Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
08 December 2020 | Story Dikgapane Makhetha | Photo Supplied
UFS partners
At the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between the UFS and local community radio stations were, from the left (front row): Lebogang Matolong, Station Manager of Motheo FM, and Prof Puleng LenkaBula, Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Student Affairs, and Community Engagement. At the back (standing), are from the left: Mohau Rampeta, Programme Manager of Motheo FM, and Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele, Director: Community Engagement.
In response to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Directorate: Community Engagement (CE) has initiated an innovative platform on which students can continue to engage with university community partners, and at the same time be assessed for their service-learning and community engagement projects. 

The E-Engagement approach also meets the University of the Free State’s (UFS) strategic mandate to be a caring, responsive, and engaged university. Coordinated by the UFS CE office, academic staff and students are scheduled to engage with the community partners through radio broadcasts and virtual mode platforms. Informative content that has been researched, prepared, and presented by students in a pre-recorded format, will address significant issues brought about by the surge of COVID-19, creating a breeding ground for some of the societal ills, such as gender-based violence (GBV).

In order to establish sustainable relationships with community radio stations, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with two local community radio stations was signed on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus on 10 October 2020. Prof Puleng LenkaBula, the Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Student Affairs, and Community Engagement, and Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele, CE Director, participated in the commitment to formalise the relationship between the UFS and the two radio stations, Mosupatsela FM and Motheo FM.

Master’s students from the Department of Psychology have produced and pre-recorded podcasts on community psychology. Their topics covered grief and self-compassion. The Department of Nutrition and Dietetics presented topics on a healthy lifestyle and diet. Fourth-year students from the School of Nursing have engaged new mothers concerning post-natal care. The School of Clinical Medicine has addressed the warning signs of burnout and preventative measures.

Bishop Ramahlele emphasised the importance of sustained relationship, which is expected to create further opportunities for interaction through partnerships in skills training (ICT) and the sharing of resources, including consultations through conference platforms. Prof LenkaBula highlighted the significance of the MOA by applauding the initiative, which has unlimited potential to ensure national development through student engagement, since universities create development sites that can be transferred further into the community. 

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.

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept