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Information and Communication Technology has become ubiquitous in today's modern age in almost all aspects of human life. So is the case with the field of education. Modern learners demand novel techniques to understand better the topics taught in the classroom. Jadhav and Takale (2020) assert that in today's age, chalk and duster are no longer enough in the teaching and learning process. As a result, the traditional chalk and talk method is gradually replaced with educational technologies -aided instructional strategies and tools. Therefore, this compels educators to adopt educational technologies in their practice (Gemiya, 2020; Bordoloi, Das & Das, 2021; Mahmud et al., 2021). In Africa, the African Ministerial Forum has stressed the urgency to accelerate the adoption of educational technologies in education to achieve Africa's agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. Flagship project number 10 of the 15 projects of the African Union seeks to transform Africa into an e-Society by 2063, and the adoption of educational technologies has been identified as the starting point (African Union, 2020).
In South Africa, the integration of educational technologies in education has ascended the education agenda with the release of the White Paper on e-Education in 2004 (Department of Basic Education, 2004) and the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 of 2012. Under these policies, the South African government, through the Department of Basic Education (DBE), undertook several initiatives to equip schools with educational technologies and empower teachers to adopt educational technologies in their teaching. Even though the DBE adopted several educational technologies, educational policies and strategies, most teachers in South African schools are still lagging in integrating educational technologies to teach. Mooketsi and Chigona (2014), cited in Padayachee (2017), revealed a disparity between government expectations and teachers' practices. This observation is documented in the DBE's Action Plan of 2019 report, where the Department concedes that ” educational technologies -enhanced learning has not advanced in South Africa as expected” (DBE, 2015, p. 14). The DBE estimates that a mere 26% of South African teachers are equipped with basic technology skills, with only 7% functioning at an intermediate level of competency (DBE, 2018). Ifinedo and Kankaanranta (2021) further stated that even those teachers who grew up using technology and have access to it are not integrating technology in their practice.