The second phase: Building on the success of the first phase of the FLOAT project, in 2023, the Faculty conceptualised the idea of advancing the project through the incorporation of gamification as a tool to enhance teaching and learning. The project team, under the leadership of the Vice Dean of Teaching and Learning at the time, successfully applied for an innovative grant fund from the Division for Teaching Excellence (DTE) to embark on the second phase of the FLOAT project in collaboration with the Johannesburg Business School (JBS) Innovation Lab. The second phase is mainly characterised by the introduction of gamification in developing pedagogy in legal education. According to different writers, gamification can be said to be an emerging trend in education wherein one uses games to assist in the learning, as well as skills and knowledge transfer of non-gaming elements (Caponetto, Earp & Ott 2014:50). In this context, the concept was to transfer legal knowledge and critical skills to students through a virtual reality courtroom game (VR Courtroom Game). Some of the reported advantages of the pedagogical approach to ‘gamification’ include advanced student engagement and placing students in a more active role in the teaching and learning process (Fui-Hoon et al, 2014:404-405). According to Fui-Hoon et al (2014:405-406), the key elements of gamification can be characterised into three broad areas: The Storyline; Interaction, which includes immersion into the game and the reward system. These key elements were infused to develop the VR Courtroom Game. The faculty aims to make legal education more accessible, engaging, and effective by immersing students in realistic courtroom simulations (2024 UJ Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century booklet). It also contributes to an experiential learning approach to teaching and learning. This VR Courtroom Game innovation is proving to be an important teaching and learning tool in legal education as it contributes to an experiential learning approach which bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application” (2024 UJ Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century ‘booklet).2 2 The final development of the VR Courtroom Game was concluded in May 2024 with the launch of the Game in July 2024. The Project team for the VR Courtroom Game composed of: Prof MM van Eck (Project Leader) Prof A Ade-Ibijola, Prof Puseletso Letete, Ms Natasha Naidoo, Mr Elton Hart, Ms Felicia Zuba, Mr Louis Koen, Dr Werner Nel, Dr Yvette Joubert and Dr Whitney Rosenberg). The VR Courtroom Game has also been recognised as a teaching tool that will transform legal education through an award by Business Tech Africa in 2024. The Faculty has rolled out the game to the fourthyear level students who are currently undergoing their experiential learning at the Law Clinics, and is currently providing an opportunity to a selected group of students from the first year level to the third year level. From this first phase of rolling out the VR Courtroom game, the Faculty aim to receive feedback on the project before it is rolled out to all the law students in 2026. Project 2: Interactive eBook (Dictionary of Law) The Faculty of Law, under the leadership of the Vice Dean for Teaching and Learning, in collaboration with the Division for Central Academic Technologies (CAT) and UJ Press at the UJ Library, has developed an innovative, fully interactive digital textbook of key South African legal cases, tailored specifically for second-year law students. This open educational resource will be available at no cost via the UJ Press website through the UJ Library portal. The e-case book incorporates explanations and definitions of legal concepts suited for second-year students. The objective of this project is twofold: to develop an embedded e-dictionary within the e-case book to define and explain legal terms and concepts to enable instant access to definitions to aid comprehension and application in real time. In this project, we utilise AI tools to create a model that maps and verifies correct case summaries, enhancing learning efficiency and accuracy. Most importantly, the eBook will be a living document: cases can be added, removed, or replaced as needed, ensuring the resource remains current and aligned with teaching requirements. The model also lends itself to the development of similar case law eBooks for each year of study, creating a comprehensive digital suite of accessible case resources for the entire Law programmes and qualifications. The cases will be grouped by the different legal domains and themes, which are: Indigenous Law, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Law of Delicts, Human Rights, Law of Succession and Interpretation Theory. 44 A Journey of Innovation
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