scholarly journals Disability Unit Practitioners at Stellenbosch University: Covid‑19 Pandemic Reflections

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 223-234
Author(s):  
Marcia Lyner‑Cleophas ◽  
Lizelle Apollis ◽  
Ilse Erasmus ◽  
Melanie Willems ◽  
Latashe Poole ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Online Teaching And Learning ◽  
Access Policy ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Student Counselling ◽  
Vice Chancellor ◽  
Reflective Practitioners

As reflective practitioners working in disability inclusion, we constantly work with shifting realities concerning our students, who are not a homogenous group. The coronavirus pandemic (Covid‑19) was a reality least expected in 2020, yet we used our flexible approach to make the transition as smooth as we possibly could. The Disability Unit (DU) is one of five units located within the Centre for Student Counselling and Development at Stellenbosch University (SU) and falls within the responsibility centre of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning. The DU was founded in 2007 and is 15 years old in 2021. We aim to foster disability inclusion within a transformative framework at SU, with our main focus on students with disabilities. Our wider aim is universal access, which includes working towards the removal of cultural, social, language and disability barriers in the higher education context. We are guided by the Disability Access Policy (2018) of SU. Since the latter part of March 2020, we had to shift to online teaching and learning. This came at a time when we were preparing for the end of the term and student support was being put in place. The onset of Covid‑19 occasioned unanticipated reflections and challenges, which we share in this article. We also reflect on what we have learnt and how we can move forward in a changed academic environment catapulted into a digital world. We do this reflection by following the Gibbs’ reflective cycle (Gibbs, 1988) which offers a way to reflect and learn from experience. The cycle is weaved into the reflections as it follows a process of describing the context of the DU, expressing how the Covid‑19 pandemic was felt by staff and students, evaluating and learning from what was experienced. According to Lyner-Cleophas (2020), online learning has benefits and challenges, especially considering students with disabilities.

Report on Online Teaching and Learning Amid COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alia Ahmed ◽  
AltafurRehman Niaz ◽  
Athar Ikram Khan
Keyword(s):  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Teaching And Learning

Priorities for reorienting traditional institutions of higher education toward online teaching and learning: Thinking beyond the COVID-19 experience

2021 ◽  
pp. 204275302110388
Author(s):  
Talha A Sharadgah ◽  
Rami A Sa’di
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Exclusion Criteria ◽  
Online Teaching And Learning ◽  
Traditional Institutions

The purpose of this study is to suggest priorities for reorienting traditional institutions of higher education (IHE) toward online teaching and learning beyond the COVID-19 experience. This research applied the qualitative research method. Data collection sources included both a systematic literature review relating to how COVID-19 informed online distance learning across the globe and an analysis of circulars germane to the pandemic that were issued by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Saudi Arabia and by Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University (PSAU). Guided by those two types of data, that is, review of the literature in general and the MOE and PSAU circulars in particular, and also illuminated by their own experiences of online teaching during the lockdown, the researchers were able to put forward those priorities. For the systematic review of the literature, five steps were performed: (1) identifying search terms and developing and applying a search strategy; (2) screening the obtained research papers, removing duplicates and papers outside the focal point, and establishing inclusion/exclusion criteria; (3) assessing the research papers against the inclusion/exclusion criteria; (4) data extraction; and (5) data synthesis. Although this article does not suggest traditional IHE should go entirely digital, it highlights the need for IHE to ensure access to online learning content, develop more partnerships with community, develop online self-study skills, get students to shift from passive to active learning, and a need to reconsider current e-assessment. Additionally, the study emphasizes the need to provide additional support for faculty members, how university buildings should be gradually reopened, controlling factors influencing online learning outcomes, and addressing the issue of dropouts in IHE. Finally, the study underlines the need to add further emphasis to the importance of integrating blended learning in the university curriculum and navigating toward developing global distance learning programs.

VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS FOR ESL COURSES

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-243
Author(s):  
Ana-Maria CHISEGA-NEGRILĂ
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environments ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Virtual Learning ◽  
Virtual Learning Environments ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Esl Students ◽  
Online Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Face To Face

Abstract: As the time in which online teaching and learning was still an element of novelty has long been gone, virtual learning environments have to be studied thoroughly so that they will provide students not only with the necessary knowledge, but also with the proper tools to meet their learning objectives. The advancement in information technology and the access to an almost inordinate number of learning and teaching tools should have already been fructified and, as a result, not only teachers, but also learners should have already picked up the fruit of knowledge grown in the vast virtual environment of the Internet. However, as education has recently moved almost entirely online, some questions have arisen. Are the Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) enough to offer ESL students both motivation and knowledge? Will foreign languages benefit from this growing trend or will traditional, face-to-face interaction, prove to have been more efficient? The present article will look into some of these questions and into the benefits of VLEs in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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