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Annual Conference of the Southern African Computer Lecturers' Association

SACLA 2022: ICT Education pp 151–170Cite as

Student Experiences with Blended Learning at a South African University During the Pandemic

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Part of the Communications in Computer and Information Science book series (CCIS,volume 1664)

Abstract

Online learning was introduced as a mode of delivery at most universities in South Africa during 2020 due to the pandemic. In 2021 blended learning was implemented at some Universities to cater for students who needed to attend practical tutorials and lab work as part of their degree. This trend appears to continue in 2022 with more Universities considering blended learning as a transition to the new normal. In this paper, the blended learning experiences of eleven students at a South African University was evaluated by means of online interviews. The Blended Learning Assessment framework was used as a lens to present the students readiness for blended learning and was structured around the blended learning options and their related factors. This research highlighted a number of student readiness factors and blended learning options that impacted on the quality of learning. Future research needs to expand on these factors and also examine lecturer and institutional readiness in the transitioning from online to blended learning.

Keywords

  • Blended learning
  • Online learning
  • Student readiness

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the students who participated in the interviews, as well as the lecturers who were willing to be interviewed. This research was conducted as part of a B.Com Honours in Information Systems empirical research. The first author is the student who wrote her empirical report in partial fulfilment of the degree. The second author is her supervisor for this project and was responsible for research supervision, secondary data analysis and drafting of this paper. No funding or financial support was provided for this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information Systems, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 8000, WP, South Africa

    Maryam Seboa & Walter F. Uys

  2. CITANDA, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 8000, WP, South Africa

    Walter F. Uys

Authors
  1. Maryam Seboa
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  2. Walter F. Uys
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Correspondence to Walter F. Uys .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Richard J. Barnett

  2. Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Daniel B. le Roux

  3. Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Douglas A. Parry

  4. Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Bruce W. Watson

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Seboa, M., Uys, W.F. (2022). Student Experiences with Blended Learning at a South African University During the Pandemic. In: Barnett, R.J., le Roux, D.B., Parry, D.A., Watson, B.W. (eds) ICT Education. SACLA 2022. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1664. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21076-1_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21076-1_9

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