Saide Current Awareness
05 August 2024

 

Distance Education

 

   Education: South Africa

  • Education challenges in South Africa: Insights from Servaas van der Berg and other experts Source: StellenBosch University Youtube Channel A recording of an interview with leading educational experts such as Prof. Servaas van der Berg, a leading development economist who has spent his career fighting poverty and inequality. He is joined by Mary Metcalfe, Nic Spaull, Carol Nuga and Nompumelelo Mohohlwane. Van der Berg brings his many years of experience and wisdom to the table, and his passion for making a difference shines brighter than ever. He has been influential both as an academic and as a public intellectual. His legacy includes a unique brand of honest analysis and evidence-based solution finding in tackling socioeconomic challenges.  See also ‘I want to change what happens,’ says legendary researcher
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  • iSchoolAfrica celebrates 15 years of transforming education Source: ISchoolAfrica Youtube Channel Michelle Lissoos talks about iSchoolAfrica's impact  and how it was introduced to bring the world’s best technologies and classroom practices to under resourced and vulnerable communities across South Africa. She describes how, 'Guided by cutting-edge technology and proven classroom practices, we've touched the lives of over 100,000 learners, empowered 3,000 teachers, and enriched communities across more than 350 schools."
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  • South Africa’s education system cannot get stronger while governance is weak Source: Daily Maverick "The ideological debate regarding the ‘privatisation of public education’ is a distraction. We should be spending our time debating how we provide access to quality education to every child in South Africa, irrespective of their background or income bracket", writes Jonathen Molver
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  • Why working together can change South Africa’s educational landscape for the better Source: Oxford University Press South Africa’s educational landscape is at a turning point, needing innovative and collaborative solutions to address its challenges. Partnerships among higher educational institutions, the government, and private educational providers can drive progress.
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  • Unions at loggerheads with DA over Bela Bill, call for Ramaphosa to sign Source: IOL Three teacher unions are at odds with the DA over the delays in the contentious Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (Bela Bill) being signed into law.  Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to send the Bela bill back to Parliament and for it to be amended, while the unions – the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu), National Teachers’ Union (Natu) and National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) – are in support of the bill in its current form.
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  • Gauteng Education Department ‘respects’ decision of SGB at Pretoria High School for Girls, will investigate ‘racism’ allegations Source: IOL The Gauteng Department of Education said it respected the decision handed down by the School Governing Body at the Pretoria High School for Girls, where 12 pupils were cleared of misconduct.  The 12 pupils were suspended last month amid racism allegations.

 

Language, Literacies, Research Writing and Publishing

 

Open Access, Open Education and Open Educational Resources

 

   Post Schooling

  • MUT’s first woman Vice-Chancellor breaking boundaries and inspiring others Source: IOL As Professor Nokuthula Sibiya steps into her leadership role as Vice-Chancellor at the Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT), she plans to continue to lead with a nurse’s heart that nurtures and is situational in leadership.See also First woman VC at SA’s only township university eager to start
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  • New R3 billion private university for South Africa Source: BusinessTech Real estate development firm Kanton revealed its design on 1 August for Akademia’s new campus, a private Afrikaans university backed by Solidarity located in Pretoria.This ambitious R3-billion project is set to take shape on Boschkop Road, East Pretoria, positioned approximately eight kilometres away from Solomon Mahlangu Drive. 
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  • Higher education at the 2024 UN political forum on sustainability Source: University World News There were multiple activities around higher education and sustainability at the United Nations High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development held in New York from 8 to 17 July 2024, coordinated by the UN’s Higher Education Sustainability Initiative, HESI. University World News reports in this special issue dedicated to the Global Forum.
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  • African universities challenged to embrace public purpose  Source: University World News In a stirring address this week, Professor Funmi Olonisakin, the vice-president of International, Engagement and Service at King’s College London (KCL), urged African academics and universities to move beyond “tinkering at the fringes” of societal change and fully embrace a model of “knowledge with purpose.” She challenged African institutions to break free from traditional academic models and prioritise research and education intentionally directed towards addressing the continent’s most pressing challenges.
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  • ENGAGE 18 - Advancing Early Career Researchers and Scholars Source: HELM Youtube Channel The  Advancing Early Career Researchers and Scholars (AECRS) programme addresses the needs of emerging academic researchers in the South African higher education and research sector, aiming at support and capacity building. Following from previous studies on building a cohort of emerging academics nationally, and in-depth discussions with academic research leaders in all South African universities, the national landscape was mapped to determine interventions and resources needed for developing emerging researchers.

