BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE- Moving with the times!
As part of migration to digitisation which has led to online learning, the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) Institute of Distance Education (IDE) has developed, with the support of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), an intensive six-week long course on online teaching.
The programme will be offered wholly online and is meant to equip teachers and course instructors with online teaching knowledge, skills and expertise. Furthermore, this is a professional development programme which does not lead to a teaching certification. It aims at assisting course instructors to transition to online teaching and adapting to online learning environment.
The course is E3 000 and registration is due October 10, 2022. The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) was established in 1987 by Commonwealth Heads of Government.
Hosted by the Government of Canada with headquarters in Burnaby, British Columbia, COL is the world’s only intergovernmental organisation solely concerned with the promotion and development of distance education and open learning.
UNESWA Registrar Dr Salebona Simelane encouraged all teachers, lecturers and instructors to apply for the course, stating that the past year’s events taught society to be equipped with online teaching skills.
“Through COVID-19 and all other incidents that disrupted the learning process, we learnt the online learning will soon be the inevitable. We have to adapt to new technologies and stop believing in confines of physical teaching.
“During the course, we will be focusing on the latest technologies, through the assistance of COL,” said Simelane.
He further explained that this was their third time for them to have this kind of training, however highlighting that it was their first time to partner with COL this time around.
TARGET GROUPS:
- University Lecturers
- College Lecturers
- School Lecturers
- Training Officers
- Final year university/college education students
- Any other interested professionals and school leavers
