What does learning mean to me?
I see learning as a conversation with speakers and listeners who have a mutual interest in sharing knowledge about their practice and how to improve on it.
What is the role of a teacher in my context?
As an Educational Technology lecturer my role is to guide professions to make appropriate choices regarding technology mediated pedagogies. I am a guide, colleague and a peer. Most of my 'students' are working professionals (other lecturers, learning designers, e-learning practitioners) who tend to become colleagues after participating on the courses I co-teach and co-convene.
What will students 'get' from being in my class?
I try to 'walk my talk' and model open scholarship and good practices around online and blended teaching. I encourage my 'students' to value local expertise and not to have a deficit view about their environments, colleagues and students. I aim to promote critical reading of and engagement with research (from the global north especially) and to contest 'solutionist' views and 'single story' narratives. By the end of my courses students feel more confident and are better able to find their voices in the edtech space. This is crucial given the marginalisation of African voices in the field and the need to share and understand local practices. I inspire my students to be creative in their learning design work. Students learn to value their peers and feel like they have a seat at the table in a broader community and network.
How will I assess students’ learning?
I see assessment as developmental and provide students with opportunities for formative feedback. I use reflective blogs to track students' growth and value that everyone has their own learning journey. As my students are often on different paths (for example, some want to progress to formal studies or from within formal studies from a Postgraduate Diploma to a Masters degree) I try to scaffold and facilitate a variety of learning experiences through clear assessments with actionable feedback and differentiated and dynamic assessment where appropriate to the individual.
How will I evaluate my teaching activities?
I engage in evaluation on a continuous basis and use formative evaluations from students about my teaching to improve on my teaching, facilitation approaches and the learning activities that I design.
I have used this video when co-teaching Online Learning Design at UCT. The honey badger is a metaphor for who I am as a teacher as well as the kind of person I hope to grow in the courses I teach on.