Digital Content & Online Learning

This year’s Honoris Academic Summit served as a dynamic platform for faculty to engage in discussions and collaboration, addressing the evolving landscape of education. One of the four key themes or pillars of the event was digital content and online learning.

In recent years, digital content and online learning have gained significant prominence, opening up new avenues for students to acquire knowledge and develop essential skills. Over the two day event, we had inspiring keynote presentations and discussions on the importance of humanising online education, building digital education capabilities, as well as addressing the challenge of digital adoption to increase participation rate and enhance student outcomes.

Dr. Ilhem Mestiri, Manager Director of UPSAT held a presentation on the platform, Lecturio. As the Project Lead for the platform, Dr. Mestiri cited the platform as a powerful tool for faculty engagement and integration with the academic ecosystem. In her presentation she shared that project results show an average completion of nine videos by students, with an average quiz accuracy of 60%, suggesting that Lecturio will benefit student performance.

“The successful pilot with Lecturio this year proved that the benefits of an adaptive learning platform that is built on evidence-based teaching methods were undeniable for both students and faculty.”, says Dr. Mestiri.

In addition, Dr. Danielle Becker, Visual Studies Lecturer, Red & Yellow Creative School of Business, presented on why digital representation matters, exploring democratising access through digital content. Dr. Becker’s presentation highlighted the need to recognise digital content is subject to power relations because of ‘techno-racism’ and algorithm biases that exist in AI models. While addressing the challenges, Dr. Becker also urged audiences to recognise that AI has the potential to increase access to information and support cultural diversity.

In her keynote presentation, Ms. Melindi Britz, Managing Director of Honoris’ Digital Division, highlighted the importance of building digital education capabilities in universities. She cited collaboration and student experience as key factors for success. She shared her experience in designing purpose-built online programs, emphasising the importance of a rigorous process that includes market research, bite-sized learning chunks, tool and guest speaker selection, and assessment methods.

The Honoris Academic Summit not only provided a platform for insightful discussions on digital content and online learning but also inspired attendees with innovative ideas and practical strategies to embrace the digital transformation in education. By fostering collaboration and sharing best practices, this event served as a catalyst for positive change and advancement in student outcomes within an evolving educational landscape.