Saide

Saide Current Awareness
31 October 2023

Distance Education

Online and Distance Education for a Connected World Source: UCL Press This volume, edited by the University of London’s Centre for Online and Distance Education, addresses the practice and theory of online and distance education, building on knowledge and expertise developed in the University over some 150 years. The University is currently providing distance transnational education to around 50,000 students in more than 180 countries around the world. Throughout the book, contributors explore important principles and highlight successful practices in areas including course design and pedagogy, online assessment, open education, inclusive practice, and enabling student voice. Case studies illustrate prominent issues and approaches. Together, the chapters offer current and future leaders and practitioners a practical, productive, practice- and theory-informed account of the present and likely future state of online and distance higher education worldwide.
13. Speculative futures for higher education: weaving perspectives for good Source: OpenBook Publishers Much has been written and speculated about the future of teaching and learning, recently brought to the forefront by calls to “reimagine” the future of education and to explore a “new normal” emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic (UN 2020; UNESCO 2021). In our service as co-leaders of the Digital Transformation (DT) working group at Royal Roads University (RRU) Canada, we (Veletsianos and Childs) were asked to advise our institution on the ways we believe it could, and ought to, respond to the challenges and opportunities that this moment offers. In doing so, we grounded our recommendations both in the long-standing and far-reaching literature on online and distance education and educational technology, as well as in the critical possibilities that speculative methods offer

Education: South Africa

Parents fear for safety of children at squalid Eastern Cape school Source: Mail and Guardian Parents at Mntla Primary School in Khothane village in the remote town of Ngqamakhwe, Eastern Cape, say they fear for their children’s safety.The school was started by parents in the 1970s. The prefabricated classrooms date back to 1985 and are now unsafe. Ceilings are caving in, windows are broken, and there are holes in the collapsing walls. The school has two blocks, each with four prefabs. There are 72 learners in grades R to 7. When it’s raining, they use the staff prefab, which is in the best condition, for teaching.
University of Venda blames auditors for AG’s negative finding against it Source:Daily Maverick The University of Venda says the Auditor-General’s office failed to review the information given to it due to time limitations.
Load shedding could adversely affect computer-related matric exams, say authorities Source:Daily Maverick Load shedding and possible taxi strikes are among the concerns raised by authorities in the Western Cape and Free State ahead of the matric exams. However, they say there are contingency plans in place.
DA rallies against Basic Education Bill adopted by National Assembly Source:Daily Maverick The National Assembly on Thursday passed the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill. According to the DA, the Bill is discriminatory as it gives the head of provincial education departments and MECs the power to decide what language is taught at schools as well as the criteria for school admissions.
Small town, big dreams – quest by Touws River’s Haleema and Shanidea to fund their education through writing Source: Daily Maverick In the small town of Touws River in the rural Western Cape two young girls have captured the hearts of their community and beyond. Despite daunting obstacles, these De Kruine Secondary School Grade 8s have already achieved what many can only dream of – becoming published authors while in Grade 6 at Steenvliet Primary School, at the age of 13.

Language, Literacies and Research Writing

Snapplify wins 2023 Unesco King Sejong Literacy Prize Source:BizCommunity Snapplify, a digital education solutions provider, has announced that it has been awarded the Unesco King Sejong Literacy Prize for 2023, which recognises contributions to mother-tongue-based literacy development.
Down Second Avenue, second time around — re-reading Es’kia Mphahlele today Source: Daily Maverick Es’kia Mphahlele’s work stands as a stark reminder for us to stay focussed on the human in all their ‘bitternesses’, their possibilities, their ‘powerlessnesses’ and equally in their ability to wound Earth, animal and fellow humans alike — even in the 21st century.

Open Education and Open Educational Resources

A YEAR IN THE OPEN CLIMATE CAMPAIGN Source: Creative Commons If we are going to solve climate change, the knowledge about it must be open. Only 47% of research papers on climate change are open. That means less than half of all climate research can be read by the public, researchers, journalists, educators, policy makers, students and others seeking to mobilize this knowledge in mitigations and solutions for climate change. One year ago, Creative Commons and our partners — SPARC & EIFL with the guidance of the Steering Committee — launched the Open Climate Campaign to address the lack of access to climate change research. Comprising 11 goals, the Open Climate Campaign’s mission is to make the open sharing of research the norm in climate science.

Post Schooling

Drive to succeed not enough for poor students, studies find Source: University World News Motivation, passion and perseverance are the key to success for postgraduate students, according to two South African education researchers. Dr Kelly Anne Young, a senior researcher at the University of South Africa (UNISA), and Professor Elizabeth Archer, the director of institutional research at the University of the Western Cape, examined psychometric properties among 837 postgraduate students enrolled at UNISA.
Eight of SA’s 26 public universities fail to get clean audits Source:Daily Maverick The Auditor-General says four universities reported achieving their objectives in their annual reports without providing credible information, while audit outcomes for another four were still outstanding.
Global university rankings now include social impact: African universities are off to a strong start Source: The Conversation World university rankings are released towards the end of each year. Institutions globally scramble to see how they have fared. Have they risen or fallen? If so, by how much and in which rankings? Have they maintained their position in an increasingly competitive global higher education landscape?
AI in HE: ‘The end game must be a more equitable society’ Source: University World News The ethics surrounding research and data usage are particularly pertinent in social science, given its focus on putting people first: what is the impact of any product on its user, and are there more equitable benefits than drawbacks?
Rinse and repeat: The ongoing saga of NSFAS ’ Source: University World News As South Africans, we have become desensitised to instances of malfeasance and corruption. We no longer react appropriately to new manifestations; instead, we tend to shrug and move on.
Even the striking visuals of the VBS bank dismantling, which has not resulted in any charges three years later, fail to provoke a response.

