Adapt or die – future proofing TVET colleges for a rapidly changing world

Cape Town, 22 August 2018: In the face of the 4^th industrial revolution and quickly evolving technology, unless South African TVET colleges, develop a technology plan, they will be irrelevant.

These challenging words by Myles Thies, Director of Digital Learning Services, Eiffel Corp at the IVETA conference 2018 held in Cape Town last week.  Within the theme of the conference, “Making Technical and Vocational Education Training the First Choice’, Thies urged leaders in the sector to develop plans around technology to ensure they remain relevant in the current education and training environment which is already facing some significant headwinds

“Artificial Intelligence is going to revolutionise the job market and with TVETS being an essential part of education in South Africa, it’s vital for them to develop digital teaching strategies that meet the challenges,” said Thies.

“Over 800 000 students are enrolled at 50 TVET colleges on 264 campuses around the country and it’s imperative these students remain relevant. Graduates already face an uphill battle to find employment so they have to exit their courses with the ability to adapt to a changing work environment as quickly as possible,” he added.

While the 4^th industrial revolution will potentially affect jobs, new jobs will replace traditional jobs and these will require a different skill set.  TVET colleges will need to improve their way of imparting skills to students.

“Future learning is micro- and blended-learning and curriculums will be online.  The workplace will be transformed and digital will be utilized to reskill staff.”

“Artificial Intelligence (AI) bots recently beat humans at the video game Dota 2. That’s a big deal, because their victory required teamwork and collaboration – a huge milestone in advancing artificial intelligence,” said Thies.

Although the AI bots played 183 years worth of the games before winning they did this and learned strategies quickly. Humans can’t hope to match this type of capability.

Robot automation is projected to take 800 million jobs by 2030*1.  It’s estimated that the half-life of a job skill is about five years (every five years, that skill is about half as valuable as it was before).

Skilled workers thus need to get ahead of that decline in value.*2

Thies warned workers will be outpaced by AI and automation and the pace of innovation may be faster than the ability of workers to reskill.

With 35% of all jobs in South Africa, almost 5.7 million, currently at risk of total digital automation within a mere seven years, the country could see a crippling effect compounded by a fragile economy and growing unemployment.*3

TVETS also face competition in the form of international institutions offering digital education.

“Blended is the new black,”  said Thies, “students and workers are seeking out programmes that combine localised face-to-face delivery with blended learning delivery options. Those institutions that get this mix right, with the right amount of quality and recognition, will have a winning recipe. Those institutions that fail to innovate delivery options will see a reduction in applications over time.

“The inclusion of technology for distribution and facilitation at a high level of quality is key, otherwise students will go elsewhere.”

Thies posed the questions – how will South Africa cope considering the massive challenges already faced in terms of skills, productivity and education?  What do TVETS have to start doing now to be ready for the coming changes and challenges?

According to Thies, there are very few quick fixes, but he suggests:

1. Investment in technology

Making a serious and conscientious investment in technology is only one small part of the solution.  Educator skills and capability to facilitate and impart skills in the technology dominated space has to be prioritised at every level.  Continuous individual professional development and reskilling in digital teaching and assessment practices is essential.

Establishing a supportive technology and innovation ecosystem for all participants in the learning continuum.

2. Adaption

TVETS need to be adaptable in coping with technology and the new environment.  Learners are seeking out new modes of learning based on their current use of technology, but educators are not at the level of digital teaching and learning to meet them, thereby forcing the TVET student to remain in a face-to-face teaching environment. Institutions need to embrace mobility.

3. Responsive

The ability and speed of adaptation must be robust enough to cope with the increasing pace of innovation.  Teacher & lecturer skills are not keeping pace with innovation and capabilities.

4. Quality

Learners are more discerning and competition for TVET learners will be fierce (TVETS already play second fiddle to universities in SA.The TVET sector is trying to change this). Academic, facilitation and administrative quality have to be agile and flexible.  Lecturers should be rewarded and recognised for digital teaching innovation.  Baseline standards for digital teaching & learning that embrace course design and content standards are essential as well.

