Author Archives: Daniela Gachago

CIET Webinars for Term 1 / 2021

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We hope you are well and looking forward to the 2021 academic year. To support you in preparing your courses, CIET will offer a range of webinars. Please find the descriptions below.

You can register for these webinars using our online booking form: https://forms.gle/8kp5YN7qdsPJX9mt6

Blackboard assignment tool and Safeassign

Date: 25th of Feb 2021, 14.00-15.30

Facilitators: Janine Lockhart, Library Services, Sonwabo Jongile and Dr Faig Waghid, CIET

In this webinar, we will focus on two main areas on our LMS Blackboard: Online Assignments and the Plagiarism prevention tool, SafeAssign. Online assignments will focus on the creation and submission of online assignments, as well as how you as the lecturer can do the marking of the assignments online, by making use of Blackboard’s inline marking tools (commenting tools) and the interactive rubric (grading form). 

We will then focus on the plagiarism prevention service Safe Assign, built into Blackboard, that allows you to protect the originality of work and ensure a fair playing ground for all of your students. SafeAssign prevents plagiarism by detecting unoriginal content in student papers within your existing teaching and learning environment. SafeAssign can also further deter plagiarism by creating opportunities to educate students on proper attribution and citations while properly leveraging the wealth of information at their disposal. Janine Lockhart from the library will contribute to the discussion on how to use information ethically.

How to set higher-order multiple-choice questions and performance-based assessments 

Date: 4th of March 2021, 14.00-15.30

Facilitators: Ass Profs Eunice Ivala and Daniela Gachago, CIET

How to design and implement secure and reliable assessments has been one of the most difficult tasks in the remote teaching and learning experience last year. This webinar will unpack some of the issues with assessment, discuss how to set higher-order multiple-choice questions, and offer alternatives to exams, such as more performative oriented, peer and self-assessments to counter the challenge of plagiarism in exams.

Blackboard and Respondus assessments 

Date: 11th of March 2021, 14.00-15.30

Facilitators: Sonwabo Jongile and Mvuyisi Mavela, CIET

This session will introduce the creation and management of online assessments both in Blackboard and in Respondus. We will discuss opportunities and challenges using either of the tools. Online assessments created offline in Respondus can be printed and published directly to Blackboard, whereas those created directly in Blackboard are all set to be deployed into the content area. While no purely online assessment system can prevent cheating, practical tips on safe and authentic contexts for managing online assessment either through Respondus or Blackboard will round up the session.    

Blackboard Collaborate / Engagement tools 

Date: 18th of March 2021, 14.00-15.30

Facilitators: Ass Prof Daniela Gachago and Dr Faig Waghid, CIET

Last year saw a rapid uptake of synchronous online communication tools, such as Blackboard Collaborate and MS Teams. This webinar will demonstrate the use of Blackboard Collaborate and introduce student engagement tools, such as polls and Breakout Rooms in Collaborate. We will also showcase other tools, such as Google Jamboard and Padlet for creative brainstorming. 

Structuring content on Blackboard (including adaptive release) 

Date: 25th of March 2021, 14.00-15.30

Facilitators: Sonwabo Jongile and Mvuyisi Mavela, CIET

The ability to design how lecturers teach and students learn has been one of the most crucial aspects of the success of remote teaching and learning. This includes how to structure your online content delivery to guide students in their learning journey. How you design and structure your content in a way that is easy to follow, navigate, and appropriate for your subject will be the focus of this webinar. We will demonstrate tools and possibilities that our LMS has to offer in terms of structuring content on Blackboard, such as adaptive release. 

Learning design workshop 

Dates: 2nd of March 2021 and 9th of March 2021 (repeat), 14.00-16.00

Facilitators: Ass Prof Daniela Gachago and Dr Faig Waghid, CIET

In this learning course design online workshop, you will work on the design of one of your courses you are teaching in 2021. The workshop will help you to create an active and responsive learning experience for students based on Laurillard’s six ways of learning. We will take you through a short learning design process, aligning learning outcomes, activities, and assessments. For this workshop, you will need stable internet access, a mic, and access to a laptop or desktop.

You can register for these webinars using our online booking form: https://forms.gle/8kp5YN7qdsPJX9mt6

Register for the 2020 Teaching and Learning with Technology Day

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You can now register for the 2020 Teaching and Learning with Technology Day

Date: Thursday, 26th of November 2020, 9.00-15.30
Location: online

Theme: Staff and student experiences of Remote Teaching and Learning during times of disruption – lessons learnt for an unknown future

COVID-19 has challenged institutions of higher learning to rethink the way they teach and how their students learn. CPUT like other institutions nationally and as mandated by government, adopted a multi-modal approach to teaching and learning using the carousel model in order to make sure that no student would be left behind. Over the last eight months, CPUT and its stakeholders gained invaluable experiences in supporting teaching and learning remotely. What were your experiences with RTL? What was made possible? What challenges did you encounter? In terms of student access? How did you handle security and privacy of student data? What inequalities were highlighted? How will these experiences impact on the future of higher education? Should we/can we go back to the way we taught before, or are we going to see more uptake of blended learning or fully online teaching and learning in the future?

