It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. This is how Dr Ruenda Loots, a lecturer in the School of Public Leadership (SPL), described the shift to online teaching that was brought about by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Loots, who coordinates the undergraduate diploma programme in Sustainable Development in partnership with the Sustainability Institute at the Lynedoch EcoVillage, said the practical nature of the diploma programme presented unique challenges in the switch to online teaching.
“Our diploma programme focuses on cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset within our students. We often teach about VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) in the world. The pandemic has pushed us as lecturers to practise what we preach and adapt quickly to the continuously changing environment.
“Our programme is relatively small (79 students across three cohorts) and we have developed strong relationships with our students. This has allowed us to transition together into the online space, while being aware of the limitations and frustrations that happen along the way. The pandemic has created valuable real-world learning opportunities for our teaching staff and students.
“Most students in our programme have managed the transition reasonably well. The students are remarkably tenacious and have shown a lot of grit. They speak about the anxiety we are all experiencing amidst the chaos but they are using the skills they have developed during the programme to adapt."
She described the resources she uses to conduct her online teaching lessons as a “mixed bag of tricks".
“Zoom is very useful for creating short videos. You can record your screen with slides or notes plus a video of yourself at the same time. I don't like being filmed but it does add a human touch to the online space. Zoom videos are small in size and great for data-light learning.
“I also often use the forum function on SUNLearn to encourage peer-to-peer learning. It helps to divide students into smaller discussion groups. Student participation seems to increase when they are required to share their thoughts with two or three peers as opposed to the whole class."
However, Loots found the demands of family life during this time especially challenging.
“The first five weeks of lockdown was near impossible. We did not have the usual support we rely on at home and the preparation for emergency remote teaching was intense. Things have stabilised now and we are finding a slower, healthier pace for work and family life. The new pace is probably more sustainable in the long-run, regardless of whether we work from home or the office."
According to Loots, online teaching requires more planning and careful time management.
“It takes much less time to prepare for in-person contact sessions, especially because questions and conversations happen organically during class and in breaks," she said. “But it takes intentional design to create conversations in the online environment. Technical aspects take up a lot of time, like setting up the online activities, reviewing activities, recording lectures and uploading content."
Having now acquired first-hand experience of the advantages and challenges of online teaching, she sees it as a tool that can be successfully utilised by the Faculty and SPL post-COVID-19.
“Hybrid (contact and online) learning opens up exciting prospects for our diploma programme specifically. It gives us the opportunity to connect with international guest lecturers virtually and frees up more time for experiential learning during contact sessions," said Loots.
- Main photo: Dr Ruenda Loots (centre) with Prof Ingrid Woolard, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, and Mr Willem Jordaan, Editor of Die Burger, at a function in 2019 where Dr Loots received the top lecturer award in the School of Public Leadership (SPL).
- Diploma in Sustainable Development photos: Second-year students designing a permaculture garden, and community breakfast hosted by students.
