. However, they gave experiences that varied with its administration during different intakes. They gave the following answers:
The course in the B.Ed. programme introduced me to the computer, We went to High Glen for practical lessons,
We were exposed to the use of computers just for two weeks, We studied computers for a semester,
One of our courses involved computer application but many of us did not have access to computers, and
I had problems on that course. I only did theory and not the practical of it. I had no access to computers.
The training of students in the use of ICT was part of the B.Ed. programme.
However, there were participants‘ that experienced different durations of access to computers. For example, a rural female head of department from earlier intakes that had unimpeded completion of the programme said, ―there was a course on computers in the B.Ed. programme that introduced me to the computer‖
(DT4R:402). A rural school head also from earlier intakes concurred that, ―We were exposed to the use of computers for two weeks at a technical college in Marondera‖
(DT4BV:403).
There were four participants that did the Computer Application course without the practical component like an urban deputy school head who said, ―one of our courses involved Computer Application, but many of us didn‘t have access to computers‖(DT4B:403). The worst case scenario was summarized by a female head of department from later intakes, who said,
I had --problems on that course. I only did theory--and not the practical of it. I had no access to computers-- to go to private colleges to study the computers, I had no money-- so, I could only write the
exam-- (DT4P:404).
5.7.2 Strategies for coping with challenges in ICT
When I asked what strategies participants used to cope with access to ICT in DL their responses included:
Assistance from those who knew computing,
I relied on my son who had done computers at school,
Students from regional centres without internet traveled to Harare, and You paid money for operating a computer at computer shops.
Among my participants were those who shared the experience by a deputy school head from earlier intakes that had unimpeded completion of the programme and said,
―-we had to use other people to get the information for us‖ (DT4B:403).In a similar way, a female school head that also had also had unimpeded completion of the programme said, ―I was relying on my son who had done computers at school-- to get information I wanted‖ (DT4V:405). Participants from regional centres without ICT had to travel to urban regional centres to retrieve information from internet. A female senior teacher from earlier intakes in Mashonaland Central said, ―I used the Internet. I used the Harare library‖ (DT4A:395). Students who used private ICT facilities sponsored themselves. A female deputy school head from earlier intakes who delayed completion and was still on the programme said, ―--you were required to pay money for operating a computer at computer shops‖ (DT4S:405).
The impact of learner access to ICT in DL is dealt with in detail in the discussion chapter.