The event will feature both staff and students’ reflection on their experiences with multi-modal learning during lockdown and suggest ways we can use the lessons learnt for planning for 2021 and beyond. They will share specific tools and technologies they used and specific pedagogical interventions that worked particularly well for their students’ teaching, learning and assessment.

To book your place please use our online registration form

For more information and the programme see https://blogs.cput.ac.za/edutech/2020-teaching-and-learning-with-technology-day/

WS2: Blended learning Course Design

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Facilitators: Ass. Prof. Daniela Gachago & Dr. Faiq Waghid, CIET, CPUT

Date and location: 

  • 7th of March 2019, 12.30-15.00, D6 campus (room 3128 in the  library)
  • 14th of March 2019, 13.00-15.30, Bellville campus

Workshop description

This workshop will introduce CPUTs vision for blended learning, framed by Laurillard’s book ‘Teaching as a Design Science‘. Starting off with focusing on your current students’ needs (persona activity), we will unpack the 6 Ways of Learning and show good practice on how blended learning can support these. Finally we will introduce a model for course redesign (storyboarding). To book your place please use our online booking system. We look forward to an interactive workshop with you!

WS1: Theoretical foundations of blended learning

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Facilitators: Ass. Prof. Daniela Gachago & Dr. Faiq Waghid, CIET, CPUT

Date and location: 

  • 21st of February 2019, 13.30-15.30, Bellville campus, Library, venue 1
  • 28th of February 2019, 13.00-15.00, D6 campus, Library 3rd floor, Room 3.128

Workshop description

This workshop will unpack some of the theoretical assumptions driving teaching and learning practices. Starting from  your vision of how a CPUT graduate should look like, we will reflect on your assumptions on teaching and learning, and map them against common learning theories. This will provide an opportunity to rethink your teaching and your students’ learning and to explore the potential and gaps of your current pedagogical strategies in aligning with your vision of how a graduate student will engage with the world of work and the community they are embedded in. This is the first of a series of workshops, that will support you in redesigning your course offering using blended learning.  If this is something that has sparked interest, please click on our online booking system. We look forward to an interactive workshop with you!

Important Blackboard Maintenance and News

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Attention ALL Lecturing Staff
You may have experienced that the look and feel have changed, it’s still the same LMS as you know it, but with the anticipated Blackboard Ultra theme.
We’re reaching the end of the year and we need to do some maintenance on the Blackboard System.
1. All the 2014 – 2016 subjects will be removed from the system:
Therefore it’s time for you to make backups of your subjects and download it to your PC’s to ensure that you have a personal copy. Blackboard will also archive older subjects, but if you for whatever reason
might need your subject to be restored, it will be a faster process if you have your own archived copy than for us to request it from Blackboard.
Archive Instructions:
Underneath the Course Management Control Panel;
click on Packages and Utilities;
click on Export/Archive Course;
click on Archive Course;
Select your Copy Options and click on Submit.
(You will receive an email when the Archive process is complete. Just click on the archive file to download it to your PC.)
2. Next generation LMS: Move to SAAS and Blackboard Ultra:
With the move to Software as a Service (SAAS), all future software updates will happen automatically. Blackboard Ultra is the new Blackboard version that we’re moving to in 2019! The following document describes the transformation of the user interface and workflows in Blackboard Learn to Blackboard Ultra.
3. Creating 2019 courses:
All the 2019 courses will be created on Blackboard before closing of the 2018 academic year and populated with the primary lecturer as linked on ITS.
If you do not have access to our learning resources on eLearning BP: Best Practice, please drop us an email.
Regards,
CIET

WS6 Increasing in-class participation

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Facilitators: Donna Lewis, Centre for Innovative Educational Technology (CIET), CPUT

Date and location: 18th of October 2018, 13.00-15.00, Centre for eLearning, D6 campus

Seminar description

How to engage students in large (and small) classes is one of the main challenges lecturers face at CPUT. We invite you to attend an interactive workshop on how web-based and offline learning tools can be adopted to enhance one’s pedagogical approaches to address  this challenge.   The workshop will introduce freely available easy to use tools, such as  Flipgrid, Plickers ad Kahoot (other tools will be mentioned), which allow you to playfully engage your students in and beyond the classroom, test their understanding of concepts taught, start discussions and facilitate peer learning. The workshop is also intended to allow interdepartmental discussion and sharing of experiences.  If this is something that has sparked interest, please click on online booking system. We look forward to an interactive workshop with you!

