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S P I R I T
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J A N U A R Y - M A R C H 2 0 2 0
Technology (and the TLDC) to the rescue to maintain
teaching and learning
Addressing the media on 18 March 2020, MUT Vice-
Chancellor and Principal, Dr Enoch Duma Malaza,
said the institution would use technology to ensure
that teaching and learning continued despite the
COVID-19 pandemic. “To reduce the heavy reliance
on the contact mode of teaching, the University will
strengthen its use of Blackboard, which is an online
software to enhance teaching and learning,” said Dr
Malaza.
The University’s Teaching and Learning Development
Centre (TLDC) is at the coalface of this digital way of
teaching and learning, and has crafted a plan that will
be used to trainMUT academics in the delivery of online
lectures. Cebo Nyondo, E-learning and Educational
Technology Specialist at the TLDC, said the plan
was to capitalise on the current expertise available
at the University by leveraging the experience of staff
members that are already familiar with Blackboard
(one of the technologies that MUT has been using for
some time).
“In the current situation, the focus is on how the
teaching and learning activities will be moved to
an online environment, thereby implementing a
distance learning approach. The TLDC is proposing
a structure that will be followed for all courses. By
way of implementation, we will provide training to all
who require it during the recess period and will extend
this initiative even after contact sessions resume,”
said Nyondo. He said the proposed structure adopts
the “constructive alignment” approach advocated by
Professor John B. Biggs. “This will help in developing
courses that will mimic the nature of contact
sessions and thereby create an interactive learning
environment,” he concluded.
While it is true that the academic programme has been
disrupted by the early autumn break and the COVID-19
lockdown, it has also become an opportunity for
academics and administrative staff to use technology
more actively to reduce the loss of contact time.
Cebo Nyondo
“While it is true that the academic programme has been disrupted
by the early autumn break and the COVID-19 Lockdown, it has also
become an opportunity for academics and administrative staff to use
technology more actively to reduce the loss of contact time.”