An evaluation study of student teachers’ preparedness and attitudes towards “Thuto” electronic teaching and learning device – a case study of the National University of Lesotho.

Abstract

The ICT- based education seems to take a huge stride in universities in the 21^st Century. The culture of teaching and learning has shifted from traditional context classrooms where a teacher was a prominent figure with knowledge, to an electronically guided classroom interaction with less teacher- based lessons. The National University of Lesotho (NUL), like other universities of the world, has introduced an ICT device, “Thuto”. This is used specifically to improve classroom teaching and learning. Thuto is accessible to every staff member and student of the university. With Thuto in place, it is expected that communication should be spearheaded within all University structures. This article presents a research study relating the preparedness and attitudes of student- teachers towards a wider use of Thuto. A sample of one hundred student teachers was selected to respond to a two part questionnaire. The questionnaire with a 5 point likert scale of strongly agrees as 5, and strongly disagrees as 0 was designed to seek information on student teachers’ preparedness for and attitudes towards Thuto. A frequency count with percentages analysis was employed to show the results of the study. Research results have confirmed that a few student teachers use the device. These are the students with computer skills and interest. The student teachers with deficiencies in computer skills seem reluctant to get immersed in the use of Thuto. The conclusion is that Thuto is still not a popular device with student teachers who have less computer skills. This being the case, they do not benefit from the device.  As a result, there is a need to hold induction lessons with students to increase their potential if Thuto is expected to achieve the stated objective.