Greetings from Khartoum

So, here I am in Khartoum AGAIN!
Tomorrow we will be doing a "Computers in Schools" conference.
The exciting thing about the conference this year is that we have so much to show that was done entirely in Sudan.
Abdurrhman and Ezzeldin arranged the conference, and the students will be the main speakers.
I will do a keynote and a summing up at the end.
It is amazing what we have achieved in the past few years!

What I want to achieve this year

So, these are not new year's resolutions.
They are simply a set of activities that I have to engage in this year to keep up to date with what is going on in the rest of the world.

1. Initiate the re-design of the FID Design Foundation Course. This needs to be done in order to prepare the faculty for the consolidation of the two graphic design departments on the Cape Town campus, while at the same time providing us a "foundation" for the new degrees and diplomas.
2. Develop the framework of the B.Design degree, and the B.Design (Hons) degree - so that we will be in line with the new HEQF.
3. Engage with the Faculty in a reflection on the first year courses of all the design disciplines, and PR. This will be done to find out what all the design disciplines have in common; to find out what makes each design discipline unique, to see what overlaps there are that we can exploit, and also to see what may be falling through the cracks all together. The information that we obtain this way will be very useful in helping us decide what the B.Design degree should look like, and also what the new diplomas in design should look like.
4. Help with the arrangements of an E-Learning Update in Gauteng. The one in Cape Town was highly successful, and we really should do it in Gauteng - even if it is just a nice way to hold a "Catts" re-union.
5. Help with raising R1000 000 for Westerford High School. The school with the best results in Maths and Science in the country really deserves an astra-turf hockey pitch!
6. Help with arranging various IT Update conferences in the Cape and in Gauteng. This will help update me on the goings-on in the field of IT, and it will help put CPUT on the map in the country.
7. Finish supervising my Sudanese Doctoral students, and hand over the Sudanese Masters in ICT for Education over to my Sudanese Doctoral Graduates.
8. Institute a group that studies Instructional Technology at Masters and Doctoral studies at CPUT.
9. Be a loving husband and a devoted father. (9 overrides 1 - 8)

Invitation: Coffee and Muffins with Stephen Hobbs

The Dean of the Faculty of Informatics and Design, Prof Johannes Cronje invites you to coffee and muffins with Stephen Hobbs at 80 Roeland Street, on Saturday Morning, 7 November, 2009 from 09:00 to 10:00.

Venue: "MARC" building on attached map, see picture for parking.

Stephen Hobbs is currently one of the directors of the "Trinity Session" and independent artist concentrating on art in urban spaces.
Stephen's exhibition "End of Cities" will open at the "Blank Gallery, Sir Lowry Road on Thursday Evening @ 18:00 Check out http://www.blankprojects.com/current.php

Stephen has agreed to talk to us about his work, and the creative process, particularly in terms of the research component of the creative process as it impacts upon his work.

This invitation is open to all who are interested in Design and the City of Cape Town. Admisison is FREE. PLEASE PASS IT ON TO YOUR FRIENDS

Please RSVP to Munira Allie alliem@cput.ac.za before 13:00 on Friday 6 November.

#7Oct09

We had such a productive day today!

We had a Faculty training day.  The theme was "Your career"

Thelo Wakefield explained the University performance management system and cleared up a number of concerns.

We discussed the new degree designators, and I was able to reflect upon my 2 and a half years, and give feedback to comments made by staff.

Chris Lombard taught us how to beg, and Chris Winberg told us about the category of teaching and learning in the performance management session.

Retha did a really nice speed dating exercise.

Finally Charles Gilbert, in his own inimitable way, cleared up some issues about BEE.

I REALLY enjoy spending a day with the Faculty!

Welcome to the Blogosphere

So, suddenly the blogging has taken off! And that just as I was considering giving up this blog in favour of Twitter (ha ha ha)
Ayesha Toyer tells me her students are all a blogging now. (And some of them are actually following me - NOGAL!). Ayesha is blogging at www.thescienceofcommunication.blogspot.com
All this at the same time as my wife, Franci's students have also started blogging about their "out of body experiences". They have been given an instruction to alter their physical appearance in some way, and live like that for two weeks, blogging about their experience. Check out some of their work at
http://michness-dollparts.blogspot.com/
http://brownpaperbagplease.blogspot.com/
http://shearinsane.blogspot.com/
http://seemybelly.blogspot.com/
http://pyjamarepublic.blogspot.com/
http://stepofftheassemblyline.blogspot.com/
http://masaidamu.wordpress.com/

So, welcome to the Blogosphere

Tribute to Dewald Roode

(...and he has been most handy with PhDs too! Photo by Bennett Alexander)

My long-time friend and one of my academic role models, Dewald Roode passed away this morning at 07:00.

In tribute to him I copy an email I sent to him after his second radiation treatment last year, as well as his reply.

Goodbye Dewald. You will be sorely missed. And, as you know, the table you fixed during one mentoring session is still holding up well.

