Death of the chalkboard and the demise of the sage on the stage By Deborah Minors In a vast hall that previously housed sewing machines, a student scribbles on a wall and Harry Potter emerges. Next door, in a former domestic science lab, students in hospital greens lounge on bright bean-bags and fixate on a wall-mounted monitor. Adjacent to them someone extracts a prosthetic limb from a 3D printer. In a keyhole shaped pod, two heads bob in muted debate while alongside, a couple wrestle with an X-Box. These aren’t lazy millennials1 loafing – they are Wits students in the classroom of the future and the future is now. Accessing a digital playground The eZone and eFundanathi (learn with us) team are the brainchild of Paula Barnard, an Occupational Therapist and PhD candidate who lectures eLearning (educational techno– logies) at Wits. A joint initiative of the School of Therapeutic Sciences and the School of Education, the eZone is a physical learning space that uses cutting-edge technology and advanced eLearning tools to deliver education that prepares students for the 21st Century. “South Africa needs trained healthcare and other professionals but escalating costs inhibit access for students who cannot afford fees and textbooks. Furthermore, increasing student numbers impact lecturer-student ratios and actual space. As a physical learning space, the eZone creates a platform for transformation and responds to the call for curriculum renewal and transformative pedagogy,” says Barnard. The eZone is equipped with broadband Wi-Fi, 80 laptops, 20 iPads, and 20 Galaxy tablets. Here students can connect to Skype or Google Hangouts and interact with academic experts worldwide instantly. There’s a split projector on the wall that enables group learning by reflecting multiple images posted by students simultaneously, for comparison and discussion. There are GoPros for students to take into the field for assignments and other content development so that they can edit the footage. 1 Also known as Generation Y, they were born approximately between 1980 and 2000.
24