Skills and Employment

Cutting employment programmes now will bring disaster and despair to South Africa Source: Daily Maverick As the unemployment crisis reaches staggering levels, we should be investing more in bold solutions. The Presidential Employment Stimulus has created 1.4 million jobs and livelihood support opportunities, but faces potential dismantling due to budget constraints.
Skills development push sees MICT SETA spend R1bn Source: ItWeb The Media, Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority (MICT SETA) spent close to R1 billion on grants aimed at skills developmentand new qualifications in the 2022/23 financial year.This came to light during the organisation’s annual general meeting on Friday.The expenditure funded discretionary and mandatory grants, according to MICT SETA, with close to R800 million and R200 million, respectively, disbursed during the period under review.
These South Africans are the most qualified – and the most unemployed Source: BusTech Despite having greater levels of tertiary education, South African women face higher levels of unemployment.Using data from Stats SA’s 2022 census, Pnet noted that 12.8% of adult females have post-school qualifications compared to just 11.6% of adult males.However, according to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), the male unemployment rate stands at 30%, whereas the female unemployment rate is significantly higher at 35.7%.

Teaching and Learning- Local and Global

Higher Education for Good :Teaching and Learning Futures Source: OpenBook Publishers Laura Czerniewicz and Catherine Cronin's Higher Education for Good (#HE4Good), aims to confront, consider, and reimagine the opportunities and challenges of higher education in a variety of global contexts at a time of numerous and intersecting crises. It opens up imaginative possibilities using multiple modalities: critical reflections; poetry; conceptual essays; speculative fiction; visual and audio forms; dialogue; graphic reflection and artwork.
Critical Thinking for Everyone in the Room: Teaching the Students We Have, Not the Learners We Wish We Had Source: Faculty Focus The following article is sponsored by: M. Neil Browne, Question-Based Critical Thinking : "Reflecting on my more than five decades of teaching critical thinking, I feel disappointment that I showed so little respect for the multiple pathways to engagement available to teachers. While I won more than my fair share of university, state, and national teaching awards and had the privilege of being asked to enhance the critical thinking of numerous governmental agencies and corporations, my teaching was based far too much on projection. I designed my teacher development around what had been optimal pedagogical strategies for me."
Beyond the classroom: why experiential learning is crucial in today’s world Source: Times Higher Education Mónica Gárate presents an experiential learning methodology, including characteristics, benefits and how the professor should participate in the process
Show time: how to be an engaging teacher Source: Times Higher Education "While there can be some confusion over what exactly constitutes student engagement, this collection of resources shows there is broad agreement that creating fun, interactive lessons, learning how to connect with students and using technology effectively are key starting points for getting your class onside."

Technology-Enhanced Learning

The growing energy footprint of artificial intelligence Source: Joule Cell Alex de Vries is a PhD candidate at the VU Amsterdam School of Business and Economics and the founder of Digiconomist, a research company dedicated to exposing the unintended consequences of digital trends. His research focuses on the environmental impact of emerging technologies and has played a major role in the global discussion regarding the sustainability of blockchain technology.
PowerPoint 101 Source: OSUThis multimedia presentation provides step-by-step instructions to guide students through the full process of creating presentations with PowerPoint.
9. Artificial intelligence for good? Challenges and possibilities of AI in higher education from a data justice perspective Source: OpenBook A chapter in the book Higher Education for Good . Artificial intelligence technologies and methods have long been gaining traction in higher education, with accelerated growth in uptake and spread since the COVID-19 pandemic, including the 2023 rise of generative AI. However, even before the rapid evolution currently unfolding, AI-powered bots have already been widely used by universities, fielding student inquiries and delivering automated feedback in teaching and learning contexts. While this chapter acknowledges the groundbreaking changes currently wrought by generative AI technologies in HE, in particular in relation to assessment, it is primarily concerned with overarching principles and frameworks rather than with capturing the current rapidly-changing state of the tech industry. Among specific interests of this chapter is the use of AI tools by universities to predict students’ academic outcomes based on demographics, performance, and other data.
Incorporating AI in Education: Empowering Educators, Engaging Students Source:Faculty Focus This special report dives into the convergence of education and artificial intelligence, offering a comprehensive guide for educators navigating this transformative landscape.
This report emphasizes the importance of transparent communication between teachers and students, aiming to demystify AI’s role in education. Additionally, it scrutinizes critical inquiries educators must make when integrating AI into the learning process, focusing on factors like ethics, accuracy, and pedagogical value. Finally, the report offers practical insights and examples for seamlessly integrating AI tools and techniques into assignments, creating a more dynamic and engaging learning experience.