What is the new normal? What has changed is the way we do things? What has changed in learning generally? We are sure that COVID19 has affected each one of us in one way or another, the many changes that have happened in our lives so far is a lesson on how to always be prepared. Many countries are trying to lift the LockDown and curfews as new infection numbers keep going up daily and more people are being taken in for quarantine and it is not easy. Let us continue with resilience and togetherness, let us support each other and make a difference in each other's lives. Many online veterans have opted to teach others, many resources are being shared and online meetings are the new normal.
We continue to have very lively and intense discussions in our Facebook group and we wish to thank everyone who is and has participated on various issues, including remote learning during the current crisis. We have more events still planned that focus on the pivot to remote teaching and opportunities to meet together informally to talk about our lives, wellbeing and work during the current crisis, as well as to share our practices for remote teaching, facilitation and much more. More details below.
We are still recruiting for Facilitating Online Global which starts on 7 September and will be open to colleagues from all over the world. Please apply before the deadline.
We hope that this newsletter will be helpful in planning your engagements and engaging usefully with upcoming trends.
Facilitating Online course - the Facilitating Online Global starting on 7 September
Upcoming events - future online events
e/merge Africa Arabic - Arabic language webinars
Upcoming Online Conferences by e/merge Africa and friends
COVID19 - Teaching in uncertain times, YouTube Playlist
COVID-19 OERs, Resources and Articles
Designing online conferences
MOOCs by UCT
Ways of getting involved in e/merge Africa Network
Join the final Cohort of Facilitating Online Course 2020
Do you want to become an effective online facilitator? We invite applications to our fully online 8-week online facilitation course.
Our third and Facilitating Online Global course for 2020 will run from 7 Sept – 6 Nov 2020 (Apply by 14 August) This run will haveup to 25 participants from Africa and up to 25 participants from other continents. We encourage you to apply early.
If you are unable to join the September cohort we welcome you to join our2021 waiting list
Facilitating Online provides a solid foundation for facilitating online events and courses. It is registered as a short course at the University of Cape Town (UCT). Facilitating Online was developed by the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT) at UCT and is funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York as part of its support for the e/merge Africa network.
This course is aimed at change-agent educational technologists, educators and trainers within the African Higher Educational sector and beyond. Course participation is entirely online and will require up to 8 hours of participation per week. We can offer up to two free places per state funded higher education institution in Africa subject to admission requirements.Participants from other sectors and continents who meet the admission requirements can join us for a fee of ZAR7000 per participant. We have up to 25 spaces for participants from the rest of the world in Facilitating Online Global starting on 7 September.
We hope you have been benefiting from the events and webinars we have been organising during this COVID 19 times. We will keep organising more events and we hope you continue to endure and accept a lot of uncertainty.
Wednesday, 5 August 2020; Sit & Stretch:Chair Yoga in Online Times
Date and Time: Wednesday, 5 August 2020 4:00pm SAST
Presenter: Carla Mostert is a Junior Lecturer of Drama and Performance at the University of Kwazulu Natal.
Description: As COVID 19 continues to test us mentally and physically, many of us are spending extended hours in front of our computer screens. Gyms are closed and it feels like there’s no time to figure out exercise. Join me for an hour of “Sit & Stretch” where we’ll be using Chair Yoga as our basis. We will breathe, twist, and release those scrunched up shoulders, all without leaving our desks. No prior yoga experience is needed, this is for everyone.
August 2020:EdTech Challenges of Two Worlds: Case of University of Namibia and University of Alabama
Date and Time: August 2020 (Date and time to be communicated)
Presenter: Angela Benson, University of Alabama
e/merge Africa events in Arabic
Led by e/merge Africa team member Dr. Mohamed Ahmed of Mansoura University, Egypt, we have so far had over (12) online seminars (webinars/workshops) in Arabic. These sessions have been very well attended already. We have planned for colleagues located in the Middle East and Arabic speaking Africa to present mainly on Friday afternoons 4–5 pm (Cairo time – see your local time zonehere). For more details of upcoming Arabic events and how to sign up please go toe/merge Africa Arabic.
14 August 2020: Improving Learning Using Educational Games and Gamification Systems
Date and Time: Friday 14 August 2020; 4:00pm SAST/Cairo Time
Presenter: Dr. Ahmed Tlili, Co-Director of OER Lab at SLIBNU, China and Associated Editor of the IEEE Bulletin of TCLT.
Description: This webinar aims to; present the importance of using educational games and gamification systems to enhance learning outcomes, including motivation, behaviors and engagement of learners; explore how incorporating learning analytics in educational games can provide smart learning that could be adapted to everyone’s needs; and develop a small educational game using the game engine “Construct2”.
For questions and thoughts about this initiative we welcome your comments. If you wish to present in Arabic please use the Presenter’s form which is available via thee/merge Africa Arabic website.
Remote Teaching - Resources from an African university
As a project e/merge Africa is based within the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT) at the University of Cape Town and therefore close to the processes the department had to engage with quite suddenly, all to support the continued teaching at the University of Cape Town.
A number of key resources were created by the CILT department specifically for university teaching staff - labeled as ‘Level 1 Webinars’. We are currently in the process of adapting these key webinars for broader relevance beyond UCT. We are planning to announce dates for these webinars very soon. The topics include:
Wednesday, 2 September 2020: Advancing the Fourth Industrial Revolution within the Context of Transformation of Higher Education in South Africa
Aim and objectives of the webinar is to provide a platform for interrogating diverse avenues of thought on the Fourth Industrial Revolution as it relates to transformation in higher education with a view towards developing a position for the CHE on this matter.
