2.9 Curricular spider web
2.9.7 Material and resources
Khoza (2012, p. 75) defines a resource as anything that facilitates or initiates learning or “any person or thing that communicates learning”. According to Krishna (2013), teachers believe that successful teaching and learning depend on the teaching and learning resources. Khoza (2012) categorises educational resources into three categories namely: hardware resources, meaning the use of physical equipment that learning process, for instance computers, overheard projectors, and chalkboard and so
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on; software; and ideological-ware. According to Chi-Chung, Lai and Wong (2009), some geography teachers have limited access to the hardware that is suitable to teach GIS. Chi-Chung et al. (2009) further state that in some schools, the hardware is available to others subjects, but not in the geography classroom. Hence it is of paramount importance to create a classroom environment whereby hardware resources are available in order to have active teaching and learning of GIS. The study conducted by Wilmot and Dubea (2015) found that learners were sharing books in groups of two to three and when the teacher was asked why learners were sharing books, the teacher responded that the school was not aware of how many learners were doing geography. This suggests that the geography is not taken seriously like other subjects and also suggests that if textbooks are not adequately provided, then additional resources such as maps and computers are more unlikely to be provided.
Also software resources, are important in the teaching of GIS; software resources are the computer programs that store information. Access to appropriate GIS software is very important for geography teachers since they need to be able to use basic GIS software. Over and above software and hardware is the ideological-ware resource. Ideological-ware is identified as a main educational resources amongst the three because learning falls within this category. Chi-Chung et al. (2009) argue that to implement GIS successfully, geography teachers must have subject knowledge and necessary skills required to use GIS, and also teachers should understand the curriculum. According to Amory (2010), teaching and learning is not about technology but is about ideology. Johansson (2006) concurs with this statement by pointing out that providing schools with enough computers and other required resources does not automatically mean that the educational aims of incorporating technology into the curriculum are achieved.
Coupled with the above stated paragraph on resources, the study conducted by Watson (2001) on GIS, also indicates that, even though some teachers are using computers and other resources for administrative purposes, the majority of teachers are not using computers as part of the resources in their classrooms. Watson (2001) further states that computers may be accessible in schools but most of the teachers are not equipped with the necessary skills to use them. This suggest that accessibility to resources does not mean effective implementation of the curriculum but rather this is a collaborative exercise that includes the government, the Department of Education, school management, teachers and communities. Resources affect the way in which teachers teach. According to the Department of Basic Education (2011), the following is an additional list of resources for teaching geographical skills and techniques which embraces GIS: atlases, orthophoto maps, aerial photographs, GIS images, topographic maps and previous examination papers.
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Baker (2005) states that the challenge lies in the attempted establishment of a suitable environment in which technology can be taught effectively in South Africa. Kidman (2006) points to three main challenges that are obstructing the integration of GIS in schools of South Africa. First is the lack of financial resources, which is seen as the major obstacle to integrate GIS effectively. With the introduction of GIS in geography, there are strong needs for financial support for purchasing the required hardware, software and other educational resources, along with the money required for the training of geography teachers. Most of schools in South Africa do not have enough resources such as computers, yet GIS needs computers; furthermore, GIS software is expensive, therefore effective teaching of the GIS is hindered (Watson, 2006).
The second challenge is the lack of support which hinders effective teaching of GIS. Kidman and Palmer (2006) identify three levels of support that are vital in the full functioning of a school. The first of which is the support from school leadership, including community members, next, is support from tertiary institutions and lastly is the support from the Department of Education. According to the researcher’s experience, the three levels of supports in South Africa are not balanced. Communities are ignored by the school management with the beliefs that they are illiterate, therefore including community members is less important to them. Universities offering teaching courses do not adequately equip geography teachers with the necessary skills of teaching GIS, hence the support for GIS teaching is lacking. The Department of Education is not fully supporting the schools such that geography teachers, in terms of providing resources for teaching GIS, and most important is to train them from time to time.
The third challenge if the lack of time to teach GIS; this issue is fully covered under the section below this. Resources are part of the teaching environment. The teaching environment is a part of the ten components of the curricular spider web as discussed by Van De Akker (2009). The teaching environment is relevant for the question: where are the teachers teaching? In teaching of GIS, the teaching environment is very important because most of the problems faced by teachers emanate from space they are using. It also determines whether the curriculum will be implemented successfully or not. The learning environment is linked to assessment used by teachers in assessing learners. The teaching environment leads us to the issue of time.
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