Mediating Open & Distance e-Learning in the Advent of Global Crises

Moeketsi Letseka is professor extraordinaire; professor of Philosophy of Education; holder of the endowed United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Chair on Open Distance Learning (ODL) at the University of South Africa (Unisa), and former Editor-in-Chief of Africa Education Review. He is a C2 National Research Foundation (NRF) rated researcher and winner of the 2022 Unisa Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research. In June 2023, he was appointed by His Majesty King Letsie III of Lesotho to serve as a member of 15^th Council of the National University of Lesotho (NUL). In May 2022, he was appointed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the South African Council on Higher Education (CHE) to serve as a member of the Peer Advisory Group on the Reconceptualising Learning and Teaching (Relate) Project. In April 2021, he was appointed by the South African Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Angie Motshekga, to serve as a member of the 7th National Commission for UNESCO. In March 2020, he was appointed by the Deputy Director General of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to serve as a member of the National Coordination Committee for the National Framework for Enhancing Academics as University Teachers. In May 2020, he was appointed as Chairperson of the Task Force on Distance Education in the World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES).

The following are Letseka’s selected publications in philosophy of education and ODL: Higgs, P. and M. Letseka. 2022. Philosophy of Education: An Introduction. 3rd ed. Cape Town: Juta; Letseka, M. (ed). 2016. Open Distance Learning (ODL) through the Philosophy of Ubuntu. New York: Nova; Aluko, R., M. Letseka, and V. Pitsoe (eds). 2016. Assuring Institutional Quality in Open Distance Learning (ODL) in the Developing Contexts. New York: Nova; Letseka, M. (ed). 2015. Open Distance Learning (ODL) in South Africa. New York: Nova.

Jennifer Roberts is an associate professor in the Institute for Open Distance Learning (IODL) in the College of Education (CEDU) at Unisa. A truly interdisciplinary scholar, she has undergraduate studies in Statistics and Sociology; postgraduate degrees in Tourism Development and Management; and a PhD in Distance Teaching and Curriculum Design. She is widely published in distance education, discipline in education, metacognition, research trends and staff development, and has presented academic papers around the world. Jenny was the first South African to be elected to the executive committee of the Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia (ODLAA), where she was vice president and publications officer, and has also twice guest edited the Distance Education Journal. She is the leader of the Unisa research thrust “Technology and the Changing Role of Academics in Distance Education”, as well as a team member, together with colleagues from other South African universities, on an NRF project on self-directed learning in an online context. In 2021, she was acknowledged by the AD Scientific Index as a member of the top 10 000 influential scientists on the African continent and occupied the number three position in Africa for distance education research. In addition, she is a founding member of the international Centre for Open Educational Research (COER), a group that is funded by the German government to disseminate research on the curation of open educational resources in higher education (HE).

Morakinyo Akintolu holds a PhD in Education. He is currently a postdoctoral research fellow with the UNESCO Chair on Open Distance Learning in the CEDU at Unisa. His research interests include Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL), Educational Management, Adult Education, ICT Application in Education, Youth Development and Entrepreneurship Education. He has over 10 years’ experience working on social impact projects. Morakinyo is passionate about raising ethical leaders to drive innovation, entrepreneurship, and development in rural and urban communities. He has presented academic papers at various national and international conferences in his area of specialisation, and published many articles in accredited journals to contribute to the body of knowledge.

Jennifer Roberts is an associate professor in the Institute for Open Distance Learning (IODL) in the College of Education at the University of South Africa (Unisa). A truly interdisciplinary scholar, she has undergraduate studies in statistics and sociology, and postgraduate degrees in tourism development and management, and a PhD in distance teaching and curriculum design. She is widely published in distance education, discipline in education, metacognition, research trends and staff development and has presented papers around the world. Jenny was the first South African to be elected to the executive committee of the Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia (ODLAA), where she was vice president and publications officer and has also twice guest edited the Distance Education Journal. She is the leader of the Unisa research thrust “Technology and the Changing Role of Academics in Distance Education”, as well as a team member, together with colleagues from other South African universities, on a National Research Foundation (NRF) project on self-directed learning in an online context. In 2021, she was acknowledged by the AD Scientific Index as a member of the top 10,000 influential scientists on the African continent and occupied the number three position in Africa for Distance Education research. In addition, she is a founding member of the international Centre for Open Educational Research (COER), a group that is funded by the German government to disseminate research on the curation of open educational resources in higher education.

