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22 July 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Allan McKenzie
Karla Pretorius
Karla Pretorius (left) receiving the trophy as the Player of the Tournament at the Netball World Cup.
Karla Pretorius downplayed all the praise and rather credited her team after she received the biggest accolade in world netball.

The former netball player of the University of the Free State was named Player of the Tournament after the conclusion of the Netball World Cup on Sunday 21 July 2019, making her officially the world’s best netballer.

“I feel very honoured and grateful to have been named the best player. You are only as good as those you surround yourself with. So, a massive thanks to the team who did so well,” she said about the Proteas who had their best showing at the tournament in 24 years. They finished fourth. 

“This good run was obviously what inspired me to play as well as I did, and I am grateful to have been given this very special award,” Pretorius said. 

‘Carried herself with huge distinction’

She represented and later captained the Kovsies between 2009 and 2015. During that time, she scooped one award after the other. In 2014 and 2015, she was the Varsity Player of the Year.

Pretorius was twice named as the Player of the Match during the World Cup, and her 20 intercepts were the joint third most.

She completed her master’s in Dietetics at the UFS last year (2018) and is now playing professional netball in Australia.

According to the organisers, the Player of the Tournament celebrates “the outstanding performance of one particular player who, more than anyone else, exemplified her country’s desire to put themselves back among the elite of world netball”. 
“The fact that South Africa reached the final four for the first time since 1995, is in no small way thanks to her impeccable reading of the game, timing, and composure. She has carried herself both on and off court with huge distinction, and has rightly claimed this honour,” they said.

News Archive

CTL experiments with mobile technology in teaching and learning
2016-05-23

Description: CTL experiments with mobile technology Tags: CTL experiments with mobile technology

On the left is Nokukhanya Nkosi, Researcher and Project manager at the Centre for Teaching and Learning presenting Annah Nggoepe her brand new laptop as part of the project which assesses the impact of personal mobile devices on teaching and learning.
Photo: Supplied

Video clip

Same curriculum. Add technology. Wait and see what happens. This research project which is funded by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) seeks to understand the impact of personal mobile devices (PMD) in teaching and learning.

The University of the Free State (UFS), in conjunction with the University of Cape Town, the University of the Witwatersrand, the University of Johannesburg, and Sol Plaatje University, was approached by the DHET to spearhead this national collaborative project. Investigating whether the financial investment of a PMD on either the part of a university or of students adds value to the teaching and learning experience is the overall objective of the project.

Contemporary education
The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at the UFS have been taking an active part in the project since 2015, focusing specifically on the use of personal mobile devices in teaching and learning by both staff and students.

At the student level, the study will focus specifically on not just the obstacles that first-generation students face in terms of using technology in teaching and learning, but how institutions can support these students through access to these devices.  “In 2015, the CTL conducted the Digital Identity Study of students which highlighted the view that students at the UFS deemed laptops to be the most important PMD in their studies,” said Nokukhanya Nkosi, Researcher and Project manager at the CTL.   

In April 2016, thirty students were presented with laptops funded by the project grant. For the next two years, the CTL will assess whether these laptops enable greater flexibility and effectiveness of teaching and learning, both inside and out of the classroom for these students.  

Rise of the digital classroom
Annah Ngoepe, a second-year Geography and Environmental Management student taking part in this study, commends the shift from using only textbooks in the past to incorporating technology. “The laptop has the latest applications and programmes, which are convenient for me as a student, because they help in my learning. I can also download textbooks, get summaries of the textbooks, and even other people’s views on a particular subject online.”

Tiana van der Merwe, Deputy Director at the CTL, anticipates that, after two years, the Centre would be able to make not only institutional recommendations, but also recommendations to the National Department of Higher Education.

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