UPCOMING EVENTS
17 August 2023 Prestige Lecture: Combining Metaliteracy and Multimodality to Develop Metaliterate Producers (Prof. Thomas P. Mackery and Prof. Trudi E. Jacobson)
5 September 2023 Workshop: Adapting Metaliteracy OER to Multimodal Teaching and Learning Practices (Prof. Trudi E. Jacobson and Prof. Thomas P. Mackery)
RECENT EVENTS
Key conferences and workshops hosted by the Chair
- Prestige lecture and workshops at the North-West University by Prof. Trudi E. Jacobson, State University of New York at Albany, USA and Prof. Thomas P. Mackey, State University of New York, Empire State College, USA – 19-20 September 2019.
- Workshops and presentations at the North-West University by Prof. Tel Amiel, UNESCO Chair in Distance Education, University of Brasília, Brazil (Co-hosted by the NWU Centre for Teaching and Learning) – 12-14 November 2019.
- Workshops and presentations at the North-West University by Prof. Daniel Burgos, UNESCO Chair on eLearning, International University of La Rioja, Spain (Co-hosted by the NWU Centre for Teaching and Learning) – 18-21 November 2019.
- Workshops and presentations at the North-West University by Prof. Rory McGreal, UNESCO/ICDE Chair in Open Educational Resources, Athabasca University, Canada (Co-hosted by the NWU Centre for Teaching and Learning) – 1-6 March 2020.
- Co-hosted webinar together with Prof. Ruksana Osman - UNESCO Chair in Teacher Education for Diversity and Development. Webinar presented by David Wiley (Lumen Learning, Simon Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University & Brigham Young University. USA) entitled Renewable Assignments: The New Pedagogical Possibilities of Open Educational Resources – 23 October 2020.
- Hosted webinar by Prof. Mitja Jermol (UNESCO Chair holder for Open Technologies for Open Educational Resources and Open Learning): Opening up Education with Artificial Intelligence – 2 March 2021.
- 21 July 2021 15:00-16:00 Prestige lecture: Disrupted Classes. Undisrupted Learning: Integration of informal learning and open resources to boost education in times of crises (Daniel Burgos, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Spain)
- 4 April 2023 14:00-16:30 Prestige Lecture: Self-control tasks and self-directed learning: About learning strategies and learning outcome (Egon Werlen, Swiss Distance University of Applied Science (FFHS), Switzerland)
Other conferences/organizational activities undertaken by the Chairholder
- Two presentations by Jako Olivier at the University of Namibia (Windhoek, 1 April 2019):
- Instructional equivalence and intersemiotic translation: multimodal learning through face-to-face and online modalities
- A multiliteracies framework for self-directed learning by means of OER
- Keynote address by Jako Olivier: NADEOSA (National Association of Distance Education and Open Learning in South Africa) Annual Conference, Roodepoort (3-5 July 2019): Diffractive pathways in multimodal self-directed learning towards demiurgic access to open education practices.
- Keynote address by Jako Olivier: International Conference on Information Literacy (ICIL), Vanderbijlpark (23-25 September 2019): Information ethics literacy for self-directed multimodal learning through open educational resources.
- Keynote address by Jako Olivier: International Conference on Digital Content Management, Iran (online) (17 May 2021): Research ethics for digital content management in a multimodal context: data analytics and the evanescence of research participants.
A selection of conference presentations by the Chairholder and other colleagues
- Open Education Week: 24-Hour Global CC Network Web-a-thon (Online, 5 March 2019) presentation by Jako Olivier: Exploring the multiliteracies to support access to OER in South Africa.
- International conference paper by Jako Olivier at Approaches to Multimodal Digital Environments: from theories to practices (A-MODE), Rome, Italy (20-22 June 2019) – paper: Situated and culturally appropriate self-directed multimodal learning for education students at a South African university.
- Presentation by Jako Olivier on online language platforms at the launch of the VIVA Language and Language Teaching portal (Virtuele Instituut vir Afrikaans (VivA) Taalportaal en Taalonderrigportaal) for Afrikaans which also includes open educational resources. (Online, 21 May 2020).
- Dhakulkar, A. & Olivier, J. 2020. Research trends on open education in Southern Africa since 2010: a systematic review and implications. Creative Commons Global Summit, 19-23 October 2020.
- Olivier, J. 2020. Only the lecturer knows best (not!): exploring the role of distant education students’ voices in terms culturally appropriate self-directed multimodal learning. NWU 3rd Annual Teaching and Learning Conference 2020, 27-29 October 2020
VISIT FROM EXTRAORDINARY PROFESSOR OF THE RESEARCH UNIT SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING - PROF EGON WERLEN (APRIL 2023)
Prof. Egon Werlen, an extraordinary professor in the Research Unit Self-Directed Learning and Deputy Chair Holder on the UNESCO Chair on Personalized and Adaptive Distance Education visited at the North-West University in April 2023. Prof Werlen presented two workshops and a prestige lecture and met with colleagues at all three campuses during his visit to South Africa.
From left: Prof. Egon Werlen (Deputy Chair Holder of the UNESCO Chair on Personalized and Adaptive Distance Education), Prof Dorothy Laubscher (UNESCO Chair on Multimodal learning and OER) and Prof Elsa Mentz (Director: Research Unit Self-Directed Learning).
UNESCO CHAIR KEYNOTE AT THE OPEN ACCESS WEEK 2018
Prof. Jako Olivier, UNESCO Chair on Multimodal Learning and Open Educational Resources, presented the opening keynote address at the NWU library's colloquium for the Open Access Week 2018 on 22 October. The theme of this globally celebrated event for this year was designing equitable foundations for open knowledge. Prof. Olivier presented a paper entitled "Being able to read open educational resources: exploring multiliteracies in support of equitable open knowledge".
UNESCO CHAIR VISIT TO BOTSWANA NOVEMBER 2018
Prof. Jako Olivier visited the Botswana Open University and the University of Botswana on 19 and 20 November 2018 as part of the networking responsibilities of the UNESCO Chair on Multimodal Learning and Open Educational Resources. The visit included a presentation to the staff of the Botswana Open University on Open Educational Resources, meetings with deans and Prof. Frank Youngman (BOU Deputy Vice Chancellor – Academic Services) as well as discussions with research collaborators and potential postgraduate students.
VISIT TO NAMIBIA: APRIL 2019
Prof. Jako Olivier had the privilege to visit the University of Namibia (UNAM) earlier in April 2019 in order to explore collaboration opportunities in terms of the research done as part of the UNESCO Chair. He presented two lectures on Monday: one on multiliteracies within the context of self-directed learning and the use of open educational resources (OER) and one on equivalence in contact and distance modes of delivery. Furthermore, he had discussions with the staff of UNAM's Centre for Open, Distance and eLearning (CODeL) as well as the Deputy Dean and some staff members of their Faculty of Education.
NWU OPEN ACCESS WEEK 2019
The UNESCO Chair on Multimodal Learning and OER took part in the NWU's Open Access Week programme for 2019 with a presentation entitled, Towards lingual equity: the language of open knowledge. The photograph below shows the speakers at the event in Potchefstroom on 21 October 2019.
From left: Prof. Jako Olivier (UNESCO Chair on Multimodal learning and OER), Dr Mathew Moyo (NWU Chief Director Library and Information Service), Dr Pierre de Villiers (AOSIS), Ms Valencia Wagner (SADiLar) and Prof. Andries van Aarde (AOSIS).