Saide presente
d the Supporting Online Learners (SOL) course using a blended approach for 30 academics from a variety of departments at the University of Swaziland (UNISWA). The course was presented face-to-face on the university campus for 2 days and then continued online for 3 days. The academics were highly motivated and eager to learn about open learning, e-learning, web conferencing and how to support online learners. Valuable support was provided by members of the university’s Institute for Distance Education (IDE).
The following workshop objectives were achieved:
- Participants gained a theoretical basis for conducting online teaching and learning
- Participants mastered Web skills such as forums, blogs etc and gained appreciation for their use in supporting online learners
- Participants gained appreciation of the role of technologies in enhancing the quality of learner experiences
- Participants gained insights to enable them to decide on their personal and institutional readiness to introduce online learning
The university academics will use these skills to start developing online learning capacity. The course materials are also available as an Open Education Resource via the OER Africa website.
