Saide Current Awareness
12 August 2024

 

Distance Education

  • Journal of Open, Distance, and Digital Education  Source: JODDE This inaugural edition published this month of the new journal, with a global team of editors including South Africa's Paul Prinsloo, focusses on macro- and meso-levels of educational systems and institutions along with "building a sustained open research venue for scholarly works in support of disseminating theoretical foundations of ODDE development in higher education"and issues an open call for papers whenever authors are ready, to be published immediately in line with its rolling submission and publication mode. 

   Education: South Africa

Language, Literacies, Research Writing and Publishing

  • African communities have a lot of knowledge to share: Researchers offer alternatives to Eurocentric ways of doing things Source: The Conversation The dominance of western methodology in research conducted in Africa continues to preoccupy academics. The result, they argue, has been the silencing of Indigenous knowledge. Indigenous ways of knowing are not making the contribution they could to the knowledge ecosystem. Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba and Zainab Monisola Olaitan have researched the impact of this skewed approach on various topics. They answer questions aimed at unpacking the problem and explaining what’s at stake.
  • On the Future of Content in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Some Implications and Directions Source: SSRN The recent success of Generative AI (GenAI) has heralded a new era in content creation, dissemination, and consumption. This technological revolution is reshaping our understanding of content, challenging traditional notions of authorship, and transforming the relationship between content producers and consumers. As we approach an increasingly AI-integrated world, examining the implications of this paradigm shift is crucial. This article explores the future of content in the age of GenAI, analysing the evolving definition of content, the transformations brought about by GenAI systems, and emerging models of content production and dissemination. By examining these aspects, we can gain valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the realm of content creation and consumption and, hopefully, manage them more successfully.

Open Access, Open Education and Open Educational Resources

   Post Schooling

  • African university explores data-driven smart farming Source: University World News In agriculture, better data management, analysis and application can boost animal and crop improvement, biosecurity and disease control, postharvest technology, agroprocessing, value chain analysis and development, as well as food sustainability and security. It can also help counter and build resilience to climate change. Dr Jan Greyling, a senior lecturer in the department of agricultural economics at Stellenbosch University (SU), believes proper big data analysis can improve food availability, access and utilisation, among other things.
  • Astronomy ‘Olympics’ hosted in Africa for first time Source: University World News Cutting-edge telescopes, gravitational waves, black holes and our solar system’s central star, the sun, are just a few of the topics that will be on the table in Cape Town, South Africa, for an event that’s a scientific version of the Olympic Games – though the world’s leading astronomy researchers in attendance will be showcasing their brains rather than their brawn.
  • AAU to launch first Africa-wide universities research archive Source: University World News The Association of African Universities, or AAU, is investing US$60,000 in an electronic research archive, in which all research output by African universities published in international journals will be captured automatically and archived as soon as it is published.
    The electronic archive is anticipated to be ready in the first quarter of 2025, and will constitute a comprehensive database, covering more than 2,000 universities and research institutions from across Africa.
  • Higher Education Monitor No. 16 - Understanding Epistemic Access and Success of Students from Historically Disadvantaged Backgrounds in South African Universities Source: CHE Section 5(1)(d) of the Higher Education Act No. 101 of 1997, as amended, mandates the Council on Higher Education (CHE) to regularly publish information about developments in higher education, including regular reports on the state of higher education. The CHE fulfils this mandate by conducting research and monitoring developments on key issues within the higher education system in South Africa, and by disseminating the information and findings through reports and publications. One of such publications is the Higher Education Monitor series whose purpose is to present data and information from research undertaken or commissioned by the CHE on topical issues of interest to the broader higher education sector in South Africa. The first issue of the Higher Education Monitor series was published in 2003, and this publication on Understanding Epistemic Access and Success of Students from Historically Disadvantaged Backgrounds in South African Universities, is the sixteenth issue of the series.  
  • Shattering glass ceilings of Higher Education in South Africa Source: South Africa Today 
    In his speech at the UN event on Women’s Participation in Higher Education in Southern Africa in 2023, Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation Dr Blade Nzimande highlighted the under-representation of women in permanent academic positions in South Africa. He noted that women constitute approximately 43% of the academic staff in public higher education institutions.

Skills and Employment

  • Women’s Month: Why do certain jobs tend to be dominated by men? Source: IOL When we celebrate Women’s Day on August 9, we should also ponder a very important question: Why do certain jobs tend to be dominated by men? This question has intrigued researchers for years since women’s workplace outcomes such as pay, promotion and leadership are all closely linked to the types of jobs they have access to.
  • Key findings of the PwC Global Workforce Survey Source: MoneyWeb ‘Never before have we had such a personalised age of employment, where employees are looking for value propositions that can almost sync with their own values and purpose,’ says Dr Dayalan Govender, people and organisation leader at PwC Africa in apodcast with Jeremy Maggs as host 
  • Green economy could create 3m direct jobs in Africa Source: IT-Online Up to 3,3-million new direct green jobs could be created in Africa by 2030, with the majority in the renewable energy sector, particularly solar.This is one of the findings of the “Forecasting Green Jobs in Africa” report from Shortlist and FSD Africa, with analysis from the Boston Consulting Group, the forecasts the new direct job creation potential of 12 “green” sub-sectors by 2030. The study, the first in-depth analysis of workforce needs within major green value chains over the next five years, provides detailed forecasts for five focus countries, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, which together account for more than a fifth (22%) of new jobs, and in key sectors such as renewable energy, e-mobility, agriculture, construction and manufacturing.
  • Prevalence and potential consequences of online fatigue Source: IOL The Bureau of Market Research (Pty) Ltd at the University of South Africa (Unisa) recently released the results stemming from an innovative study on online fatigue among 1 485 respondents across all nine provinces of South Africa. The study is most relevant given the increased trend of remote working as well as the tendencies of working online full-time, as well as online learning, social media usage, online buying and banking, online sales/business, video conferencing, gaming, and streaming content. Overall, the study aims to measure the prevalence of online fatigue given the greater propensity of people to work/buy/bank/learn/communicate online and to identify contributing factors leading to online fatigue in South Africa.

