Produced from experiences at the outset of the intense times when Covid-19 lockdown restrictions began in March 2020, this collaborative paper offers the collective reflections and analysis of a group of teaching and learning and Higher Education (HE) scholars from a diverse 15 of the 26 South African public universities. In the form of a theorised narrative insistent on foregrounding personal voices, it presents a snapshot of the pandemic addressing the following question: what does the ‘pivot online’ to Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTL), forced into urgent existence by the Covid-19 pandemic, mean for equity considerations in teaching and learning in HE? Drawing on the work of Therborn (2009: 20–32; 2012: 579–589; 2013; 2020) the reflections consider the forms of inequality - vital, resource and existential - exposed in higher education. Drawing on the work of Tronto (1993; 2015; White and Tronto 2004) the paper shows the networks of care which were formed as a counter to the systemic failures of the sector at the onset of the pandemic.
To assess the appropriateness and understanding of the revised, draft South African Paediatric Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (SA-PFBDGs) among mothers/caregivers of children aged 12-36 months. Exposure to guidelines with similar messages, barriers and enablers to following of the guidelines were also assessed. Design: A descriptive cross-sectional qualitative study was conducted. Data were collected from nine focus-group discussions (FGDs) conducted in isiXhosa, English and Afrikaans, resulting in 65 participants, 20 from formal areas and 45 from informal areas. Setting: Stellenbosch Municipality (Stellenbosch, Pniel and Franschhoek) Subjects: The study population included mothers/caregivers older than 18 years, who consented to participate. Results: This study revealed that participants expressed a general understanding of the core messages contained in the revised, draft SA-PFBDGs. Misinterpretation arose regarding certain guidelines as a result of ambiguity. Participants were familiar with and recognised the majority of the concepts conveyed owing to previous exposure, mostly from healthcare facilities and the media. Financial constraints were identified as the biggest barrier to following the guidelines, while perceived enablers included receiving education on the guidelines as well as visual portrayal thereof. Conclusion: Following field-testing, it is clear that the draft, revised SA-PFBDGs for the age group 12-36 months are appropriate. Minor rewording is required to enhance understanding. Effective dissemination of the guidelines through multiple communication platforms is recommended.
Strydom both work as academic developers in the field of bended learning at Stellenbosch University. J. P. Bosman's research interests include mobile learning literacies, professional learning approaches to blended learning, and the role of cummulative knowledge building in learning experience design. Sonja Strydom's current research interests focus on student digital and mobile learning literacies; academic agency and meaning making of curriculum redesign and structural-agentic interplay in blended learning programme renewal.
AbstractAt Stellenbosch University there is a drive to integrate the development of graduate attributes and the use of emerging technologies in the curriculum. With the aim of discovering the role of emerging mobile technologies in learning a qualitative research project was undertaken with a senior-student cohort. An inductive thematic analysis was done using Ng's (2013) mLearning literacies framework (cognitive, socioemotional and technical), and situating it within the field of graduateness (Barrie 2007;Bozalek & Watters, 2014). This paper reports on the research which informs the literature on graduateness with regards to the potential role of critical mobile learning literacies and expands the application of the mLearning literacies framework as part of the digital literacies debate. Resulting themes were: (1) a critical awareness of 21st century learning; (2) an underdeveloped mLearning literacy (with criticality as indicator); and (3) multidimensional expectations regarding the development of mLearning literacy. To support the notion of lifelong learning and graduateness, we call for the development of particularly criticality in mLearning literacy skills at a cognitive, socio-emotional and technical level with mobile devices in both formal and informal learning. This has implications for curriculum design, pedagogic approaches and a focus on interactions with new forms of knowledge.
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