Online teaching and learning has become a fundamental platform for teaching and learning in higher education institutions, more so, since globally an extensive academic disruption was experienced during the coronavirus pandemic 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown. This study describes pre-service teachers’ perceptions on online teaching and learning platforms at one University in South Africa. The purpose of this paper is to report on the challenges detected in their perceptions. The paper engages a quantitative approach, through 10 statements on a Likert scale to draw the perceptions of 220 randomly selected pre-service teachers on their online learning experiences. MS Excel 2019’s simplicity of use, diversity in data analysis applications, and affordability while still being powerful, it was the preferred technique to analyse and visualize the obtained data. Its pivot tables were used to compile and evaluate the data from questionnaire The findings indicated that most pre-service teachers strongly agreed that a substantial number of challenges such as the lack of access to relevant digital resources, equipment and skills were still prevalent in their learning environments. The preservice teachers’ perceptions abetted the researchers to conclude that although online teaching and learning practices are in place, the stakeholders still need to ensure equal access to all relevant digital resources for teaching and learning on this platform to be highly effective.

Authors:
Olika Moila, Walter Sisulu University, South Africa

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Olika Moila is a specialist in GET Mathematics, Science and Technology education. Currently, she is a postdoc fellow at the Tshwane University of Technology at the Soshanguve South Campus in South Africa.

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