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Chapter 5. Using Web 2.0 technologies to support blended collaborative learning of critical citizenship at a South African University
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107 Chapter 5 Using Web 2.0 technologies to support blended collaborative learning of critical citizenship at a South African University Patient Rambe Abstract Multiple studies have explored the potential of Web 2.0 technologies to support contextualised learning on the one hand, and the capacity of critical citizenship to foster meaningful learning on the other. However, insufficient attention has been deployed to grasping the nexus between the academic value of Web 2.o technologies (like social media) and the advancement of critical citizenship at African universities. This chapter, therefore, addresses this disconnection by exploring the appropriateness of emerging conversational technologies (chat rooms, discussion forums, blogs and Facebook) in supporting the learning of critical citizenship in blended learning environments. Community of Inquiry and a case study approach are drawn upon as theoretical and methodological frameworks for ravelling the productive convergence of networked conversational technologies, student cogitative frames on critical citizenship, and construction of sound pedagogical strategies in situated blended learning contexts. Findings confirm the capacity of conversational technologies to sustain academic articulations of contested citizenship topics which students would not otherwise sufficiently tackle face-to-face, discursive exchanges of pedagogical content knowledge and the generation of knowledge in connectivist scholarly inquiry. These accoutrements of academic scholarship profoundly attest to the appropriateness of conversational technologies in critical citizenship discourses. However, the challenges of these Web-based engagements included student failure to deliberate on critical 108 citizenship issues thematically leading to fragmented discussions, a general lack of theoretical and analytical depth of postings due to limited student confidence with technology, and occasionally emotive critiques of peers’ views that lend themselves to general misconceptions and misinterpretations of peers’ arguments. The findings’ implications for pedagogy are deliberated. Introduction The discourse of critical citizenship (CC) is highly contested and multiple interpretations of CC have consequently emerged (Advisory Group on Citizenship, 1998; Osler, 2000; Carducci & Rhodes, 2005; Smith, Ottewill, Jubb, Sperling & Wyman, 2007; James & Iverson, 2009). From a media literacy perspective, Carducci & Rhodes (2005, p. 5) argues that CC (or citizenship education) foregrounds “the development of empowered identities and seeks to cultivate individuals with the skills and dispositions to be active participants in a variety of social and political processes.” Such nurturing of identities requires a shift in student conceptions of public participation from wholesale media consumerism towards critical questioning and practical criticism during the formulation of public opinion and decision making. Similarly, the Advisory Group on Citizenship (also branded the Crick Report) (1998) conceives CC to embody three strands: social and moral responsibility, community involvement and political literacy. This intellectually demanding political endeavour expected of students should undergird their empowerment to participate in society effectively as active, informed, critical and responsible citizens (Advisory Group on Citizenship, 1998). Yet the cogitative demands on students are just as peremptory as their being politically well informed about broader societal issues including their capacity to handle the emotional, relational demands of critical citizenship. From a pragmatic perspective, therefore, Osler (2000) contends that programmes on citizenship education must enable young people to understand the barriers to citizenship and equip them with the skills to challenge and overcome such barriers. [3.93.59.171] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 22:43 GMT) 109 The explosive growth of Internet usage in South Africa (particularly among college students who use institutionallysanctioned networks) presents enormous opportunities for their participation in discourses of critical citizenship. Essentially, the South African Internet user base impressively surged from 6.8million in 2010 to 8.5-million at the end of 2011 - no less than 25% growth (South Africa Info, 2012). Mindful of the explosive growth in internet usage even among the disadvantaged communities, a strong case for virtual debates on citizenship can be advanced. Kreutzer’s (2009) study on South African disadvantaged learners’ access to the mobile internet reports a considerably high learner access to the internet via mobile devices. Navigation of social networking sites, appropriation of mobile instant messaging applications and web browsing constituted the most popular social networking practices among the learners. The quasi formal character of citizenship education, the convergence of university students on the Internet, coupled with the deliberative and conversational nature of Web-based social technologies ideally qualify social technologies as best fits for articulating citizenship discourses. Rambe’s (2012) research on social media usage among university students reports on the increasing convergence of internet browsing, mobile network resources and social networking. Cognisant of the surging uptake of mobile networking coupled with South African youth’s assertive presence on conversational technologies like social media...