Witsies adapt to online lectures

Originally appeared in Wits Vuvuzela on April 23: http://witsvuvuzela.com/2020/04/23/witsies-adapt-to-online-lectures/

Although “the University will move heaven and earth to complete the academic year,” some students still experience challenges with online learning.

On Monday 20 April 2020, the University of the Witwatersrand commenced online teaching and learning to maximise the academic year in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lectures have been working to create various online resources for students. The resources have been posted on the Wits online learning platform Sakai, which is now a zero-rate site, allowing students to access it at no data cost.

Professor Anne Fitchett, a lecturer in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, told Wits Vuvuzela that lecturers received teaching ideas from Wits ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and CLTD (Centre for Learning and Teaching Development). These ideas are lectures supplemented with narrated slides, Chat Rooms to take questions from the class and forums for tutorials all offered on Sakai.

Students’ reception of the online learning method are mixed. Although as Ntokozo Dhlamini (21), a third-year studying Education, says “I commend lectures for making the lectures as interactive as they can with the narrated slides,” there are still various challenges that face the Online teaching and learning experience.

“It is a bit impersonal; difficult to identify students at risk who don’t come forward with their problems” says Fitchett. These sentiments are echoed by first-year BA General student, Michaela Scholtz who bemoans the fact that “We cannot have tutorials. Talking to others is a very easy way to learn.”

While the Chat Rooms and Forums are created for this very reason, some students like Tshimangadzo Mpilo (22), in his second year of BSc Biological Science says he hasn’t received his 30 GB of Data from Wits and is on his last gig of data 2 days into term (at the time of the interview). 

Others like 21-year old Lish Marimane, in her third year of BCom Accounting, struggle with internet access even after receiving the 30 GB from Wits. “Network is bad in Utah (a village in Mpumalanga). When the electricity is out there is no network and the only place to get a decent connection is under a [specific] tree.”

With that said, students are ready to do whatever it takes to complete the academic year. As Dhlamini puts it “The University made it clear that they’ll move heaven and earth to complete the academic year. We as students need to manage our time for the sake of the academic year”

FEATURED IMAGE: A Wits student navigates the Wits-e website where online learning is taking place. Photo: Tshepo Thaela