iSoTL Student Competition: Learning in the Digital Age

Overview

As digital technologies continue to transform the way we live, work, and learn, there is a growing need to explore how technology can be used to enhance learning experiences. The "Learning in the Digital Age" Student Challenge invites undergraduate and postgraduate students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) to share their experiences and innovative ideas on how technology can be used to enhance learning.

Focus Areas

Having engaged with the UKZN Learning Online Platform (ULOP), explain (a) whether it has assisted your personal learning and (b) how you believe the Platform can be improved for students?
If you were a lecturer, how would you make use of digital technologies to create engaging and interactive learning experiences for students in your module?
Have Tiktok, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook been used within your modules? How do you think these social media platforms can be used for learning and collaboration at UKZN?
Have you incorporated ChatGPT as a tool to enhance your academic learning experience? Please explain.

Important Dates

Call for Submissions

We invite undergraduate and postgraduate students at UKZN to submit their written pieces of no more than 1000 words for the “Learning in the Digital Age” Student Challenge. Submissions can be in the form of personal essays or opinion pieces. We encourage students to be creative and innovative in their submissions, and to explore how technology can be used to create engaging and effective learning experiences. AI generated responses will be disqualified.

Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of reviewers based on relevance to the theme, originality, creativity, clarity and coherence of ideas, as well as structure. The two top undergraduate and postgraduate submissions will be presented at the ISOTL Conference at UKZN.

This is a unique opportunity for undergraduate and postgraduate students at UKZN to showcase their ideas and insights on how technology can be leveraged to enhance learning outcomes in the digital age.

Eligibility

The challenge is open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students currently enrolled at the University of KwaZulu Natal in the 2023 academic year.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be in the form of a personal essay or opinion piece, and should not exceed 1000 words.
All submissions should be in Microsoft Word format.
Submissions must be original and will be checked for plagiarism.
Include your full name, student number, and program of study on the first page of your submission.
Deadline: Submissions must be received by 5pm on 30^th June 2023.

Evaluation Process

All submissions will be reviewed by a panel of reviewers based on relevance to the theme, originality and creativity, clarity and coherence of ideas, as well as structure.

Accepted submissions in each category will be notified by 1^st August 2023.

We hope these guidelines provide the necessary information for students to submit their work for the “Learning in the Digital Age” Student Challenge.