Digital literacy practices of engineering students and lecturers using e- textbooks at a university of technology in South Africa

Rzyankina, Ekaterina

Digital literacy practices of engineering students and lecturers using e- textbooks at a university of technology in South Africa

Thesis / Dissertation

2024

Publisher

University of Cape town

Department

Department of Electrical Engineering

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment

Abstract

Higher education in South Africa has experienced significant transformation and restructuring, presenting unique challenges for both students and lecturers. Amidst these changes, the advent of new technologies is introducing novel learning opportunities, yet their effective utilisation often demands the development of new digital practices. In the context of engineering education, where digital technology is increasingly prevalent, understanding how students' digital literacy practices influence their engagement is crucial. Despite the growing use of e-textbooks in engineering courses, not all South African students are comfortable with this shift. Engaging with online texts featuring embedded resources like hyperlinks, audio clips, graphs, or charts requires specific skills and practices. Given that Engineering Education research is a relatively new field, there is a dearth of studies specifically addressing the use of engineering e-textbooks. This study aims to explore how students and lecturers engage with engineering e-textbooks at a University of Technology in South Africa. Focusing on first-year students and lecturers from the departments of Maritime Studies and Chemical Engineering, the study delves into their interaction with e-textbooks. Data were gathered through individual and focus group interviews, observations, and a think-aloud protocol for students, alongside individual interviews with lecturers. This study draws upon Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and Mediated Discourse Analysis (MDA) to understand the socio-cultural and historical factors influencing e-textbook engagement, interaction order, and the usage of affordances of etextbooks. The study identified four distinct patterns in how students interact with e-textbooks, noting that the majority favoured a blend of multimedia and other digital features over traditional textbased reading practices. A few students expressed a positive disposition towards using etextbooks for study purposes, provided they received adequate support. However, in most cases, the findings showed that first-year students struggle with the transition to universitylevel reading and learning, particularly due to their limited prior exposure to digital devices and experiences. Some students found e-textbooks confusing and had a negative attitude towards them due to lack of familiarity and operational knowledge. Furthermore, in introducing e-textbooks as part of the curriculum, the following contradictions were revealed in students' activity system, namely limited knowledge of how to operate etextbooks, limited use and restricted access. Thus, the study underscores the necessity for additional support to help students who are less comfortable with e-textbooks, as demonstrated through the analysis of students' activity system. A parallel examination of lecturers' activity system highlighted their own challenges, such as adapting to a changed teaching role, presenting content effectively through e-textbooks, and facilitating students' access to these resources. The findings emphasise the importance of lecturers recognising and addressing the varying levels of students' digital literacy, offering guidance for the effective utilisation of e-textbooks in their academic pursuits. The study contributes to existing knowledge by conceptualising digital literacy practices and pedagogy within an activity system of CHAT. The combination of CHAT and MDA offers a methodological and theoretical contribution that could be employed in future research in order to surface the literacy practices within complex activity systems in higher education. Moreover, the study offers insight into the digital literacy practices of engineering students and lecturers in the context of e-textbook use for the acquisition of engineering concepts, highlighting the nuanced challenges and opportunities inherent in this digital transition. It recommends involvement of various university stakeholders in order to ensure that this transition promotes social and epistemic access in an unequal South African higher education landscape.

Keywords

Engineering

Reference:

Collections

PhD / Doctoral

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