Learning from Government Blunders in Response to COVID-19

The second way in which the PBL 320 team expanded on its digital offering was through the creation of a fully 2D/3D animated video on international air law.

International law is a very complex field to which students in their third year have had limited exposure. Thus, the team sought to alleviate learning barriers by offering students a gripping visual experience. The 25-minute video covers the basics of air law, as well as the right to fly over a state’s sovereign airspace. The lecture content was written and narrated by Dr Martha Bradley and Education Innovation’s senior video director, Mr Andre du Plessis, who designed, animated and produced the video. The PBL 320 team’s contribution to creative ways of teaching during ERT have been recognised by the University of Pretoria. Dr Martha Bradley not only appeared in the November 2020 issue of the Junior Tukkie Magazine, but was also nominated by the Faculty of Law for the 2020 Teaching Excellence Laureate Prize. Furthermore, Dr Bradley, along with Ms Faith Mathibedi and Mr Andre du Plessis, submitted a short video titled ‘Embracing technology – Teaching public international law’ to the Association of Law Teachers’ Annual Conference hosted by Aston University, Birmingham, England. The video was accepted and included in the 2021 conference programme. A smaller, less technology-intensive way in which lecturers approached ERT was to distribute weekly newsletters to students informing them of what was expected of them regarding the lecturers for a specific week. They offered lectures in a variety of formats including narrated PowerPoints, podcasts, the animated video and interview-style lectures with Professor Dire Tladi and Mr Marno Swart, an assistant lecturer. In terms of assessment, they conducted brief weekly clickUP tests for the ‘consolidate’ phase in which students tested whether they understood and had properly engaged with the work. These achievements could only have been realised through teamwork and collaboration. The lecturers acknowledge all staff members who played a role in their revitalisation of stagnant and stale teaching and learning methods, and appreciate the continuous support from the faculty, in particular Dean Professor Elsabe Schoeman and Deputy Dean: Teaching and Learning Professor Charles Maimela. Because of the efforts of the lecturers and their supporters, PBL 320 is no longer a doom-andgloom HIM for students. To ensure they keep it this way, two additional levels of the game are already under production and they are working on more short animated videos and Powtoons for other international law courses offered by the faculty. They aim to expand on their digital offerings, even in post-pandemic times. Students were afforded the opportunity to give feedback on the innovations, and they were very appreciative. The following comment sums up much of the feedback: ‘I appreciated the weekly letters prepared for the week ahead so I knew what we would be doing at the beginning of every week. The Powtoon short videos were also a great way to introduce new topics of International law. I also feel that the PBL 320 team invested greatly in tutors and other assistants to make the module as relatable as possible. Ms Phyffer was particularly outstanding, in my opinion. She always came prepared and did not take students for granted. It is really hard to fault the PBL 320 team on any front as doing so

would really be scraping the barrel for mistakes. The lectures were made available in a variety of formats (narrated PowerPoint, PDFs, mp4s) so students could access the learning materials in a number of ways. International law is a tough module to grasp under normal circumstances (on-campus lectures, face-toface consultations), and in the abnormal situation of a pandemicinterrupted academic year, it Creating of a fully 2D/3D animated video on international air law becomes even more difficult. But kudos to the PBL 320 team for making it so much easier.’

Dr Melanie Murcott in the Department of Public Law reimagined the third-year core LLB Administrative Law module (PBL 310) as legal developments in response to COVID-19 unfolded in the courts during lockdown. Many legal challenges in the courts regarding government’s approach to COVID-19 provided excellent examples of the ways in which Administrative Law can be used as a tool to challenge unlawful, unfair and unreasonable government conduct in pursuit of accountability.

Dr Murcott engaged students virtually in a number of ways. Among other innovative learning tools, she created interview-style video lectures with guest lecturer Mr Tim Fish Hodgson to offer students a unique learning experience on Administrative Law in the context of COVID-19. She had introduced a module Gmail account before lockdown, and during lockdown this account was an invaluable tool for Dr Murcott, her academic associate and tutors to engage with, encourage and guide students. The lecturer and her tutors also created short Instagram story-style announcements on important course matters to reach students at their level.

Another innovation was using memes as a teaching tool, including a meme competition. Students were invited to create their own