Teaching and Learning: Local and Global

  • Innovating Pedagogy 2024 Source: Open University The report is co-authored by academics at the Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, UK, together with researchers from the LIVE Learning Innovation Incubator at Vanderbilt University in the US.
    This is the 12th report in a series co-produced by the OU which researches innovations in teaching, learning and assessment. The 2024 report explores a set of pedagogies and innovations that offer the potential for transformative change.
  • Space/Power/Species  Source: The Conversation This anthropology course looks at building design from the standpoint of different species.It surveys how architecture shapes human and animal relationships.
  • Philosophy is crucial in the age of AI Source: The Conversation "New scientific understanding and engineering techniques have always impressed and frightened. No doubt they will continue to. OpenAI recently announced that it anticipates “superintelligence” – AI surpassing human abilities – this decade. It is accordingly building a new team, and devoting 20% of its computing resources to ensuring that the behaviour of such AI systems will be aligned with human values.....But might philosophers have something to contribute? More generally, what can be expected of the age-old discipline in the new technologically advanced era that is now emerging?"
  • South African accountancy students struggle to overcome disadvantages: what lecturers can do differently Source: The Conversation In recent decades, student numbers have risen at higher education institutions in many parts of the world. This has opened doors for students who might have been excluded before. These students may be drawn from indigenous groups in formerly colonised areas or part of a foreign minority in a host country.
  • Educating Gen Z: why authenticity and connection are key to thriving in an AI-driven world Source: The Conversation In an age where AI is becoming increasingly prevalent, the concept of authenticity has taken on new significance, particularly for Gen Z. Born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s, this generation has grown up in a digital age where social media and online personas are part of everyday life – as are misinformation and disinformation. So Gen Z has had to develop an acute ability to discern what is genuine from what is artificial.
  • Can the AI Assessment Scale stop students “cheating” with AI? Source: Leo.Furze.Com. Furze's latest blog post on academic intergrity incorportaing the latest advice from TEQSA (Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency) as well as a new article form Phillip Dawson titled  'Validity Matters More than Cheating.
  • Educational Hazards of AI Source: Cognitive Resonance The Educational Hazards of Generative AI provides a basic scientific overview of how large-language models (LLMs) work and connects this knowledge to practical implications for educators. This document is intended as a resource for teachers, principals, school district administrators, parents, students, policymakers, and anyone else thinking about using generative AI for educational purposes.

Technology-Enhanced Learning

  • Ministers adopt a continental AI strategy for 2025-30 Source: University World News 
    African information and communications technology (ICT) and communications ministers have adopted a Continental Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy and African Digital Compact that is proposed to run from 2025 to 2030, which includes a proposal for an AI Ethics Board that can review research applications in the field. The African Union Commission has said 130 African ministers and experts recently convened virtually for the Second Extraordinary Session of the Technical Committee on Communication and ICT to guide the continent on changes that are being fuelled by AI technology and applications.
  • Developing valid assessments in the era of generative artificial intelligence Source: Frontiers In Education This paper represents a conceptual analysis of issues related to developing and validating GAI-based assessments and assessment results to guide the learning process. Our primary focus is to investigate how to meaningfully leverage capabilities of GAI for developing assessments. We propose ways to evaluate the validity evidence of GAI-produced assessments and assessment scores based on existing validation approaches. We discuss future research avenues aimed at establishing guidelines and methodologies for assessing the validity of AI-based assessments and assessment results. We ground our discussion in the theory of validity outlined in the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing by the American Educational Research Association and discuss how we envision building on the standards for establishing the validity of inferences made from the test scores in the context of GAI-based assessments.
  • What price your 'AI-ready' graduates? Source: Substack Helen Beetham's latest post which provides a  recap of her writings on AI whilst producing some new insights and evidence on her provocation suggesting AI resilience may be the better focus of efforts.
  • IMPACT RISK: an acronym for AI downsides Source: NMPProjects Prof Jon Ippolitos Inforgraphic on AI harms."Along with the benefits of generative AI come a varied array of harms—enough that it can be hard to remember all of them. The IMPACT RISK acronym offers a mnemonic so you or your students can take them into account. By keeping the IMPACT RISK framework in mind, we can navigate the AI revolution more thoughtfully, examining whether AI can be a force for progress rather than a Pandora's box of unintended consequences."