#5 Building our house in the Baobab

Webinar #5: Building our house in the Baobab tree: A safe space where learners can transform

Overview

Like the structure of a house, the structure of a course can provide students with a sense of security, especially in an unfamiliar space like the digital learning space. During this 5th augmented webinar, we will visit the notion of course structure and build on prior knowledge gained from our previous webinars in the series to explore the importance of course structure. We will also explore how to structure a course within the digital learning space and apply our learning in our own contexts.

Webinar 5 Facilitator: Elzette le Roux

Short Bio: Ms. Elzette le Roux works as an advisor in the Centre for Learning Technologies at Stellenbosch University. Her focus is mainly on digital pedagogies in the online learning environment (which includes blended, hybrid and online modes of learning and teaching). Elzette holds an LLM in Constitutional Law from the University of Pretoria, an honours degree in Psychology from the University of South Africa and an LLB degree from the North West University, Potchefstroom. Elzette is currently enrolled for a Post Graduate Diploma in Higher Education for Academic Developers at Rhodes University. Her teaching and research interests include digital pedagogies in the online learning environment, the importance of assessment in student learning, academic and professional development and the impact of leadership on the holistic development of people. Elzette’s hobbies include coaching hockey, bird watching and photography.

What to do before the webinar:

There are two tasks to perform before the webinar:

It will enrich our community of practice and learning if you share your learning in the form of a video on the platform Flipgrid; and
It will assist in your learning and understanding when you skim-read a 12-page document.

Find the link to the document with the instructions and links to the resources here.

Video recoring of the webinar

Audio recording

>> Download the Audio-only version of Webinar #5 (81MB MP3)

>> View the Zoom chat here.

Webinar Presentation slide deck

>> View the Google Drive slide deck for Webinar #5 Building our house in the Baobab tree.

>> View (and comment on) the document where we shared our vulnerability.

Resources

What is course structure?

Bates, T. 2012. Nine steps to quality online learning: Step 7: Design course structure and learning activities. Online Learning and Distance Education Resources. Contact North ǀ Contact Nord. [Online] Available at: Nine steps to quality online learning: Step 7: Design course structure and learning activities | Tony Bates.
Bates, T. 2014. Is content still important in a digital age? Online Learning and Distance Education Resources. Contact North ǀ Contact Nord. [Online] Available at: Is content still important in a digital age? | Tony Bates.
Contact North/Nord. What faculty need to know about teaching online: nine key steps. [Online] Available at: https://teachonline.ca/tips-tools/9-key-steps-about-teaching-online.

Why course structure?

Le Franc, A., Hamdan, M., Leukes, C., Sami, N. & Stewart, R. 2019. What I wish I’d known when I began teaching English to refugees. British Council. [Online] Available at: What I wish I'd known when I began teaching English to refugees | British Council.
Life Skills Group. 2020. 7 Steps to Creating an Optimal Learning Environment for Students. Life Skills Group. [Online] Available at: https://bit.ly/3fTVd0d.

How to structure a course?

Cleveland-Innes, M. & Wilton, D. 2018. Guide to Blended Learning. Commonwealth of Learning: Canada. [Online] Available at: oasis.col.org/bitstream/handle/11599/3095/2018_Cleveland-Innes-Wilton_Guide-to-Blended-Learning.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.
COLVEE. Developing & Teaching Online Courses. [Online] Available at: https://tell.colvee.org/course/view.php?id=4.
Contact North/Nord. What faculty need to know about teaching online: nine key steps. [Online] Available at: https://teachonline.ca/tips-tools/9-key-steps-about-teaching-online.
Mishra, S. & Panda, S. 2020. Technology-Enabled Learning: Policy, Pedagogy and Practice. Commonwealth of Learning: Canada. [Online] Available at: Mishra_Panda_TEL_Policy_Pedagogy_Practice_2.pdf (col.org) – Blended Course Design Template: Course structure (p. 68).

Reflection and activities (Homework/ self-study & Portfolio)

Use the course structure template (or any other guideline you prefer) to plan your course structure for teaching with technologies.
Make use of one learning outcome from the course you’ll teach.
Plot that outcome, a threshold concept, a learning activity (e-Tivity) and assessment activity and at least one way of learning from Laurillard on the template.
Add this planning of your course structure to your learning portfolio.

Remember to share your voice in a Flipgrid video. See the instructions on how to do that, here.

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