How to insert design into the emergency online response – learning designers’ reflections

Abstract

Like most other countries, South Africa experienced hard lockdown restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Higher education institutions across the country, including the University of Cape Town (UCT), were closed and teaching and learning moved online. In this chapter, we, two online learning designers at the Center for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT) at UCT, document our experiences rapidly developing a short online course: the “Design Studio” for teaching staff during this unplanned pivot to take their teaching online. Our roles as online learning designers positioned us as experts to provide our reflections and lessons learnt through our practice designing and teaching on the short course that may resonate with the curriculum and course development sector globally. In Design Studio, we made use of three of Meyers’ strategies for reimaging online spaces as opportunities for transformative learning for students by creating a safe environment, encouraging participants to think about their experiences, beliefs and biases, and adopting teaching strategies that promoted engagement and participation. Critical reflection and orientations to student-centred design, specifically, Universal Design for Learning underpinned design choices in order to both support participants and model good practice.