Tag Archives: open distance learning

What I heard, what I did not hear and what I wish I had heard… Reflections on the World Conference on Online Learning, Toronto, 2017

Posted on November 21, 2017 by

Recently I’ve had the privilege of attending the World Conference on Online Learning in Toronto, organized and hosted by Contact North I Contact Nord. What a conference it was! At times, it resembled a medieval marketplace or bazaar with a … Continue reading →

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Kangaroo courts on student success in distance education

Posted on February 11, 2014 by

It is that time of the year again when students’ examination results are scrutinized and various investigations held to determine not necessarily why students failed, but more importantly, who can we held accountable for the state of affairs. Mostly, (however … Continue reading →

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Silence as counter-narrative in higher, open, distance and e-learning

Posted on January 7, 2014 by

At the start of 2014 it is important to claim a space in the blogosphere by making predictions for 2014 or analysing the trends in 2013. Writing a blog on being silent or ‘pausing’ is therefore most probably strange (or … Continue reading →

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Being tongue-tied and speechless in higher education: implications for notions of (il)literacy #metaliteracy

Posted on October 20, 2013 by

In an earlier blog this year I shared my belief that I blog not because I necessarily want to or have extra time on my hands, but that I really feel compelled to blog. To stop blogging was, at that … Continue reading →

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Alliances of hope: breaking cycles of poverty and despair

Posted on May 22, 2013 by

Amidst increasing concerns that higher education does not seem to make a dent in unemployment rates; many stakeholders (including students) ask various questions not only with regard to the purpose of higher education, but also about its curricula, assessment strategies, … Continue reading →

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2013 – An African making sense of signals and noise in higher and distance education (#etmooc)

Posted on January 21, 2013 by

Disclaimer: I write this overview of some of the challenges facing higher and distance education in Africa in 2013, from the specific context of my location in South Africa. I cannot, however, speak on behalf of Africa. Even my identity … Continue reading →

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Why I blog…

Posted on January 7, 2013 by

I posted my first blog on 10 September 2011. Personally, it was a huge step. My blogging “career” most probably started during 2010-2011 when I wrote an internal institutional blog or communique on matters pertaining to open distance learning (ODL). … Continue reading →

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Hashima, Foucault and the state of higher education

Posted on December 4, 2012 by

As 2012 winds to a close, many beg for a reprieve in the daily onslaught of changes, and reports of changes facing higher and distance education. Looking back at the end of 2011 and the start of 2012, nothing could … Continue reading →

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The Tower of Babel: MOOCs, Online Learning, and Language…

Posted on November 27, 2012 by

Machine translation may soon, under certain conditions, make concerns about the role of language in online learning and MOOCs obsolete (e.g., Google’s ‘Babel fish’ heralds future of translation). Though this will solve the issue of translation, it will still not … Continue reading →

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Send in the clowns – managers and leaders in higher education (#CFHE)

Posted on November 12, 2012 by

We can possibly describe 2012 in higher education as alternating between revolution and carnival as higher education institutions across the world respond to the stampede to roll out online learning, embrace various forms of open courseware, teaching and accreditation, different … Continue reading →

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