Morakinyo Akintolu holds a Doctor of Education degree. He is currently a postdoctoral research fellow with the UNESCO Chair on Open Distance Learning, College of Education, University of South Africa. His research interests include Open Distance eLearning, Educational Management, Adult Education, ICT application in Education, Youth Development and Entrepreneurship Education. He has over 10 years of experience working on social impact projects. Dr Akintolu is passionate about raising ethical leaders to drive innovation, entrepreneurship, and development in rural and urban communities. He has presented academic papers at various national and international conferences in his area of specialisation with many published articles in accredited journals to contribute to the body of knowledge.

As an Education Development Expert he has experience working in 3 countries in Africa in different areas of Education which include Educational Management, Research Development, Proposal Development, Developing experiential learning models, Youth Development, Entrepreneurial Education, Adult Education and technology, Teacher Training and Sustainable Education.

Gezani Baloyi is an associate professor and the Head for Quality Assurance and Enhancement in the College of Graduate Studies at Unisa. He previously taught at secondary and primary schools in Limpopo, South Africa, and has nearly 21 years of teaching experience. While a teacher, he attended teacher education conferences and workshops. Gezani’s research interests are adult education, ODL, e-learning, rural education, learner support, and quality assurance.

Tšhegofatšo Makgakga holds a PhD in Mathematics and Science Education and is a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics Education at Unisa. He offers undergraduate student programmes and supervises master’s and doctoral students in Mathematics Education. Tšhegofatšo’s research interests include mathematics teacher collaboration, teacher professional development, errors and misconceptions in mathematics and issues of language in mathematics in rural schools.

Sindile Ngubane is a professor doing research, community engagement, and mentorship on digital access for students and employees with disabilities and incarcerated students in ODL contexts. She is also the acting head of the IODL at Unisa. Sindile leads cross-border collaborative research and community engagement projects aiming to create digitally inclusive approaches for the development of vulnerable communities, including people with disabilities, and incarcerated students.

Onica Ndwambi is a lecturer at the Gauteng College of Nursing – SG Lourens Campus, Department of Health. She obtained her DLit et Phil in Health Studies at Unisa with a focus on ODL and online interactivity. Onica has had exposure in the public and private sectors. She is passionate about teaching and learning with a focus on General Nursing Science and Practice. She specialises in Critical Care Nursing. Onica has published many articles related to nursing education. She has also presented papers at national and international conferences on aspects related to ODL

Kefiloe A. Maboe is a professor in the College of Human Sciences at Unisa. Her fields of academic interest include health sciences and ODL. Her PhD research combined these academic fields where she investigated online learning among health studies students in ODL. Kefiloe has presented papers at both local and international conferences and has published many articles in accredited journals. She has had exposure in the public and private sectors, unions, the military and academia dealing with matters related to management, education, training, and facilitation. She has published articles related to ODL, technology enhanced teaching and learning, on-line interactivity, and student support.

Mpho-Entle Puleng Modise is a lecturer in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies in the College of Education (CEDU) at Unisa. Her research areas include faculty and student support in ODL, e-learning, ODeL, academic professional development, educational technology integration and adoption, and the use of e-portfolios in teaching and learning. She also has an interest in massive open online courses (MOOCs) and open education resources. Mpho-Entle is a member of the South Africa Education Research Association (SAERA) executive committee, where she represents the needs and interests of early career researchers in South Africa and other African countries

Geesje van den Berg is a full professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies at Unisa and a Commonwealth of Learning Chair in ODL for Teacher Education. Her research focuses on student interaction, academic capacity building, openness in education, and teachers’ use of technology in ODL. She has published widely as a sole author and co-author with colleagues and students in curriculum studies and ODL. She leads a collaborative academic capacity-building project for Unisa academics in ODL between Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg in Germany and Unisa. She is the programme manager and lecturer in the structured master’s in education (ODL) programme.

