?The bi-annual CLT Blended Learning Coordinators (BLC) Professional Learning Day took place at STIAS on 9 March 2022. With many of the colleagues meeting each other face-to-face for the first time this year, fruitful conversations and ideas were shared all around.
After introductions, Dr Antoinette van der Merwe, Senior Director at the Division for Learning and Teaching Enhancement (DLTE), shared strategic institutional and divisional priorities for the year. Not only are six of the seven identified game changers of the university for this year within the DLTE, but does at least four of these have a direct impact on the work and support provided by the BLCs in the faculties. These include programme renewal, assessment and to an extent hybrid learning and digital transformation.
A virtual visit from Lars Willner, the CEO of a small Norwegian company called Differ.Chat, followed Dr Van der Merwe's session. Lars is also coordinating an Edubots project that consist of a learning community who explores the best practice use of chatbots in higher education with the goal of improving educational attainment. Lars provided some context and background to the project whereafter the possibilities of incorporating artificial intelligence, in the form of Edubots, in teaching and learning and/or student support at SU were discussed amongst the colleagues. For more information and/or participation in the Edubots project, contact Elzette le Roux, Advisor: Online Learning, at the Centre for Learning Technologies (CLT).
After the tea break, Dr Sonja Strydom, Deputy-Director Academic Development and Research at the CLT, facilitated a session relating to the contextual scholarly pathway and continuous professional development (CPD) options for BLCs. Some of these options entail professional membership specific pertaining to digital and/or learning technology, publications, academic networking sites, strategic participation in social media platforms and engaging in relevant readings.
The after-lunch session, facilitated by Magriet de Villiers, Advisor: Learning Technologies at the CLT, was filled with fruitful discussions and sharing of faculty stories and focus group planning afterwards. Best practices were shared from the faculty stories and areas of collaboration between BLCs in different faculties were identified. BLC work in faculties include (but are not limited to) planning, inputs, incorporating digital learning technologies in the curriculum; facilitating workshops and/or in-faculty training sessions; assistance with various aspects on SUNLearn; facilitating teaching and learning HUBs in faculties; research and conceptualisation of gamification in teaching and learning.
For support and assistance relating to blended teaching and learning in your faculty, please contact your BLC. Herewith more information about the BLCs and their unique support and work in the different faculties.
| Name | Faculty | Position
| Description |
| Alma Coertzen | Law | Legal Education Designer
| Provides advice, support and administrative service to academic staff with respect to programme renewal initiatives, judicious use of technology and web-based resources in teaching, learning and assessment activities in legal education. Design, implement and administrate professional development short course learning programmes in the faculty. |
| Amanda Calitz | Medicine and Health Sciences: Centre for Health Professions Education | Advisor: Blended Learning & Simulations | Work with subject matter experts to conceptualise, plan and design interactive instructional materials with the aim to integrate a blended learning approach and better facilitate teaching, learning and assessment at the FMHS. Support the clinical skills lab as well. |
| Brigitte Pegado | Engineering | Advisor: Blended Learning | Learning technology specialist supporting lecturers, tutors and students by designing, providing and implementing pedagogically sound strategies relating to blended teaching, learning and assessment. |
| Delecia Davids | Education | Blended Learning Coordinator | Provides technical and professional support to academics by assisting with and developing pedagogically sound strategies for online, hybrid, and blended teaching, learning and assessment initiatives. |
| Dr Ilse Rootman-le Grange | Science | BLC: E-Learning Instructional Designer | Provides support with general SUNLearn queries, SUNLearn training, programme renewal projects, hybrid module development, strategic discussions relating to teaching. learning and assessment projects. Performs research in science teaching, learning and assessment with a specific focus on learning technologies. Support with FINLO project developments and applications, SoTL abstract writing and presentation preparation, first year module coordinator. |
| Jaudon Foiret | Medicine and Health Sciences: Centre for Health Professions Education | Advisor: Blended Learning | Work with subject matter experts to conceptualise, plan and design interactive instructional materials with the aim to integrate a blended learning approach and better facilitate teaching, learning and assessment at the FMHS. Assists in the curriculum renewal process for the MBChB programme. |
| Kanita Brits | Medicine and Health Sciences: Centre for Health Professions Education | Advisor: Blended Learning | Work with subject matter experts to conceptualise, plan and design interactive instructional materials with the aim to integrate a blended learning approach and better facilitate teaching, learning and assessment at the FMHS. |
| Kathryn Wirth | AgriSciences | Blended Learning Coordinator | General SunLearn support and training, development of blended learning and hybrid modes of delivery within academic programmes, coordinate and support programme renewal activities, and participate in strategic initiatives within the faculty. |
| Kristin van der Merwe | Military Science: Educational Technology Department | Educational Technologist | Provides support for staff and students with the Learning Management System, learning design, blended learning and digital learning in general. Facilitate a Computer Literacy course for Military College students, performs digital learning research and facilitate orientation programmes for students in the faculty. |
| Lennox Olivier | Arts and Social Sciences | Advisor: Blended Learning | Provides support for learning and teaching, with a focus on the use of learning technologies (including blended-, online- and hybrid learning), integration of learning technologies in programmes and modules and programme renewal activities. |
| Magda Barnard | Economic and Management Sciences | Programme Renewal Coordinator | Supports and drives curriculum renewal on both module and programme level. This often entails the use of learning technologies. |
| Dr Mariette Volschenk | Medicine and Health Sciences: Centre for Health Professions Education | Lecturer & e-Learning Portfolio Manager | Manages the learning technologies team at the Centre for Health Professions Education. Key focus areas include learning experience design on the online platform and postgraduate teaching and supervision (MPhil in HPE). |
| Dr Mhaka Khoza | Military Science | Educational Technologist | Provides support for staff and students with the Learning Management System, learning design, blended learning and digital learning in general. Facilitate a Computer Literacy course for Military College students, performs digital learning research and facilitate orientation programmes for students in the faculty. |
| Simbarashe Pondani | Theology | Blended Learning Coordinator | Technical and SUNLearn support to staff and students relating to the use of learning technologies in teaching and learning. Technical support with the hybrid programme, provide support with online design and support programme renewal activities.
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