Newsletter: November 2019
|
|
Dear colleagues
Welcome
A warm welcome from Stellenbosch. This is our first formal ADUN newsletter to update you on our progress thus far and what we are planning for the next couple of months. We have met you all at different stages during the launch of the network:
- At the 2018 ADUN Colloquium in Stellenbosch
- During our visits to some of our colleagues in Namibia and Kenya
- Through the generous sharing of existing networks by Ms Corina du Toit (African Doctoral Academy, Stellenbosch University) and Dr Nico Elema (Centre for Collaboration in Africa, Stellenbosch University)
- Other virtual associations and networks
|
|
Introduction to ADUN
The ADUN consists mainly of African higher education scholars as well as other practitioners who are interested in the various facets of technology integration in the HE curriculum. The network will engage with the nature of the contemporary university with an emphasis on the digital aspects of teaching and learning.
The establishment of the network is guided by three interrelated outcomes:
- Scholarship: To advance scholarship within the field of educational technology
- Innovation: To innovatively broaden the field of African educational technology theory and practice
- Network: To interact with peers and academics representing, or who are interested in, African perspectives related to educational technologies in the HE curriculum
|
|
Looking back
The formation of the network originated in three phases.
The first phase commenced with the inaugural meeting of the network at the first ADUN Colloquium at Stellenbosch in April 2018. The purpose of this first colloquium was three-fold:
- To determine the interest in the establishment of such an African-centred network
- To identify some of the general opportunities and challenges higher educational institutions are currently engaged with
- To explore possible ways forward with the network
|
|
The second phase was used to further our network through visits to some of our colleagues in universities in Namibia and Kenya (more about this later).
The final phase is the planning of a second ADUN Colloquium, 10 – 11 March 2020 in Stellenbosch, South Africa. We envisage that the second colloquium will afford us the opportunity to set an inclusive agenda and to jointly determine our future actions.
|
|
African visits
We are grateful for the African Collaboration Grant which was awarded to us by the Centre for Collaboration in Africa at Stellenbosch University. The grant provided us with the opportunity to pay visits to the University of Namibia, Mount Kenya University and the University of Nairobi. Our hosts welcomed us warmly and were all very interested in the network and its potential future possibilities. We used the opportunity to share our work in the respective centers, but to also jointly brainstorm ideas of how the network could function in the future.
|
|
|
|
Visit to ODeL Campus at Nairobi University in Kenya
|
|
The way forward: Stellenbosch Colloquium 2020
Our next step is to invite interested parties in joining us at the second ADUN Colloquium which is planned for 10-11 March 2020 in Stellenbosch. Could you please save the date if interested in attending? You can expect a formal invitation to the colloquium in the near future.
Network expansion and subscription
We would like to invite you to forward this newsletter to any colleagues that might be interested in joining the network. Subscription to the newsletter takes place here.
If you are not interested in receiving future communication from the ADUN, please unsubscribe at the bottom of the page.
|
|
Kind regards,
ADUN coordinator
Dr Sonja Strydom
|
|
|
|
|