Source:

1 Quelle: OECD (2018), Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) 2112, 2015. Selection of OECD Countries.  DW.com

2  World Economic Forum

3 Dr Rose Phillips, USB BS

 

Coverage:

http://scherlund.blogspot.com/2018/08/adapt-or-die-future-proofing-tvet.html

How edtech will shape the school of the future

Cape Town, 25 July 2018: eLearning, analystics, mobile apps, learning management systems, learning content repositories and tech enabled communications: jargon to many, but essential to shape the school of the future.

In South Africa, there is a chasm to cross.  In 2011, 49% of grade 9 learners* had access to computers at school, low in comparison to Botswana’s 86%, Ghana’s 78% and Indonesia’s 82%.  Only 17% of schools in the Eastern Cape have access to the internet, despite the United Nation’s 2016 declaration that access to the internet is a basic human right.   

But Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is becoming so widely used in society that an education without them is rapidly becoming an incomplete education. 

Felder and Soloman (2001), as cited by Bitter & Legacy (2008:23), point out that learners retain more information with the help of sufficient visual content in their learning materials. Bitter and Legacy (2008:152) who investigated the effects of technology on reading comprehension, found that learners tend to be more intrigued with the visuals and animations offered by the use of technology. Students have higher comprehension scores after reading the South African Journal of Education; 2013; 33(2) 5 electronic stories versus reading printed texts. The interactive effects of sound, animation, narration and additional definitions that make up electronic texts motivate students to want to read the stories again, which happens less often with printed text.

 

The reading of online stories that are augmented with visuals, animations and other interactive effects have greater impact. 

Inspired by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, high school principal Wendy Horn took his words to heart when she took over the helm of a high school with big dreams to establish it as one of the most technologically advanced and successful schools in the province.

Speaking at Eiffel Corp’s 20^th year celebration in Cape Town recently, Horn, Principal of Protea Heights Academy, reiterated that embracing technology is essential for survival in a rapidly changing world.  In just five years and a very limited tech budget, Horn has created a world-class digital environment.

“My mission is to create productive citizens that are prepared for the world. With this as a backdrop and underpinned by effective learning management systems such as Staffroom and Google school, we are producing young people who embrace the fourth industrial revolution,” said Horn.

“We can’t use lack of technology to hold learners back, it’s our responsibility as educators to embrace technology.”

“The gamification of the syllabus has become standard practice and by Grade 9 our students have completed a 3D printing course and competency programme in Scratch and Solo Line.

“This year they have taken part with  a number of schools across the world in an innovation project that is aimed at addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in line with the vision of developing global citizens. They are also introducing robotics in line with this vision.”

Principal at Zwaanswyk High School, Shandre Otto said prior to the introduction of technology the school processes were uncontrolled and erratic.

“Staffroom has revolutionised the way we run our school administration and communication,” said Otto.

“This school information system has improved efficiencies, provided valuable extra time to staff and improved communication between the school’s parent body and students.”

“When asked about the cost of investment, I believe that it’s been worth every penny.  There is no comparison between the cost and the benefits,” she said.

“We teach generation Z, the child born with a cell phone in one hand and dad’s wallet in the other, tech is what they breathe, eat, sleep and know. Digital learning must be part of our schools operation, otherwise we are not educating,” said Otto passionately.

Ian Houston, Headmaster at Unicorn Preparatory School in Limpopo believes technology is essential to education.

“In my school environment, educators have 24/7 access to the Staffroom system, which means they can mark, prepare lessons and stay up to date with administration wherever they are located. Mobility, that’s a bi-product of technology,” said Houston.