WS12 Promoting Multilingualism and Student-Generated Content – The Multilingual Glossaries Project at CPUT

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Facilitators: Linda Manashe , Centre for Innovative Educational Technology (CIET), and Nomxolisi Jantjies, Fundani (CHED), CPUT

Date and location: 11th of October 2018, 13.30-15.30, lab 303, IT Centre, Bellville

Seminar description

The CPUT multilingual glossaries project (MLG), a collaboration between CIET and the Language Unit in Fundani CHED,  focuses on gathering and compiling subject-specific terminology with the aim of translating them from English to isiXhoza and Afrikaans in order to enhance teaching and learning through multilingualism. Additionally, the multilingual glossaries aim to contribute in the development of scientific terminologies in African languages for different study fields at CPUT.

This workshop will introduce the project, showcase how it is being used in certain departments and reflect on student feedback so far. Furthermore we will demonstrate the process that is adopted by CPUT (in collecting; translating and verifying difficult key concepts and terminologies in collaboration with lecturers and students), a demonstration of the online multilingual glossaries platform, and discuss opportunities for getting your subject involved in the growing CPUT online multilingual glossaries.

To book your place for this workshop please use our online booking system.

e-Portfolio development for teacher promotion, teaching philosophy and students assessment

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Facilitors:  Sonwabo Jongile, Centre for Innovative Educational Technology (CIET)

Dates and venue:

  • 16th of August  2018, 13.30-15.30, lab 303 IT Centre (BV)

Workshop description:

Electronic Portfolios (e-Portfolios) are increasingly being considered in higher education (in particular professional degrees such as teacher education) to enable student teachers to reflect in, on and about practice in a structured way and demonstrate their growth and development as professionals. ePortfolios have multiple purposes for teaching staff and students alike (e.g. showcasing, learning, assessment, promotion). This seminar will consider the development opportunities that ePortfolios (as both a technology and an approach) can offer for: 1) teaching staff; and 2) learning opportunities with students.

For teaching staff: e-Portfolios for teaching staff demonstrate teacher passion for their teaching career and bring evidence of your teaching philosophy and your teaching practice. An important part of e-Portfolio pedagogy is the reflective component, one of the critical parts of student learning, or learning in general. As CPUT is embracing paperless practices, teaching and learning philosophies/portfolios for ad hominem promotion or the TDP will soon go online as well.

For student development: e-Portfolios are being used more and more widely to promote student reflection, assessment and presentation in innovative ways. Providing students with the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge and skills paves the way for reflective practices by which experiences are turned into learning.

We will locate ourselves and interests in relation to a spectrum of broad uses of e-Portfolios, followed by more targeted considerations: What do I need to think about when choosing a tool to create an ePortfolio for myself or to use with students? What are some of the things to think about before starting? We will use Google Sites as an easy to use, freely available online platform to create ePortfolios.

 If you are interested please book your place using our online booking system the following link. We look forward to engaging with you in this workshop.

For more questions please contact Sonwabo Jongile at jongiles@cput.ac.za

2018 OER projects – call for participation

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The Centre for Innovative Educational Technology (CIET) is giving a grant of 10 000 ZAR to lecturers interested in developing Open Educational Resources (OERs) at CPUT.

Open Educational Resources are teaching,  learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and repurposing by others. OER include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.

The materials developed could thus cover a whole new course, or some elements to support existing courses. You could also create content that helps student transition from high school to university,  or content that could help accommodate non-traditional students into university. It could be content that students need when joining your course (revision) or content that complements your current teaching. Examples could be the creation of content to help articulate students from vocational institutions into university or to support students from articulating from a lower to higher degree. Any materials supporting more flexible ways of learning are welcome. You can create either new materials or modify  existing Open Educational Resources for teaching and Learning in your course.  The use of open software to create these materials is encouraged. These OERs will be published on CPUTs OER repository.

Proposals should be send to Dr Daniela Gachago gachagod@cput.ac.za or Prof Eunice Ivala ivalae@cput.ac.za by the 15th of June 2018.

For more information on OERs please visit the OER Africa blog which has a lot of useful information on OERs .

WS22 Teaching with podcasts/screencasts

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Facilitors: Dr Faiq Waghid, Donna Lewis and Sonwabo Jongile, Centre for Innovative Educational Technology (CIET)

Dates and venue:

  • 7th of June 2018, 13.00-15.00, Centre for eLearning (CPT)
  • 14th of June 2018, 13.30-15.30, lab 303 IT Centre (BV)

Workshop description:

As CPUT aims to foster innovative educational practices, there has been much interest in the adoption of blended modes of delivery by academic staff. In support of these aims, the Centre for Innovative Educational Technologies (CIET) invites you to attend its second workshop on the use of podcasting/screencasting to support your existing pedagogy. The focus of this workshop is to provide a rationale and possible impetus for the use of podcasts/screencasts to support your teaching and students learning. We make reference to examples of how podcasting/screencasting has been used within the CPUT context to support different learning needs, using software and tools available to all CPUT staff. Additionally, practical guidance will be provided to support all staff members wishing to delve into the creation of podcast/screencasts. If you are interested please book your place using our online booking system the following link. We look forward to engaging with you in this workshop.

For more questions please contact Dr Faiq Waghid at waghidf@cput.ac.za