TEACHING & LEARNING SEMINAR, 08 NOVEMBER 2018 held in Room 3008, Education Building, from 12h45 – 13h45
Mr Martin Butler, Senior Lecturer at the Stellenbosch University Business School (USB), was the presenter at the Teaching and Learning (T&L) Seminar on the 8th of November 2018. His areas of expertise are Information Systems Management, Project Management and Technology Futures. The topic of his presentation was “Technology and Learning - standing on the shoulders of giants". The presentation focused on the key theoretical perspectives, the application thereof by the USB as well as valuable lessons learned during the process.
He commenced his talk by providing some background, stating that technology continues to shape our learning environments and processes. In 2015 the USB introduced a blended learning postgraduate diploma and extended the blended mode of delivery to their flagship Master of Business Administration (MBA) Programme in 2017. Both programmes, including the previous full time and part time delivery methods, make extensive use of technology for teaching and learning.
Central to the success of both programmes and in particular the new mode of delivery was the efficient use of multiple new technologies by students, support staff and faculty. The transition into this technological intrinsic environment required the planning and execution of multiple interventions to ensure that the focus remains on student learning and not the 'sexiness' of the technology. In addition, getting faculty with more than 20 years' classroom experience to embrace the new learning environments, and methods of interaction, proved challenging.
At the USB the philosophy of teaching and learning is centred around three important elements, namely (1) theory/principles/techniques; (2) application; and (3) the real world. Against this philosophy, the USB has been able to create a 'glocal' classroom, through the blended mode of delivery. This means that students from all over the world can attend, be it from an airport somewhere in Canada or from a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The creation of the 'glocal' classroom has been fundamental in the process of transformation of teaching and learning.
Theoretical models from both the information systems and innovation disciplines were crucial to ongoing management of the blended programmes. Through the application of the Socio-Technical Perspective (Bostrom & Heinen, 1977)[1], Technology Acceptance Model (Davies, 1989)[2], Information Systems Success (Delone & McLean, 1992)[3] and Innovation Diffusion Theory (Rodgers, 1976)[4] a scientific approach towards embedding the technology in the teaching and learning process was followed.
Mr Butler continued to positively describe to the current state of affairs with regard to BL at the USB, stating that their geographical footprint has spread tremendously over the last few years. Furthermore, BL is the most successful mode of delivery at the USB. It has been an interesting ride thus far, during which they have learnt the value of careful planning and hard work. Some of the challenges encountered include technological capabilities and support, the integrity around secure online assessments, as well as incentivising staff members.
In conclusion, these BL experiences by the USB demonstrate that the change imperative has become more and more crucial, and disrupting the self should be seen as part and parcel of transformation. It has become a “burning platform", even for “old dogs and not so thirsty horses"…
References
[1] Bostrom, R.P. and Heinen, J.S. 1977. MIS problems and failures: a socio-technical perspective, part II: the application of socio-technical theory. MIS quarterly, pp11-28.
[2] Davis, F.D. 1989. Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS quarterly, pp 319-340.
[3] DeLone, W.H. and McLean, E.R. 1992. Information Systems Success: The Quest for the Dependent Variable. Information Systems Research, pp 60-95.
[4] Rogers, E.M. 1976. New product adoption and diffusion. Journal of consumer Research, pp.290-301.
