ICT access, use and perceptions : the current state of play among staff and students at South African universities of technology

Abstract

This paper reports on a mixed methods study that investigated access to, use, and perceptions of current and emerging technologies among Information Technology (IT) staff and students at universities of technology (UoTs) in South Africa. Fifty-eight IT staff and 410 IT students from 4 UoTs participated in the study. The primary research instrument was an online survey questionnaire, which was supplemented by semi-structured interviews with 31 of the study participants. Web investigations and conversations with IT support staff from UoTs also formed part of the mixed methods employed in the study. The findings of the online survey are analysed both from individual institutional perspectives and in aggregate form representative of the sector as a whole. Cross tabulations are used to analyse the data across institutions. The quantitative analysis reveals interesting trends and patterns in how students and staff are taking advantage of the potential held by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for teaching and learning and for use in their daily lives. The qualitative findings question the assumptions that have been made about a digital divide between digital native students and their digital immigrant lecturers, suggesting that we need to develop a more sophisticated understanding of the role that technologies play in the lives of both students and staff. Results indicate that while students are very enthusiastic about using various ICTs and Web 2.0 tools, most have still to be convinced about their use for formal academic functions. Academic staff, on the other hand, continues to be cautiously optimistic about the use of ICTs in teaching and still harbour a number of concerns.