Presenter: Carmel McNaught, University of Johannesburg, South Africa &  David Kennedy, First Connexions, Hong Kong

Format: Two hour Adobe Connect live 11 am – 1 pm (SAST) via Adobe Connect from the University of Cape Town, South Africa (With possible interaction with presenters via text chat)

Time converter at worldtimebuddy.com

As educators we are designers of learning processes and resources. However, educators are often overwhelmed with the choice of technologies for supporting student learning and what is meant by learning designs with more student-centred pedagogies; terms such as blended learning, flipped learning, student-generated content, etc. can seem off-putting and unhelpful. Learning designs can only be effective when one thinks about (and eventually answers) the questions: How do I expect that this choice of learning design will support students in their learning? How do I know that the learning design was effective? So, evaluation and learning design are tightly intertwined. In this seminar we will unpack what is meant by designing for learning and explore what is involved in scholarly evaluation of learning designs, illustrating the talk with examples from projects involving mobile technologies and ePortfolios; and also those where groupwork, peer review and peer assessment are essential to the learning design, especially for large class sizes. Our examples will come from a range of discipline areas: English language, Social Geography, Business and Chemistry.

Carmel McNaught is a Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Learning Technologies Unit of the Department Science and Technology Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Johannesburg. Carmel is also an Emeritus Professor of Learning Enhancement and former Director of the Centre for Learning Enhancement and Research (CLEAR) at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Before that she was Head of Professional Development in Learning Technology Services at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. She has previous experiences in southern Africa at the University of Zimbabwe and University of KwaZulu Natal. She has worked in the fields of chemistry; science education; second-language learning; learning design; and curriculum, policy, and quality-assurance matters in higher education. She has served on the editorial boards of 18 international journals; and is a prolific author with over 350 academic publications. Since 2012, she has been a higher-education consultant, working mostly in Africa, Australia, Hong Kong and other countries in Asia, New Zealand, the UAE and the UK.

Dr David M Kennedy has held a number of senior positions in universities in four countries and consulted in an additional 16 countries. Most recently he was Executive Director: Teaching and Learning at the Higher Colleges of Technology in the UAE, Professor and Deputy Dean: Teaching and Learning at James Cook University (Singapore), Associate Professor and Director of the Teaching and Learning Centre, Lingnan University and Programme Director at the University of Hong Kong. His work has included professional development in teaching and learning, research training, and programme and course design. He has also led and contributed to numerous strategic institutional initiatives involving quality assurance, accreditation and programme reviews, and reviews of institutional IT to support Teaching and Learning. He has published >100 academic research papers/ reports, which focused on innovation in the use of ICTs in T&L in multiple academic disciplines, including Education, Medicine, Language learning and Business. Prior to entering higher education he was Head of Science at two private colleges for almost 10 years. He is currently Managing Director, First Connexions, which focuses on supporting teaching, learning and quality matters in higher education.

This seminar has ended – recording is available here

Presenter: Kelly Elander, Assistant Professor, Harding University, United States

Format: One hour Adobe Connect webinar 4 pm (SAST)

Time converter at worldtimebuddy.com

A significant challenge to course designers has always been to keep learners engaged and avoid feelings of isolation and detachment, which leads to high course dropout rates (Bonk & Khoo, 2014; Vakoufari, Christina, & Mavroidis, 2014). This presentation will showcase techniques online instructors can use to make learners feel connected and involved. These techniques came from research and conclusions made from two recent book chapters. The techniques will be explained, and examples will be given.

Dr. Kelly Elander coordinates the web design and interactive media program at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. He holds a B.S. in Communication from Ohio University, a Master’s in adult instruction and performance technology from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in instructional design for online learning from Capella University. More details about Dr. Kelly Elander here.

This webinar has ended – please find recording and resources available here.

Presenter: Paul Prinsloo, Research Professor in Open and Distance Learning, University of South Africa (Unisa)

Format: Live online meeting on Thursday 4 May at 1 pm (SAST)

Time converter at worldtimebuddy.com

As higher education increasingly moves to online and digital learning spaces, we have access not only to greater volumes of student data, but also to increasingly fine-grained and nuanced data’ (Prinsloo & Slade, 2017).

This session provides an introduction to learning analytics. Paul shares how this data is being used by institutions for a range of purposes and stakeholders, as well as some of the implications and ethics involved in doing so. Some universities in Africa are wondering whether or not to invest the time and resources in learning analytics, how best to make use of and how to collect it. Others are already making use of it institutionally or in specific contexts rather than at an institutional level. Paul will discuss some of his recent research, including how uses of learning analytics unfolded at South Africa’s largest open distance education provider.

The webinar encourages us to engage with the following questions:

• Is bigger data better data? What evidence can such data provide and what are some of the shortcomings?
• What are some of the ethical dilemmas involved in uses of student data?
• Is the hype over learning analytics based on idealism rather than reality? How can we move beyond the hype of learning analytics?
• Are lessons learnt from the global north about uses of learning analytics a useful starting point for educators in African Higher Education? What do we adopt and where do we adapt?

Paul Prinsloo, is a Research Professor in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in the College of Economic and Management Sciences, University of South Africa (Unisa). His academic background includes fields as diverse as theology, art history, business management, online learning, and religious studies. Paul is an established researcher and has published numerous articles in the fields of teaching and learning, student success in distance education contexts, learning analytics, and curriculum development. His current research focuses on the collection, analysis and use of student data in learning analytics, graduate supervision and digital identity. Paul was born curious and in trouble. Nothing has changed since then. He blogs at https://opendistanceteachingandlearning.wordpress.com/ and his Twitter alias is @14prinsp

This webinar has ended, please view recording and other resources here