If technology is your goal – five tips to grow a school for the future:

1. A leader driven and committed pioneering technology
2. A supportive management that embraces change
3. A staff compliment familiar with technology and able to transition and mentor older staff members in technology
4. A culture or risk and trust
5. Parent and learner buy in – effective communications is essential to achieve this
6. Learners that lead

 

Source

https://www.education.gov.za/Portals/0/Documents/Publications/Action%20Plan%202019.pdf?ver=2015-11-11-162424-417

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/lethabo-nxumalo/south-african-schools-need-to-introduce-technology-in-the-classr_a_23002195/

 

Coverage:

 

Accredited course aimed at public to up-skill digital teaching competencies

Cape Town, 03 July 2018:  Consumers and educators will benefit from the first SETA accredited digital training programme – Digital Teaching and Learning Series Certification (DTLS) in South Africa.  In a study run by Via Afrika, less than 35% of South Africa’s teachers had been trained in basic digital and ICT skills by 2011

Eiffel Corp, leaders in education technology across Africa were the first partner worldwide to be accredited by Blackboard to offer the Digital Teaching and Learning Series Certification last year, and this month announced the programme will be offered to the public from July 2018.

“The accreditation adds credibility to this international programme, which is applicable to all educators across the country, and the public courses will up-skill anyone who wishes to add digital teaching competencies to their current skills”, said Myles Thies, Director of Digital Learning Services.

“Aside from upskilling educators in SA, the SETA accreditation offers teachers 10, level 5 credits which contribute towards recognised professional development,” he added.

“Educators and Institutions are assured that the DTLS programme has met with the required academic criteria and aligns with recognized and relevant outcomes of the education department,” he said.

Over 100 academic faculty at University of Johannesburg will complete level 2 by the end of 2018 to produce students that are equipped for the workplace via teaching pedagogy delivery using technology.  Key skills such as technical and IT skills are critical for student employability.

“Our experience has identified many educators have strong academic experience, and competency to teach, but are less confident teaching with technology.”

“As students engage with digital literacy via social media, they have the same expectations of their education experience.  They want to learn using multi-media tools, that are available 24/7.

Anyone keen to sign up for the course should contact sales@eiffelcorp.co.za

Source: http://viaafrika.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Via-Afrika-Snapshot-Of-eLearning-In-South-African-Schools-2014.pdf

 

Coverage:

 

• https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/technology/sa-company-to-launch-new-digital-training-course-for-educators-14079192

 

• https://www.skillsportal.co.za/content/digital-teacher-training-first-sa

 

Building the Trifecta of Students Success

Cape Town, 17 April 2018: Leading education technology provider, Eiffel Corp, this week announced their ‘Trifecta model for building student success’.

“By combining online learning design and content, digital skills for teachers and data driven analytics, we believe the organisation will play a positive role in student success in a country where institutions are under enormous pressure and pass rates low in comparison to higher education statistics in other countries,” said Myles Thies, Director of Digital Learning Services at Eiffel Corp.

Despite cutting edge technology, large ticket item LMS systems and the availability of information, the South African higher education system is congested, with students taking too long to pass qualifications.

There are currently 1 million higher education students in the system, 400 000 of which are causing a bottleneck in the system, making it difficult for new students to enter due to a cap on the number of students who can be accommodated.  Audited data from six institutions shows that between 11% and 31% of students completed their selected three-year qualification in the minimum allocated time ie three years.  This increases to between 38% and 57% after a further two years. 

The national average at universities for students completing a three-year degree in the minimum time of three years is 21%.

“From our work with higher education institutions in SA, many faculties are dominated by poorly conceived or applied instructional design, outdated or inappropriate content and references, insufficient technical support and infrastructure, as well as well-intentioned but ill-conceived application of monitoring and analytics solutions that have not produced relevant and accurate student performance data,” said Thies .

With these challenges in mind, Eiffel Corp is pioneering a learning solution that delivers, supports and provides data for higher education educators and administrators.

Our aim is to support institutions that have, since the turn of the millennium, made a significant investment in digital technologies to improve learner outcomes, yet still face daily challenges in achieving effective digitally enabled learning?

The solution, apart from secure guiding strategic objectives and a long-term commitment by senior leadership to quality and higher outcomes, is based in the combination of three specific disciplines that together form the foundation of a skills maximising and high competency building learning programme.