Cecilia van Zyl is a senior lecturer in the Department of Economics at Unisa. She is mainly involved with module development and teaching of first-level Economics, and has an interest to ensure inclusive and open education for all learners. She is also involved with the development of quality assurance procedures to ensure high-quality teaching and learning. She holds master’s degrees in Economics and Open Distance Education. Cecilia’s research involves aspects related to open distance teaching and learning. She is currently busy with a PhD and the topic of her research is, “How the Use of a Continuous Assessment Framework Can Contribute to More Effective Learning in an Economics Department in a Distance Education Environment”

Willie le Roux is a lecturer in the Department of Economics at the Unisa. He teaches first-level Economics which brings him into daily contact with often ill-prepared school leavers. Willie’s passion is to guide these students to become confident learners in an ODL environment. He is currently focusing on how students can be equipped to use artificial intelligence language models in their studies.

Zurika Robinson is a full professor in the College of Economic and Management Sciences at Unisa. She has a strong academic and research background, and her skills and experience are in the distance education field, with the emphasis on macroeconomics. Her current focus is on effective and efficient quality education.

Samuel Amponsah is an Associate Professor in ODL and currently heads the Distance Education Department of the University of Ghana. He is a fellow of the Global Challenges Research Fund and was recently a fellow of the Andrew W. Mellon/BECH Africa project. Samuel’s primary areas of research have been adult learning and ODL. In the past few years, he has developed a keen interest in inclusive education with a niche in visually impaired students learning online.

Boadi Agyekum is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Continuing and Distance Education (SCDE), University of Ghana. He holds a PhD in Geography from McMaster University, Canada. Boadi’s research spans several traditions, from scholarship based on large quantitative data sets to qualitative analysis based on interviews with vulnerable groups in society. The general framework of his research concerns methodology and techniques of social sciences. Boadi has keen research interests in community development, learning environments/spaces, continuing education and lifelong education, migration and employment, religion and well-being, and development education in general.

Rajendran P. Pillay holds an MSc and a PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. He is an experienced educator/lecturer at all levels of education, a researcher, and an experienced consultant having worked with different organisations. His multi-disciplinary research interests and collaboration include sustainable development issues, environmental and science education, health and well-being issues, nature conservation, and leadership. Rajendran has published numerous articles, and presented papers at national and international conferences on diverse foci which include sustainability issues, and the scholarship of teaching and learning at tertiary level.

Jennifer Roberts is an associate professor in the Institute for Open Distance Learning (IODL) at the University of South Africa (Unisa). She is skilled in research design, educational technology and open distance e-learning (ODeL) research training. Jennifer has an ongoing interest in research capacity building in developing countries as well as staff capacity building in open distance learning (ODL) institutions.

Hugo van der Walt is a researcher in the IODL at Unisa. He is a registered research psychologist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). He specialises in qualitative data analysis and training. Hugo’s fields of academic interest include staff development and well-being, ODeL research in developing countries, and the factors associated with the Imposter Syndrome in academic staff. He is currently completing his PhD thesis.

Rossano Wells is a registered Counselling Psychologist. He obtained his academic BA and BA Hons Psychology, MA and PhD qualifications at various institutions, namely, Unisa, UKZN and UniZUL, respectively. Rossano is currently the Deputy Director: Directorate for Counselling and Career Development at Unisa. His research spans areas such as disability; online counselling, supervision and mobile learning issues in higher education institutions (HEIs). Rossano is part of the team spearheading wellness initiatives at the institution and the realisation of an online and interactive portal for staff referrals, wellness messages, and so on.

Itumeleng Setlhodi is an associate professor at Unisa and is currently seconded to the Academic Quality Assurance portfolio. Her fields of specialisation include educational leadership, women and youth development, as well as ODL Itumeleng is currently a member of the Education Management Association of South Africa (EMASA) executive, serving as a head of research. She is working on establishing a Leadership and Management journal.

etro van der Merwe is an emeritus professor in the Department of Psychology at Unisa. She has published widely, presented research papers at various national and international conferences, and has facilitated and participated in numerous workshops and seminars on a variety of subjects.

Tonny Nelson Matjila is a Research Training and Development Officer in the School of Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Graduate Studies at Unisa. Tonny is an emerging researcher and has presented papers at several conferences on research ethics and student support in ODeL for vulnerable populations. He completed his PhD in psychology titled, “Evaluation of Student Support Services at an Open Distance and e-Learning University: Towards a Framework for Students Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing”.