Eduvos Presents at the Fully Online Digital Education Symposium.

Post by Eduvos, November 10, 2023.

Our National Interim eLearning Designer Lead, Denise Wilson recently presented at this year's Fully Online Digital Education Symposium (FODES) hosted by the University of Pretoria. She discussed how Eduvos is embracing AR/VR immersive experiences, a spotlight on digital transformation in Higher Education.  

Can you share more on presenting at FODES and its importance for Eduvos? 
The Fully Online Distance Education Symposium draws academics, learning designers and learning specialists who design, develop and facilitate digital learning. The theme of this year's symposium was “Leveraging Technology for Innovative e-Learning”.  For Eduvos to be represented at this symposium meant an opportunity to knowledge share and showcase how we are incorporating technology and specifically Extended Reality (XR) immersive experiences to enhance learning. Networking opportunities with experts from reputable institutions are important to establish future collaborations. 

How was the presentation met by all in attendance? 
Feedback from the audience in attendance was positive, with insightful conversations around the accessibility and load capacity of the tool. Eduvos has a national footprint across 12 campuses, and an online campus, with multiple students from different qualifications accessing these experiences simultaneously. Features of the EON-XR tool allow for licenses to be circulated between students, and the method by which these experiences are loaded into our Learning Management System enhances accessibility. There are two levels of immersion, where students are exposed to the experiences in lecturer-led sessions or by direct access on their own personal devices or in a computer laboratory on one of our campuses.  

Why is it important to embrace new technologies in education? 
The academics, content developers and learning designers at Eduvos are driven by the values of relevance and accountability to learn and grow. In terms of new technologies in education, this means that we are exposing our students to relevant tools and technologies, challenging our staff, and thereby shaping our students to become digitally literate, global citizens who can contribute meaningfully to the development of their communities. 

How does this set Eduvos apart from other higher education institutions? 
Our staff are adaptive, innovative, student-focused, and committed to offering the best education and service to our students. This commitment means that we embrace change and cultivate a growth mindset in ourselves and our students, which instils a sense of agency.          

How has the integration of EON-XR technology into our qualifications benefitted our students? 
Eduvos is the first Higher Education institution in South Africa that has implemented this technology across all of its qualifications. This type of technology has and will make practical immersive learning opportunities more available to our learners, allowing us to expand our footprint into Africa, and give more students the opportunity to realise their potential to impact their communities. These technologies free up learners, allowing learning to take place outside of traditional practical facilities or computer laboratories on campuses, which is especially useful in the context of South Africa, a third-world country, with a first-world mindset. 

You can watch Denise’s presentation here. It’s such an amazing opportunity for Eduvos to participate at FODES. It shows our commitment to embracing new technologies in education and really demonstrates our dedication to providing innovative and accessible learning experiences to our students, while setting us apart as a forward-thinking higher education institution in South Africa.    

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