Original Research

Postgraduate mathematics education students’ experiences of using digital platforms for learning within the COVID-19 pandemic era

Jayaluxmi Naidoo
Pythagoras | Vol 41, No 1 | a568 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/pythagoras.v41i1.568 | © 2020 Jayaluxmi Naidoo | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 19 July 2020 | Published: 30 November 2020

About the author(s)

Jayaluxmi Naidoo, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Education, School of Education, College of Humanities, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

Abstract

Within the digital era, as global society embraces the fourth industrial revolution, technology is being integrated swiftly within teaching and learning. Within the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic era, education institutions are preparing robustly for digital pedagogy. This article reports on a study focusing on 31 postgraduate mathematics education students’ experiences of using digital platforms for learning during the COVID-19 pandemic era. The study was located at one teacher education institution in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The research process encompassed three interactive online workshops and two online discussion forums, which were conducted via different digital platforms (Zoom, Moodle and WhatsApp). The study was framed using the theory of Communities of Practice, which denotes a group of people who share an interest which is enhanced as group members support and interact with each other. Qualitative data generated during the interactive online workshops and discussion forums were analysed thematically. The results exhibit challenges and strengths of using digital platforms as experienced by the participants. The results of this study suggest that before using digital platforms for mathematics learning, it is important for students to be encouraged to practise and engage collaboratively within digital platforms. The study adds to the developing knowledge in the field concerning using digital platforms for learning mathematics within the COVID-19 pandemic era.

Keywords

COVID-19; digital platform; fourth industrial revolution; mathematics; Moodle; technology; WhatsApp; Zoom

Metrics

Total abstract views: 5657
Total article views: 5947

 

Crossref Citations

1. Covid-19 and African E-Learning Systems: Structural and Institutional Strategies for Resilience and Antifragility
Patience Akpan-Obong
Journal of Information Policy  vol: 13  first page: 1  year: 2023  
doi: 10.5325/jinfopoli.13.2023.0001

2. Technology-Based Pedagogy for Mathematics Education in South Africa: Sustainable Development of Mathematics Education Post COVID-19
Jayaluxmi Naidoo
Sustainability  vol: 14  issue: 17  first page: 10735  year: 2022  
doi: 10.3390/su141710735

3. The Effects of Mobile Technology on Learning Performance and Motivation in Mathematics Education
Serdal Poçan, Bilal Altay, Cihat Yaşaroğlu
Education and Information Technologies  vol: 28  issue: 1  first page: 683  year: 2023  
doi: 10.1007/s10639-022-11166-6

4. Was Emergency Remote Education Enough To Save The Day? : Mathematics Teachers' Difficulties and Ways to Cope With These Difficulties
Vildan Donmuş Kaya, Ebru Kükey
The European Educational Researcher  first page: 201  year: 2022  
doi: 10.31757/euer.525

5. Teaching Mathematics during the COVID-19 Lockdown in a Context of Historical Disadvantage
Brantina Chirinda, Mdutshekelwa Ndlovu, Erica Spangenberg
Education Sciences  vol: 11  issue: 4  first page: 177  year: 2021  
doi: 10.3390/educsci11040177

6. Mathematics Lecturers’ Views on the Student Experience of Emergency Remote Teaching Due to COVID-19
Eabhnat Ní Fhloinn, Olivia Fitzmaurice
Education Sciences  vol: 12  issue: 11  first page: 787  year: 2022  
doi: 10.3390/educsci12110787

7. Co-design in somewhere: the interpretations of interior design students on future architectural scenarios in metaverse
Şen Yüksel, Betül Gündoğdu, Nilhan Kaya
Interactive Learning Environments  vol: 33  issue: 1  first page: 260  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1080/10494820.2024.2343759

8. Opinions of pre-service mathematics teachers on digital learning platforms
Ulaş Çalık, Esra Altıntaş
Journal for the Education of Gifted Young Scientists  vol: 13  issue: 4  first page: 205  year: 2025  
doi: 10.17478/jegys.1732142

9. Leadership crisis in African higher education in the 4IR: lesson(s) for the future
Chinaza Uleanya
Cogent Education  vol: 11  issue: 1  year: 2024  
doi: 10.1080/2331186X.2024.2429870

10. University students’ approaches to online learning technologies: The roles of perceived support, affect/emotion and self-efficacy in technology-enhanced learning
Jiying Han, Xiaohui Geng
Computers & Education  vol: 194  first page: 104695  year: 2023  
doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2022.104695

11. Students’ concerns about Online Remote Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic in the 4IR digital society
Walter Matli, Mashitishi Phurutsi
Procedia Computer Science  vol: 219  first page: 971  year: 2023  
doi: 10.1016/j.procs.2023.01.374

12. Lower secondary students’ cognitive, social and instructional mathematical experiences in instant messaging environments
Ahmet Çelik, Selahattin Arslan
International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology  first page: 1  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1080/0020739X.2025.2483489

