The level of students’ under-preparedness to study at tertiary levels appears to suggest that the educational system has not yet considered the cultural, social and economical conditions of the majority of South Africans learners. Therefore, there is a need for:
(1) A new approach to primary and high school curriculum. This has to be inclusive and enhance visualisation, logical, numerical and communication skills. For example, it is established here that visualisation skills, such as pattern matching or transforming 2D planes to 3D objects are related to logical skills, thus, including them in the curriculum can have a positive effect on learners’ cognitive abilities.
(2) The introduction of a social constructivist curriculum founded on dialogue, collaboration, and acceptance and tolerance of cultural differences. In a multiracial society, embracing these differences is of vital importance. This is because for learners to overcome their deficiencies they need an educational environment which accommodates each learner as unique individual who has something to offer to others as well as receiving from them.
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(3) An educational system that promotes the development of social capital through the inclusion of interaction, participation and dialogue. This attainment of this is through the building of networks of learners who will work together for the benefit of all.
(4) There is a need for the development of appropriate language skills. Language was found to be one of the major contributing factors to the problem of underpreparedness when learners are forced to study in a foreign language. It is therefore, necessary for curriculum
developers to emphasis the need for proficiency in the English language from the early stages of learning as this contributes to the development of other skills such as logic and visualisation.
(5) Investing in networked computers (connected to the Internet) capable of supporting asynchronous and synchronous teaching and learning. Again, the amount of information available on the Internet compels institutions to install this technology on their campuses as a matter of urgency. The Internet opens up spaces for social capital to occur, where learners from across the globe can come together, form their networks and share their experiences in order to attain a common goal.
(6) Introducing full multimedia games such as γKhozi, based on social constructivist principles, allowing collaboration and development of social networks among learners as appropriate learning tools. The government and schools need to understand that education is a
partnership between many people, who might have differing agendas but who still need to work together. Consequently, there is a need to introduce games like γKhozi, which could provide asynchronous and synchronous dialogue in the learning environment.
(7) Research on the use of ICT and games in the classroom within a South African context in order to foster an understanding of social constructivism. This could provide answers to whether the sharing of the social space created by the Internet could yield the same results as those learners who share the same computers and are able to do a face-to-face
discussion.
While computer games are the digital realization of telling stories in a different way where computer technologies can be used to create virtual worlds that integrate communication devices, it is the learning theories that should inform educational practices. These theories assist
instructional designers, some of whom might not be educators, to map out the exact path for designing and developing these games whilst ensuring that they know what are the expected outcomes of each game. It is the conclusion of this research that social dialogue and social interaction are important aspects of education and need to be incorporated in the curriculum.
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