A warm welcome to Searchlight 2018 for all our new participants and also to those of you who are returning and were part of the 2017 cohort.
We will be running 2 Searchlight groups in 2018. Group 1 consists of those staff who have been trained through the Searchlight programme previously and will provide the space for you to work on your articles (Remember at the writing retreat you all promised that your articles will be ready in June!!)
Group 2 is for new Searchlighters – however, Group 1 members are welcome to attend any of the sessions if you feel that you need more training.
The Searchlight Research Programme is hosted by the Institute for Open and Distance Learning (IODL). The programme is tasked with the following:
- To improve teaching at Unisa as an ODL institution through reflexive research
by its academics
- Build research capacity
- Promote an increase in ODL research output
- Encourage academics to engage in multi-disciplinary research
In order to achieve the above, the IODL Searchlight programme is designed to provide practical and technical advice from established academic colleagues and offer support and mentorship. Many ODL scholars at Unisa have attended the Searchlight programme which was started in 2011 and a large percentage of ODL publications from Unisa have been authored by past Searchlight participants.
Monthly workshops and presentations on various topics by seasoned ODL scholars will be offered. The 1st two sessions will comprise roundtable discussions on the concepts of openness, distance learning, online learning, OER’s and blended learning as well as the academic field of distance education. Thereafter we will cover topics such as ODL theories, research questions, ethical clearance, ODL research methodologies, data analysis, academic writing and identifying journals for publication.
One of the areas of research that needs improvement is that of quantitative research, particularly data analysis. In line with the Open Education Resource (OER) movement, we will be piloting a new approach in order to address this need. For those participants who require further knowledge of different research methodologies and data analysis techniques, we will be offering “Mediated MOOCs”. Relevant Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) from recognised MOOC platforms have been identified and all participants will be invited to register for these MOOCs. Usually, a MOOC is offered fully online, but the idea behind the “Mediated MOOC” is that we will work through the lessons and quizzes together (although individual accountability will prevail, in line with cooperative learning principles). At the end of the MOOC, we envisage that all participants will write the final exam online and each participant will receive their own certificate. Members of the Searchlight team will be available to assist participants with their MOOC. There will be a MOOC workshop every month where participants are welcome to attend if they need assistance. The Searchlight team will “teach” content of the MOOC and provide support to the participants. This will be done through the face-to-face sessions mentioned above as well as an online support system. We will be working through two MOOCs this year, both from Class Central and hosted by San Jose University. The first MOOC is on descriptive statistics and the second one is on inferential statistics. We will encourage all participants to write the final exams and receive their certification.
Unisa will be hosting a combined NADEOSA/DEASA ODL conference in October 2018 and we will encourage all Searchlight participants to present a paper at this important conference. You will note that we have included in the timetable, a mini-symposium, to assist in preparing staff for their conference presentation.
We will also be holding a Research Cafe where all staff members who are interested in ODL research, as well as ODL students, are encouraged to discuss their research.
The Searchlight 2018 calendar
The two Searchlight groups (Group 1 and Group 2) will be held regularly. Group 1 will be a full day writing workshop while Group 2 will run from 9h00 until 12h00. The “Mediated Moocs” facilitation and assistance will take place after the Group 2 workshop for 2 hours from 13h00 until 15h00. Members of Group 1 will be able to attend the Group 2 workshops if they feel that they need additional assistance. The venue for all the workshops will be:
3rd Floor
Robert Sobukwe Building
263 Nana Sita Street, Pretoria
The timetable for 2018 is as follows:
| Date/time | Time | Group |
| 13 March | 09h00 – 15h00 | Group 1 |
| 14 March | 09h00 = 12h00
13h00 – 15h00 |
Group 2
Mediated Mooc assistance |
| 10 April | 09h00 – 15h00 | Group 1 |
| 11 April | 09h00 = 12h00
13h00-15h00 |
Group 2
Mediated Mooc facilitation |
| 9 May | 09h00 – 15h00 | Group 1 |
| 10 May | 09h00 = 12h00
13h00 – 15h00 |
Group 2
Mediated Mooc facilitation |
| 16 May | 9hoo-12h00 | Research Cafe |
| 27 June | 09h00 – 15h00 | Group 1 |
| 28 June | 09h00 = 12h00
13h00-15h00 |
Group 2
Mediated Mooc facilitation and exam preparation |
| 8 August | 09h00 – 15h00 | Group 1 |
| 9 August | 09h00 = 12h00 | Group 2 |
| 18/19September
Research Cafe |
09h00 – 15h00 | Group 1 and Group 2 mini-symposium for NADEOSA conference preparation |
| 21 – 23 November | 09h00 – 17h00 | Group 1
Group 2 Writing retreat |
The 1st session for Group 1 is on 13 March from 9h00 – 15h00. Group 2 will start on 14 March from 9h00 – 12h00. The 1st “mediated MOOC” session will take place on 14 March from 13h00-15h00 and is open to members of both Group1 and Group 2.
Looking forward to seeing many familiar faces as well all the new Searchlighters next week.
Jenny and Santa
Searchlight 2018 