13. Mobile instant messaging applications in STEAM education: Scoping review
Alfiya R. Masalimova, Marina R. Zheltukhina, Olga V. Sergeeva, Natalia L. Sokolova, Zhanna M. Sizova, Lyubov V. Kochneva
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies  vol: 15  issue: 4  first page: e202534  year: 2025  
doi: 10.30935/ojcmt/17425

14. Challenges and Opportunities: Experiences of Mathematics Lecturers Engaged in Emergency Remote Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Eabhnat Ní Fhloinn, Olivia Fitzmaurice
Mathematics  vol: 9  issue: 18  first page: 2303  year: 2021  
doi: 10.3390/math9182303

15. Modeling the Relationship among Digital Demographic Characteristics, Digital Literacy, and Academic Performance of Mathematics Major Students in an Online Learning Environment
Eduardo Edu C. Cornillez
IJERI: International Journal of Educational Research and Innovation  issue: 21  first page: 1  year: 2024  
doi: 10.46661/ijeri.9575

16. How and why? Technology and practices used by university mathematics lecturers for emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic
Eabhnat Ní Fhloinn, Olivia Fitzmaurice
Teaching Mathematics and its Applications: An International Journal of the IMA  vol: 40  issue: 4  first page: 392  year: 2021  
doi: 10.1093/teamat/hrab018

17. A COVID-19 Pandemic Sustainable Educational Innovation Management Proposal Framework
Annibal Scavarda, Ana Dias, Augusto Reis, Haydee Silveira, Isabel Santos
Sustainability  vol: 13  issue: 11  first page: 6391  year: 2021  
doi: 10.3390/su13116391

18. M-Learning in education during COVID-19: A systematic review of sentiment, challenges, and opportunities
Atika Qazi, Javaria Qazi, Khulla Naseer, Najmul Hasan, Glenn Hardaker, Dat Bao
Heliyon  vol: 10  issue: 12  first page: e32638  year: 2024  
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32638

19. Use of Digital Platforms Among University Students: A Systematic Literature Review
Michael Yao Wodui Serwornoo, Samuel Danso, Benedine Azanu, Stanley Kwame Marcus Semarco, Ebenezer Ato Kwamena Aidoo
Qeios  vol: 6  issue: 7  year: 2024  
doi: 10.32388/SQKGT5.2

20. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Industrial Organisational Psychologists in South Africa: Imagining new professional roles
Willie T. Chinyamurindi, Anthony K. Masha, Ntombekhaya Tshabalala
SA Journal of Industrial Psychology  vol: 47  year: 2021  
doi: 10.4102/sajip.v47i0.1876

21. Experiences of preservice mathematics teachers during their education in times of pandemic
Mónica E. Villarreal, Jhony Alexander Villa-Ochoa, Jeannette Galleguillos
ZDM – Mathematics Education  vol: 55  issue: 1  first page: 235  year: 2023  
doi: 10.1007/s11858-022-01461-4

22. Perceptions of using interactive mathematics software among Rwandan primary school teachers
Innocente Uwineza, Alphonse Uworwabayeho, Kenya Yokoyama
Cogent Education  vol: 10  issue: 1  year: 2023  
doi: 10.1080/2331186X.2023.2170113

23. Pedagogía Digital. Revisión sistemática del concepto
Cristóbal Suárez-Guerrero, Prudencia Gutiérrez-Esteban, Desirée Ayuso-Delpuerto
Teoría de la Educación. Revista Interuniversitaria  vol: 36  issue: 2  first page: 157  year: 2024  
doi: 10.14201/teri.31721

24. Indirect effects of Covid-19 on water quality
Taqi Raza, Muhammad Shehzad, Muhammad Farhan Qadir, Hafiz Abdul Kareem, Neal S. Eash, Mika Sillanpaa, Khalid Rehman Hakeem
Water-Energy Nexus  vol: 5  first page: 29  year: 2022  
doi: 10.1016/j.wen.2022.10.001

25. Utilization of Interactive Digital Platforms in PAI Learning to Improve Religious Literacy of Elementary School Students
Cita Suci Soleha, U Abdullah Mu’min, Mahamadaree Waen, Shifa Aulia Firnanda, Ahmad Ripa'i
LECTURES: Journal of Islamic and Education Studies  vol: 4  issue: 3  first page: 386  year: 2025  
doi: 10.58355/lectures.v4i3.171

26. Roles of technologies for future teaching in a pandemic: activity, agency, and humans-with-media
Jhony Alexander Villa-Ochoa, Juan Fernando Molina-Toro, Marcelo C. Borba
ZDM – Mathematics Education  vol: 55  issue: 1  first page: 207  year: 2023  
doi: 10.1007/s11858-022-01429-4

27. Graduate and postgraduate educational challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic period: its impact and innovations—a scoping review
Muhammad Harris Shoaib, Muhammad Sikandar, Rabia Ismail Yousuf, Monica Parkash, Syed Jamil Hassan Kazmi, Farrukh Rafiq Ahmed, Kamran Ahmed, Muhammad Talha Saleem, Syeda Hina Zaidi
Systematic Reviews  vol: 12  issue: 1  year: 2023  
doi: 10.1186/s13643-023-02359-2