Abstract
Nelson Mandela University’s (NMU) drive toward greater online and blended learning was expedited by the onset of the global coronavirus pandemic. Staff and students were suddenly confronted with having to transition from contact teaching to teaching via digital platforms. While this was a mammoth task with several layers of complexity related to knowledge of online platforms and more practical issues surrounding equipment and data/wifi access, the move to online and blended learning was ripe with opportunities and affordances. As such, a digital archive of staff and student work was conceptualised by the Department of Media & Communication at Nelson Mandela University. The department needed a consolidated online space where research and creative/practical work could be accessed. An e-book online repository responded to many questions linked to online learning by preparing students for content creation focused specifically on online exhibition and reception, by developing industry level online competencies through novel and experimental digital assessments, and by providing staff and students requisite online exposure. In this way, the project fitted squarely within the NMU Technology Enabled Learning philosophy and the institutional theme of Innovation and Digital Economy. The conference paper details the trajectory of the online repository from conceptualisation though to production of the first editions and the work currently being done on the latest edition. The discussion offers critical perspectives of project planning, challenges faced and the novel approaches developed and applied to address these challenges through the lenses of affordance theory, theory-based-practice teaching and learning, digital archiving and crystallization.
Presenters
Tarryn RennieLecturer, Media and Communication, Nelson Mandela University, Eastern Cape, South Africa Subeshini Moodley
Associate Professor, Media & Communication, Nelson Mandela University, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Digital Archive, Repository, Experimental, Creative Media, Crystallization, Co-creation
