USP hosts The Vice Chancellor’s Learning and Teaching Forum 2013
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 | Dave Cormier addresses staff at VC's Learning and Teaching Forum 2013 |
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The University of the South Pacific held its annual Vice Chancellor’s Learning and Teaching Forum 2013 at its Japan-Pacific ICT Centre over two days, commencing on the 3rd September, 2013.
Under the overarching theme, “Transformative Pedagogies” the forum serves as a platform for academics, students and members of the public to actively engage in discussions relating to Information Communication Technology (ICT) and enhanced student learning outcomes.
USP Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Rajesh Chandra addressed that the forum was an opportunity for USP staff and students to present their research in learning and teaching to their peers, and to receive relevant feedback. He also said that the University, which is a leader in ICT in the region, is committed towards providing its staff and students with the best technological services and has started on a systematic reengineering of its ICT services.
Professor Chandra welcomed the keynote speaker Mr. Dave Cormier from the University of Prince Edward Island in Canada to the forum, and said that his presence will be very beneficial to the USP community.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Learning, Teaching and Student Services Professor Susan Kelly announced Dr. David Rohindra (Associate Dean Planning & Quality) as the winner for the Vice Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award this year. Professor Kelly said that Dr. Rohindra had done excellent work and thanked him.
Professor Kelly noted that Mr. Cormier had coined the term MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) and comes with a wealth of experience in e-learning, open source software and open education.
Mr. Cormier delivered an interactive presentation where he encouraged members of the audience to discuss how the internet can be best utilized in relation to learning and teaching.
“The most important questions are why do we teach and how advancement in technology fundamentally impacts on learning,” he said, adding that the world has now made a transition from a scarcity of information towards abundance.
“Since there is an abundance of information due to the internet, availability is less of an issue and there needs to be a bigger focus on ascertaining the credibility of information,” Mr. Cormier said.
Mr. Cormier’s presentation instigated a discussion about courses which are fully online and free compared to those offered at universities. This is particularly relevant as the University community looks at ways to enhance innovativeness in the delivery of its academic offerings, in light of technological resources available. There was also discussion on integrating MOOC into the USP academic system.
Mr. Cormier is also the President of Educative Technologies which specializes in using content management systems and virtual worlds to make friendly and efficient places for people to work, collaborate and build knowledge communities for enhanced learning outcomes.
The forum exhibited presenters and academics from the University showcasing their work and written attributes towards transformative pedagogies.
The second day of the forum includes as part of its programme, a symposium titled “Integration of Research Literacy and Skills in the Undergraduate Curricula using the RSD Framework: Implementation across Four Different Disciplines” as well as presentations on e-Mentoring, Online Mathematics Diagnostics Test (OMDT), e-Learning and a presentation by the UU204 team which is a compulsory pacific studies course offered at USP.
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