Academic Voices

Professor Upasana Singh is the Academic Leader and Associate Professor in Information Systems and Technology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the Victorian Institute of Technology, Australia. With a Ph.D. from the University of South Africa and over 15 years of teaching experience, she specializes in IT-related subjects and Educational Technologies. Professor Singh has an extensive publication record, including books, journal articles, and conference papers, contributing significantly to digital teaching, learning, and assessment. As Chair of the digiTAL2K conference, she promotes global collaboration in educational technologies. Her research, particularly during the pandemic, has been instrumental in guiding online learning transitions, with a focus on quality assurance and gender-specific models. She has received numerous accolades for her leadership and contributions to digital education, including the Distinguished Teachers Award and recognition from ASCILITE’s Women in Academic Leadership initiative Professor Sid Nair is currently Executive Dean and Dean Learning, Teaching and Student Experience at the Victorian Institute of Technology (VIT), Australia where he is responsible for the learning, teaching, student experience and quality matters of the Institution.Previous to this appointment at VIT, Sid was the Executive Director of the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), Mauritius, the apex regulatory body where he was responsible for the formulation and execution of strategies, policies and procedures in the higher education sector in Mauritius.Prior to joining TEC, he was Professor of Higher Education Development at the Centre for Education Futures (CEF), University of Western Australia His role was to build the capacity of academics in the digital delivery of their teaching. His career path also had him as Interim Director and Quality Advisor (Evaluations and Research) at the Centre for Higher Education Quality (CHEQ) at Monash University, Australia where he headed the evaluation unit at Monash University. In this capacity he restructured the evaluation framework at the university. The approach to evaluations at Monash has been noted in the first round of the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) audits and is part of the good practice database. His research work lies in the areas of quality in the higher education system, classroom and school environments, and the implementation of improvements from stakeholder feedback. He has extensive lecturing experience in the applied sciences in Canada, Singapore and Australia. He is an international consultant in quality and evaluations in higher education. Dr. Craig Blewett is an Associate Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; an internationally acclaimed speaker and the developer of the ACT approach to teaching with technology. He has numerous books, papers, and other publications on a range of technology-related topics during his over 20-year academic career. Dr Timothy Shea is an Associate Professor of Decision and Information Sciences at the Charlton College of Business, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He is a long-time, enthusiastic proponent of distance learning and teaching with technology, with 25 publications in peer-reviewed journals, and 70 international conferences and service activities.

• 1. Virtual exchange: Expanding access to global learning2. A framework for distanced e-learning  in  digitally  constrained communities using WhatsApp 3. Lightboard streaming technology for teaching and learning: Responding to student wellbeing and enhancing onlinelearning 4. Mobilising screencast technology and ipsative design to transform feedback practices 5. Instructional approaches to increase students’ engagement in the new normal learning setting 6. Gamification as an engagement, learning and interaction strategy for distance education in Mozambique 7. Upping our game—Increasing online engagement through gamified e-learning 8. Participatory learning culture: From spectators to creators in online learning environments 9. Online STEM teaching of practical chemistry: Challenges and possibilities 10. Pandemic-proof teaching: Blended learning infrastructure to support pivot to online/hybrid pedagogy 11. Online teaching and learning of Hindustani classical vocal music: Resistance, challenges, and opportunities 12. Assessment in higher education during troubled times: The case of a South African arts module 13. COVID-19 and the move to online teaching in a developing country context: Why fundamental teaching and assessment principles still apply?14. Application of trauma-informed teaching and learning principles in a blended learning environment 15. Student-centred learning, collaborative learning, and a pedagogy of care in an online foreign language teacher education course 16. Comparative reflections on the transition to online delivery in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic 17. Skillsets and attributes for enhanced teaching–learning outcomes at higher educational institutions in disruptive times 18. COVID-19 consequences—Aligning learning outcomes with realigned teaching activities 19. Covid-19, community psychology and some thoughts on teachingand learning 20. HERDSA TATAL tales: Reflecting on academic growth as a Community for Practice 21. Rapidly orienting academic staff for emergency remote teaching: Responsive approaches for academic professional learning 22. Teaching adaptability in higher education institutions: A case study of a private Indian university 23. Faculty perspectives on Moodle migration during COVID-19: A view from the global South 24. Challenges and silver linings: Our reflections on delivering experiential learning online during Covid-1925. Disruptions and delays: Lecturers’ experiences of moving an information systems module online 26. Assessing the relationship between academic communities of practice and collegial learning: Case: Universit'e des Mascareignes  27. The use of eLearning by South African lecturers: Experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic28. Intersections of the mental, social, economic, and physical burdens of COVID-19 on women in academia 29. A metabletic investigation on the impact of living, learning, and leading university reform in the pandemic shadow 30. Towards authentic online assessment in higher education: Lessons learnt during the COVID-19 period 31. The voices of online students in the quality assurance process 32. Resit exams in Australian higher education: Lessons from a novel COVID-19 assessment trial 33. Prevalence of online cheating during the COVID-19 pandemic  34. The ‘futurist’ voice of academia 35. Unbound education: Curriculum no longer confined by time and space 36. Meet Lisa: The robot who stole your job 37. Doctoral supervision: Let us dream about thesis defence! 38. The relevance of digital transformation in Africa in the wake of COVID-19: An uBuntu prospective 39. Resurgence or retrofit? A chance to humanise student teachers in crisis-ravaged Chile