Latterly academic staff of Madang and Port Moresby campuses of Divine Word University (DWU) completed three weeks of training on online pedagogy in e-teaching and e-learning.The upsurge in e-learning and e-teaching foliated with the help of Canada, as visiting academic from them Papua New Guinea has first of its kind by any university. The training is part of preparation for the university as it is going to help adapt new online pedagogy from traditional classroom teaching and learning. Associate Professor Dr Susan Crichton, Director of the Faculty of Education and the Innovative Learning Centre within the Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada provided the training to 51 academics.
The three week training was delineated to prepare DWU academic staff as a part of university’s artifice to shift from traditional classroom teaching and learning mechanism to online mechanism. DWU President Fr Jan Czuba said: “In response to the growing interest in DWU’s programs the University is continuing to increase our focus on capacity development in the areas of quality and access through online learning. Provision of appropriate support to faculty in: designing, developing and teaching in online environments, as well as enhancement of infrastructure across related functions such as library liaison, student success and students services are key components to ensure success”.
Each participant was rewarded with the certification badge for Moodle (a learning management system) specification and Online Learning and Teaching. “You have obtained great skills and do not be afraid to use them; put what you learn into practice,” Fr Czuba said. He even congratulated the academic staff members for the enthusiastic time and zeal to attend and plenary the course during the validation ceremony held in the Sir Peter Barter Auditorium of the Madang campus. He also embolden the academic staff to have faith in themselves, to predominate in their professional life and work in the vicinity of achieving long lasting things in life.
Most of the staff members have clinch the course with positive accession in the vicinity of Online Learning and Teaching.
According to Dr Betty Koka, Head of the Department of Rural Health, the ILT course has equipped her with different methods of delivering Academic Programs Online. She said “The Rural Health Program is a practical program, however after completing the course, I am positive that programs could be designed and delivered through the online mode,” She said her students could watch and learn a surgery done somewhere in the world and practice them in the hospitals in PNG.
Dr Crichton delivered inspiring messages about pedagogical shifts and the importance of guiding digital natives in developing digital literacies throughout the three weeks training. In 2016 the certified staff members will begin delivering their respective academic units in both fulltime undergraduate and flexible learning programs online.
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