The specific objectives are to:
Examine how the Fourth Industrial Revolution would impact on higher education;
Explore how higher education could respond in order to adapt to the new world order of the Fourth Industrial Revolution;
Examine how the processes of responding and adapting to the Fourth Industrial Revolution could be pursued within the.broader context of transformation in higher education; and
Identify priorities for research on advancing the notion of the Fourth Industrial Revolution within the context of transformation of higher education in South Africa.
Speakers and discussants
Confirmed speakers are:
Prof Rasigan Maharajh (Tshwane University of Technology)
Prof Allison Gillward (Research ICT Africa)
Dr Vukosi Marivate (University of Pretoria)
Dr Celiwe Ngwenya (University of Stellenbosch)
Dr Linda Meyer (Universities South Africa) and
Prof Nelishia Pillay (University of Pretoria) are confirmed lead discussants.
Convention Theme is “Towards culturally-situated learning design and research”
The theme for 2020 AECT convention is “Towards culturally-situated learning design and research.” Culture is broadly defined as a system of shared beliefs, values, goals, customs, and behaviors held by members of a community that distinguish themselves from another community. In the context of learning design and research, examples include being responsive to the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs that learners bring to the educational setting, and being sensitive to learners’ needs and community culture. Issues to be investigated may include instructional design and research in cross-cultural contexts from a global perspective, equity and justice issues for underrepresented population, socially and economically disadvantaged learners, or disparity issues regarding access to technologies and resources (e.g., digital divide, pedagogical divide, and resource divide). For more information and updates AECT 2020
3 - 4, December 2020; International Conference on Teaching, Assessment and Learning in the Digital Age - digiTAL 2020
Call for papers: The future learning environment, pedagogical and technological perspectives
International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education welcomes submissions to the thematic series on "The future learning environment, pedagogical and technological perspectives".
Guest editors: Simon K.S. Cheung, Lam For Kwok, Kongkiti Phusavat, and Harrison Yang
Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you have carefully read the submission guidelines for International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education.
Journal of Research on Technology in Education Special Issue: Engaging Learners in Emergency Transition to Online Learning during COVID-19
This special issue focuses on:
I) how students engage in online learning in various contexts during this emergency period
ii) how to design learning environments, pedagogies, and strategies to engage learners during this quick transition to online learning
Guest editors: Florence Martin, Kui Xie & Doris U. Bolliger
Proposals focusing on various types of data-driven research methods including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods are of interest. Case studies that are systematically conducted also are of interest. In addition, proposals should explicitly and clearly describe the context or setting of the study. Further information and submission instructions are available here.
How To Teach Online: Providing Continuity for Students
Explore online teaching with this practical course for educators designed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
MOOCs in Africa - The Massively Open On Air Courses (MOOAC): Contextualizing MOOCs in Africa - Dr. Rebecca Bayeck, Penn State University (US)
Innovative approaches to blended learning during times of disruptions - Part 1 and 2 - Dr. Daniela Gachago, Dr. Bronwyn Swartz and Cheryl Belford, Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).
Dr. Bronwyn Swartz on blended learning - via CPUTStories
Dr. Cheryl Belford (CPUT): A case of open educational practices during the 2016#FMF protests - via CPUTStories
Alternative Learning Mode: Engaging Students at University of Sierra Leone During the Ebola Outbreak - Dr. Daniel Stevens, University of Sierra Leone
COVID-19 OERs, Resources and Articles
We invite you to share OERs and other resources related to emergency remote teaching on our Facebook page.
University of Cape Town offers a number of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). These are free online courses with no entry requirements and are not for university credit. You can choose to purchase a certificate, and in some cases financial aid is available. We hope you find a course from the list below that excites you; sign up or register your interest. Find out more about theUCT MOOCs project
Does your higher education institution offer MOOCs that are relevant to e/merge Africa? If yes, please contact us info@emergeafrica.net for inclusion in future newsletters
BE A CONVERSATION STARTER!
e/merge Africa is a platform for learning and connecting. It provides an opportunity to join a growing Africa-wide network of eLearning professionals. We offer a number of ways for you to get involved and engage with colleagues across the continent
Propose an event
Whether you are a seasoned lecturer or PhD-student engaged in research you would like to share with our network, please propose a webinar, a seminar or even an online workshop. Perhaps you’ve attended an e-learning related conference recently and are willing to participate in a report back.
Be part of a peer-assist
Even professionals get stuck at times when facing daunting challenges. If you are one of them, how about considering a Peer-Assist session? Contact us to engage with one of our online facilitators with your challenge. We will then set up a Peer-Assist session and invite members of our network to provide feedback on your challenge. Renew your ideas and get a new perspective!
Nominate a presenter
Is there a mentor, supervisor, colleague whose research could be shared with our network? Please get in touch to nominate a presenter!
Share with us via social media
Perhaps you’ve found or created a useful resource or published a paper of interest to other educational technology professionals? Please share via ourFacebook group or viaTwitter. Please subscribe to our e/merge Africa YouTube Channel
Looking for conference and publishing opportunities? Go to opportunities on thee/merge Africa website
