Empowering the first year university
student for success through personal
development and the use of technology
Anusha Govender
Dept of Information Technology
Email : [email protected]
1. Challenges in teaching and learning
2. Interventions in the Department of IT (ECP)
3. Personal Development
4. Use of Technology
5. Findings
6. Conclusion
1. Some of the challenges in teaching and learning
• Adjusting to university life
• Students do not have access to their own device
(laptop or tablet)
• Learning takes place in compartments/silos
Interventions in the Department of IT
Challenges
Adjusting to university life
Lack of resources (Laptop,
Tablet
Learning takes place in
compartments
Solutions
FYSE
Department provided a
device for each student
Make learning meaningful,
relevant, integrated tasks
4. Personal Development
Habit
Description
1. Be Proactive
You are the force for positive action in your life.
You have to look at yourself and change actions
that aren’t helpful
2. Begin with the end in mind
Decide what your goals are or your destiny will be
decided by others
3. Put first things first
You have to do what’s important before doing less
important things. Don’t procrastinate
4. Think Win-Win
There doesn’t have to be a loser in a relationship.
Aim to win for yourself while allowing others to
win for themselves
5. Seek first to understand
and then to be understood
You have 2 ears and 1 mouth. Learn to listen to
what others say before saying what you want
6. Synergize
You can go further and faster with the help of
others than you can go alone
7. Sharpen the saw
Your mind and your body are both you. You have
to take care of yourself physically to do your best
mentally
Overview of Skills Development 1A
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Academic literacy, Numeracy
2 Groups (30 students)
5 Hearing-impaired students
Research-based assignment
Reflective journal
Group work
4. Use of Technology
Internet (Google)
Microsoft Word and Excel
BlackBoard
• Safe Assign
• Rubrics
• Self-Test
• Journal for reflection
All IT Subjects in ECP – use Blackboard /Edmodo
extensively
5. Findings thus far
Student :
• Coping with University life – ability to manage stress
• Becoming responsible learners
• Maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle
• Ability to work in groups – personality clashes
• Increased level of confidence
• Improvement in writing skills – Reflective Journal
• Learning sign language
• Excitement for learning
Academic (Work-in-progress):
• Reflect on your practice and continuously improve
with confidence
6. Conclusion
“We all have the potential to be better than we are “
Dalai Lama
“When you change the way you look at things, the
things you look at change”
Dr. Wayne Dyer