2015 Presentations (Communicative Events)

Lowering the Barrier to Entry Into South African Higher Education: Visual Arts In Online and Blended Learning Systems

Scherling, Laura S.

The prospect of using technological tools in teaching and learning has grown in popularity in South Africa (SA) as enrollment in institutions of higher education continues to expand (Christie, 2008; DHET, 2013; World Bank, 2010, p. 27). In 2012, SA’s Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) reported that 2 million students enrolled in vocational, public, and private post-school institutions (DHET, 2012, p. 2). SA educators and university leaders are confronted by a growing tertiary education population, a desire to embrace a creative economy and the visual arts, and the belief that access to online learning technologies and blended learning systems can potentially lower barriers to entry into higher education (Czerniewicz et al., 2014; Gunga & Rickets, 2007, p. 902). The purpose of this research is to discuss the transformative potential of these systems. In this research, I examine initiatives by SA educators and organizations to creatively integrate online learning and blended learning systems. I gathered this evidence by interviewing Future Learn Cape Town and Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT) at University of Cape Town (UCT), and two education companies, Get Smarter and Silulo Ulutho Technologies.