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Leading OER expert to address ODeL conference

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Leading advocate of technology, open education resources (OER) fundi, and Founding Director of the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE), Jenny Glennie, will share her insights at the highly anticipated 2023 Unisa ODeL conference.

Founding Director of the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE), Jenny Glennie

Glennie has committed most of her working life to investigating and promoting distance education, and, more recently, technology and OER, to create meaningful educational opportunities for poor and marginalised groups.

The emergence of OER was an important development for Glennie, with SAIDE embracing the concept at an early stage as further ammunition in its quest to extend access to quality education.

SAIDE’s recent pioneering African Storybook Initiative embodies Glennie’s commitment: using the concept of OER and a technology platform, it provides children in a score of African countries and 104 languages with contextually and culturally appropriate stories to read, setting them on a path to a life of reading and learning.

The Commonwealth of Learning has conferred the title of honorary fellow on Glennie for her contribution to distance education, and the University of Pretoria has awarded her the Chancellor’s medal for her contribution to education in South Africa. 


About the conference 

Taking place from 15 to 17 August 2023 at Emperors Palace near OR Tambo International Airport in Gauteng, the conference explores the theme "ODeL in the Global South: Opportunities in times of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA)". Pre-conference workshops take place on 14 August 2023.

Besides keynote addresses from four internationally renowned ODeL specialists, noteworthy panel discussions by ODeL experts include:

  • Education and the Metaverse: Chat GPT in higher education – opportunities and challenges for assessment
  • Addressing digital access inclusion and exclusion: datafication of teaching, learning and student support in online environments
  • Staff wellness in ODeL in times of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA)

Of further interest are nine preconference workshops and over 75 paper presentations to spark the attention of academics in ODeL.

For all the conference information, please visit www.unisa.ac.za/odel2023

Read also: Mauritian Higher Education Commissioner to address Unisa ODeL Conference

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* Compiled by Virginia McManus, Manager: PR and Communication, Directorate Research Support

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Publish date: 2023-07-27 00:00:00.0

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