Page 107 - Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century

Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century | Showcasing UJ Teaching and Learning 2021
Veronica: The idea of a practice run is very useful, thank you. I will implement that in the next round where we will use the Blackboard Collaborate Ultra web conferencing tool.
Kagiso: This learning was a bit challenging at first, it was hard keeping up with everyone’s inputs. Also, because it doesn’t notify you when there’s something new, I had to keep refreshing. I got the hang of it eventually. From the views of all students in the discussion threads, I got to see Solution Focused Therapy from different angles and understood it better.
Eugene: It was quite stressful for me as I struggled to get started and was unsure if my posts are seen and if I am at the right place. It is, unfortunately, a huge challenge to use this type of learning regularly because of internet issues, power cuts, etc. I prefer face-to-face interaction as a lot gets lost when we cannot see each other and listen to each other. It felt like the ‘conversation’ did not flow well and it was hard to keep track of all the comments. I missed quite a bit where I felt I still wanted to contribute. I was also not aware of the fact that I had to constantly refresh the page. Only almost half an hour into the discussion did I see the post that we need to refresh. I do think because it was the first time, we used this method that it was very challenging, and I am sure that it will be easier next time.
Within a few short months, the students and I had grown more adept with the discussion board functionality. Ensuring that students had at least two weeks to load their comments and respond to their peers alleviated much of the pressure students shared previously. Having students review prepared voice-over PowerPoints, make their summary notes, and then pose question/s before the following week’s Blackboard Collaborate Ultra session allowed me to have a good idea of which areas required further exploration and unpacking. Soon the engagements seemed to be flowing, students appeared more relaxed and were able significantly more effectively to navigate the forum and make meaningful contributions. The following are samples of the engagements within the discussion threads.
Students were invited to pose questions that were linked to voice-over PowerPoint presentations by a guest lecturer. Students were expected to have engaged with the reading materials on play therapy and engage in critical reflections on the content of the voice-over PowerPoints to explore the relevance for practice amongst diverse South African contexts. The questions they posed below relate to specific applications of play therapy practice.
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