WISH is overseen by a representative Steering Group consisting of:
Prof Johannes Cronje, Dean, Faculty of Informatics and Design, CPUT
Johannes Cronje obtained a Doctorate in Afrikaans Literature in 1990 and then a Masters Degree in Computer-Assisted Education from the University of Pretoria. From 1994 to 2007 he was a professor of computers in education with the University of Pretoria. Currently he is the Dean of the Faculty of Informatics and Design at CPUT. He has also been visiting professor at Sudan University of Science and Technology, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia; the University of Joensuu, Finland, and the University of Bergen, Norway, The University of Namibia and the University of the Free State, South Africa. He has supervised or co-supervised 72 Masters and 55 Doctoral students and published more than 42 research papers.
My interest lies in how people learn from other people using technology. I am specifically interested in what we can learn from for example the emergence and rapid growth of Pokémon Go, and a number of “Badge Breakfasts” in Johannesburg and Cape Town that first sparked the idea with me. I want to coin a new word for the phenomenon of micro-credentials in the world of learning and teaching. Pokémon Go muscled in on the phenomenon that people like to collect things. The same way we collect souvenirs on our travels, pick up shells on the beach, or collect credits towards the next free coffee at our local coffee shop, we like collecting. I want to propose the use of the word Collectionism in the design of teaching and learning as a way of leveraging our natural tendency to collect things, and using that as a basis of developing a knowledge base. Collectionism would then form the basis of what I want to call asset-based teaching and learning – where the learner is seen as someone collecting assets to construct an own skill-set, rather than as an “empty vessel” with a deficit that needs to be filled or corrected.
Dr Mark Dunford, Associate Dean, School of Arts and Digital Industries, UEL
Mark Dunford has extensive experience as an academic and practitioner across the creative industries. He entered academia in 2009 after a high profile career as CEO of a leading UK charity and spells in the Arts Council, BBC and British Film Institute. His recent funded research activity includes leadership of a six-year programme exploring different aspects of Digital Storytelling work with older citizens across Europe (2009-2015), working as co-Investigator on StoryA (2014-2016) and authorship of a forthcoming book on Digital Storytelling. He has published widely in academia and beyond, and regularly presents papers at conferences and has been the keynote speech at the annual storytelling symposium hosted by the University of Wales. In 2015, he was the academic Director of the Fourth International Conference on Visual Methods which attracted nearly 300 people to Brighton. From 2012 -2016, he led work at the University of Brighton exploring the impact of internationalisation on the curriculum across the Faculty of Arts which was supported by the Higher Education Academy. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and the Royal Society for the Arts.
I’m hoping WISH can be a research vehicle to develop a set of ‘hands-on’ reflective resources, designed to support university teaching staff to develop and facilitate engagement in learning, teaching and assessment. In particular, we’re looking to lay the foundations for collaborations that can be taken forward in the coming years. My own practice based research has explored ways to extend the curriculum by increasing the range of source material and using technology to facilitate different modes of learning.
Dr Daniela Gachago, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Innovative Educational Technology, CPUT
Daniela Gachago has an international academic track record, which spans two continents and three countries. She has worked for more than 15 years as an academic staff developer at the University of Botswana, University of Edinburgh and now at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. She holds a PHD in Education from the University of Cape Town and a Masters in Adult Education from the University of Botswana. She has an extensive publishing record focusing on the use of emerging technologies to transform teaching and learning in Higher Education. Her particular research interest is in the use of innovative pedagogical practices for social justice education, such as digital storytelling. She is part of a number of institutional, national and international research projects, such as the EU funded Story-A project, in which she collaborated with Mark.
I am interested in innovative approaches to teaching and learning that are sensitive to the kind of students we are teaching and the context we are in and which is defined by continuing inequality. I call these socially just pedagogies, pedagogies that put all our diverse learners’ needs at the centre of the learning experience. In my work I try to open up spaces for uncomfortable conversations around race, gender and class in diverse classrooms. More recently I have been exploring question around the ethics of using technology in teaching and learning. I hope that this workshop will allow us to share our practices across continents, institutions and disciplines.
Prof Eunice Ivala, Coordinator Educational Technology, Centre for Innovative Educational Technology, CPUT
Eunice Ndeto Ivala is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Educational Technology at CPUT. Her research focus is in ICT–mediated teaching and learning in developing contexts. She has published/co-published over 60 research papers. Recently, she was a team member in an international digital storytelling project dealing with foreign youth experiences abroad, which was supported by the European Union, and a team leader of the ICT curriculum appraisal of the National Senior Certificate for Adults (NASCA). Previously a project manager at the Media in Education Trust Africa, an educational specialist at the South African Institute for Distance Education and a lecturer at the University of KwaZulu Natal, she holds a BEd Honours degree from the University of Nairobi, Kenya; a MEd degree in Computer- based Education from University of Natal, Durban; and a PhD in Culture, Communication and Media Studies from University of KwaZulu Natal.
My interest lies in widening access initiatives in SA and their contribution to the improved access and success of Black and Coloured youth to HE. Against a concern over the rate and readiness of graduate unemployment and informed by the concept of employability and the skills required in the 21st century workplace, I would like to look at the outcomes of tertiary level education and the gap in knowledge amongst SA graduates from employers’ perspectives.
Prof Simon Robertshaw, Dean, School of Arts & Digital Industries, UEL
Simon Robertshaw is currently the Dean of Arts & Digital Industries at the University of East London. From 2000 to 2007, he worked at the International Centre for Digital Content at Liverpool John Moores University, developing creative technologies within cultural, creative and commercial sectors. From April 2007 to 2013, he was the founding Director of Sandbox where he led a team that provided creative pedagogical solutions inside and outside HE.
I am hoping to draw on my experience to lead workshops designed to explore the creative use of new technology within HE.
Dr Carrie Weston, Director of Learning and Teaching within the Cass School of Education and Communities, UEL
Carrie Weston is an experienced educator and researcher and in the field of educational inclusion and pedagogy. She has been involved in an ESRC funded inclusion project identifying barriers to participation and achievement and exploring ways for educational institutions to embed changes for positive impact. Carrie is the director of learning and teaching within the Cass School of Education and Communities, UEL, which has a strong tradition in widening participation.