 

Skills and Employment

  • Smartphones’ huge role in youth upskilling can drive economies Source: University World News Nearly two-thirds of online learners enrolled in professional skills courses in the Sub-Saharan Africa region access their education via smartphones and tablets, the highest percentage to do so in any region in the world. According to a new report by the United States-based global micro-credentials trainer Coursera, the proportion – 65% in total – is in line with the widespread use of mobile phones in the region where 75% of internet traffic is through mobile phones, also highlighting the importance of flexible, on-the-go learning solutions for the continent.
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  • Students say green skills are needed for all future jobs Source: University World News Students and young graduates have urged policymakers worldwide to embrace an understanding of green jobs that goes beyond manufacturing, construction, and renewable energy sectors and includes all roles that promote sustainability, conserve the environment, and respond to climate and ecological emergencies.
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  • Building a skilled generation: the importance of youth skills development in South Africa Source: LinkedIn Earlier this month we celebrated World Youth Skills Day and were reminded of the importance of youth skills development as a crucial element in shaping the future of any nation. In South Africa, this holds even more significance due to our unique socio-economic landscape. The challenges faced by South African youth, including high unemployment rates and disparities in education, demand a strong focus on equipping the younger generation with the skills needed to thrive in the modern world.
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  • Computer skills programme to enhance educational journey for learners Source: IOL To bridge the educational gap, non-profit organisation Lace Up For Change (LU4C) is equipping young children with integral skills such as computer science, believing that early exposure to coding will broaden their horizons and provide job opportunities previously inaccessible.  The NPO launched its “Kids Start Coding” campaign at the Dietrich Moravian Primary School, in Philippi on Wednesday.

 

Teaching and Learning: Local and Global

  • Our Responsibility to Teach AI to Students Source: InsideHigherEducation Put aside your concerns about student use of generative AI in your classes. It is our urgent responsibility to teach students now how to use the technology in their discipline—their careers depend on us.
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  • Rethinking Student Engagement Source: InsideHigherEducation Students have changed, and instructors should reconsider their assumptions about what engagement means, Mary C. Kern and Terri R. Kurtzberg write.
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  • Study: The Role of Autonomy in Student Motivation Source: InsideHigherEducation A study from Carnegie Mellon University finds students with more autonomy in their academic choices have better attendance and improved academic performance.
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  • Should Educators Put Disclosures on Teaching Materials When They Use AI? Source: EdSurge Many teachers and professors are spending time this summer experimenting with AI tools to help them prepare slide presentations, craft tests and homework questions, and more. That’s in part because of a huge batch of new tools and updated features that incorporate ChatGPT, which companies have released in recent weeks.
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  • AI cheating in education: What can we do right now? Source: LinkedIn A blog post by Jason M. Lodge,Deputy Associate Dean (Academic) & Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at Queensland University who writes: "Recent reports, including a notable article in The Guardian, by Caitlin Cassidy, have shed light on a growing concern: students are seemingly using AI tools inappropriately to complete their academic work in increasing numbers. While this issue is particularly prominent in higher education, it's also becoming apparent in other settings, especially secondary schools. There isn’t solid data anywhere that I know of on the rates of cheating. I have seen figures spanning 10% to 60% of cohorts engaging in inappropriate use. Some won't be convinced by a curated set of anecdotes from disgruntled academics as evidence of a problem. However, other sources corroborate that AI-enabled cheating is very much a critical issue."

 

Technology-Enhanced Learning

  • Against contextlessness in Learning, Media and Technology Source: Learning, Media and Technology Why do so many educational technologies not work as imagined or intended? The articles in this issue of Learning, Media and Technology all focus, in various ways, on how digital technologies are enacted in context-specific ways within formal institutions of education – whether schools, colleges or universities – and their mismatch with imaginaries of digital transformation. They collectively draw attention to the complex and unpredictable institutionalization of digital technologies and edtech. When digital technologies connect with institutional contexts, things rarely play out as their advocates and supporters would wish.
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  • Students use mapping tools to help solve social issues Source: University World News Zimbabwean Letwin Pondo, a surveying and geomatics student at the Midlands State University in Zimbabwe, founded an organisation aimed at covering the gap in issues that affect girls and women by using open-source mapping tools and technologies, and identifying key factors that contribute to social issues. Pondo and her team at Ladies in Maps Zimbabwe map remote and underserved communities in Zimbabwe, focusing on areas with a high prevalence of early-child marriage and school dropouts among girls. The information enables informed decision-making and targeted interventions.
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  • Synthetic Relationships Will Alter Real Ones Source: Substack Marc Watkins latest post. He writes: Speaking to AI opens new, often troubling dynamics. Learning isn't a problem for AI to solve, nor should we look to technology to solve friendship. We need to think about why we're lonely and not seek techno solutions for human problems.