Digital Teaching Skills Development

Skill and understanding of the subject matter is the departure point for a campaign to influence the quality and impact of online course engagement.  As the owner of the individual students’ academic development within a singular course, the onus is on the Subject Matter Expert (SME) to ensure they are equipped with the most relevant and up to date skills to facilitate learning in a digital environment. The very role of the educator is being transformed into one that guides the students in their learning journey to the point of understanding through the application of various digital mediums.

Eiffel Corp’s digital teacher training, DTS has been accredited by SETA and will assist any professional educators who are ill-equipped to effectively apply the digital environment and tools on hand to their fullest potential. This is hampered by institutional policy and strategy, infrastructure and access, as well as a myriad of social and human factors that influence the general digital learning environment.

Despite these challenges, educators can interweave the available technologies to create highly effective and academically relevant online learning interventions that are sensitive to the capabilities and constraints of the local student. But this can only be done once fully grasping the theoretical and technical aspects of digital teaching and learning and applying it to their area of professional expertise.

High Quality Instructional Design & Content

It can’t be overstated that effective and pedagogically relevant course design has a significant effect on student success and throughput. Consistency and high quality of course learning resources and artefacts is just as important to foster greater engagement.

“Our digital course and content development facility responds to the pedagogical inputs of the digitally savvy educator and enables them to focus on valuable teaching activities.

Student Performance Data & Predictive Capabilities     

Since the advent of analytics, educators have sought ways to apply the data to create predictive models of student success. The pioneering Course Signals initiative conducted at Purdue University in 2010 has provided an evolving blueprint for how data on student performance can be used within the academic process to improve student outcomes and reduce dropout and failure rates. The analytics discipline has evolved exponentially to explore a wide array of data points beyond the traditional course interaction setting, including social media participation, online community development and interaction (social & epistemic network analysis) and even living conditions and economic influences.

It is only when these intentionally sighted, multiple data points and tasks are triggered, that the power of prediction and data driven decision making comes into its own.

“Only through the combination of instructional design, eTeacher training and analytics, can institutions hope to meet the challenges of preparing the modern learner and competing in an increasingly corporatized space for education,” added Thies.

As more and more universities and colleges vie for ever discerning and digitally capable students, the decision on where to study will be guided by the organisation’s reputation for providing programmes that offer multiple means of engagement, are recognised for their outstanding academic value and which incorporate modern means of ensuring that outcomes are achieved and are respected by the industries they ultimately serve and seek to better.

 

Three tips for training in retail

Cape Town, 14 March 2018:  Training in the retail sector can be challenging when needing to upskill staff across various business divisions, with different qualifications and experience levels and sometimes a vastly different appetite for personal development.

Three key learnings emerged for Kelvin Wheatley, Spar’s Human Resources Development Manager, when he was faced with the challenge of designing training for 1100 people at the Spar distribution centers in Gauteng.

“In addition to fulfilling training needs within the business, I wanted to create more awareness of training and HR Training department and the services they offered,” said Wheatley.

His experience had been a very low uptake of training in the past with people having little time and staff bored with regular classroom training.  “We pursued a micro-learning model of bite-sized, attention-grabbing lessons that are easy to access and apply directly in the workplace. Micro content means our learning programmes will keep up with business priorities, no matter how fast things change,” he added.

Research from the pilot project identified the following tips for training in retail:

1. Make learning fun and engaging

Integrate social media, infographics and humour into the training and the surrounding communication.  E-Learning is not a silver bullet alone, other training interventions can also be included in the offering to cover all the core business functions.

2. Use of micro-learning

Using the Grovo platform, staff had to complete 32 micro-videos in three months, covering subjects as varied as business communication.

3. Create an appetite for learning

Due to the awareness created by the Microlearning Pilot Project, our applications for bursaries nearly doubled for 2018.

According to Deidre Gouws, Senior Consultant at Eiffel Corp providers of Micro-learning training solutions in Africa, the Spar pilot project has provided a solid foundation for designing training per department for 2018.