29 Jul 2008

Beste Dewald

Die blomme is 'n plesier. Jou epos het my egter voorgespring, want ek

wou eintlik al gister of eergister vir jou 'n epos gestuur het.

Ek probeer altyd wanneer jy hier is 'n tydjie kry dat ons gesels - en

die twee brekvisse wat ons wel gehad het, was vir my persoonlik baie

goed om te h^e en ek waardeer dit.

Desnieteenstaande was dit vir my interessant dat ons by albei brekvisse

so duidelik RONDOM die sentrale issue gekuier het, en dit is dat jy baie

siek is, en dat jy desnieteenstaande nog steeds afkom om met die

studente te werk. Dit verstaan ek nogal. My eie pa het die Vrydag voor

sy dood op 73 nog 'n groot konsultasie in sy hospitaalbed gehad, omdat

hy nie sy laaste klient wou teleurstel nie.(Ok, dis sekerlik meer

kompleks as dit). Ek was daar om hom by te staan, en ons het almal

geweet een van die redes daarvoor, was dat ek die opvolgwerk sou moes

doen wat op die konsultasie volg.

Nietemin, dit is nie werklik ter sake waaroor ons op die brekvisse

praat of nie praat nie. Wat wel ter sake is, is dat ek een of ander tyd

vir jou moet vertel hoe baie ek jou insette in my lewe waardeer - oor 'n

tydperk wat nou al deur jare strek.

Jy weet dit nie, maar ons kontak is voorafgegaan deur Barry Vorster wat

my laat weet het dat "Oom Dewald" een van die skerpste, en mees

humanistiese mense op die kampus is.. ensovoorts. Eintlik kan ek nie sy

presiese woorde onthou nie, maar die positiewe vibe wat hy daargestel

het, was blywend.

Toe was ons werklike ontmoeting toe jy en Roelf van den Heever my

toegelaat het as 'n "adjunct-member" van die toe-nog-informele "Skool

vir IT. Die res onthou jy so goed soos ek.

Ek sal nooit vergeet hoe ons afgekom het op die feit dat ons dieselfde

voel oor die slottoneel van Amadeus waar Salieri homself verkodig as

"The king of mediocrity"

Dan was daar die hele pret met die stigting van die Skool vir IT en die

launch van die M.IT, en die werk wat ons saam gedoen het met die

navorsingsmetodologiekursus in die MIT.

Ek het destyds jou artikel oorgesit in HTML en dit op die MIT website

gesit by

http://hagar.up.ac.za/catts/mit/research/research.html

Dit bly nou nog 'n toonaangewende vertrekpunt in wanneer ek vir

studente 'n oorsig gee oor waar om te begin met hulle navorsing. Hoe om

te verseker dat hul navorsing "grammatikaal" sin maak.

Maar, die belangrikste vir my, is nie jou akademiese en kulturele

skerpheid nie - die belangrikste is jou humanity - die feit dat jy so

duidelik raaksien wat mense nodig het, en dat jy die vermoe"e het om

hulle daarheen te lei - hetsy as departementshoof, skoolvoorsitter,

studieleier, mentor of vriend.

Ek ding gedurig aan jou, en wens jou baie sterkte toe in hierdie swaar

tyd.

Dit is 'n voorreg om 'n deel van jou netwerk te mag wees!

Groete

Johannes

And his always-upbeat reply:

Beste Johannes

Ek sukkel al lank aan hierdie boodskap. Jy het sulke wonderlike mooi dinge

oor my gesê waarop ek geen antwoord het nie - net baie dankie. Ek waardeer

dit geweldig. Dit bly tog maar die rede waarom 'n akademikus 'n akademikus

is en bly: daardie enkele momente, wat jy op 'n hand of twee kan aftel,

wanneer jy in die oë van 'n student sien dat jy êrens in sy of haar binneste

iets aangeraak het. Seker, hoop 'n mens, is daar baie ander waar dit

ongesiens verbygegaan het, en dit gee verdere vertroosting vir 'n "lewe van

opoffering". Maar die momente waar dit sigbaar is, het so 'n impak dat dit

opmaak vir baie dinge. Wat jy nou oor my te gesê gehad het, tel onder

daardie momente, en ek sê nederig (regtig!) baie dankie daarvoor.

Die tydjie van rus wat ek vir myself ingeruim het, is besig om dividende af

te werp. Ek voel elke dag bietjie beter, en is seker dat ek binnekort weer

volstoom sal kan werk. Nou vat ek dit maar rustig en doen soveel ek kan op

'n dag - nie alles wat MOET gedoen word nie. Dis nogal 'n aanpassing, na 'n

lewe van totale miskenning van tydgrense en tydlimiete - daar is altyd nog

tyd!

Retha sê my dat dit hierdie week Quality Review tyd is. Ek kan glo dat dit

vir almal 'n stresvolle affêre moet wees, en baie sterkte daarmee.

Beste wense, ek hoop ons kan binnekort weer 'n brekfissie inruim. Hierdie

keer behoort jy darem nie te verdwaal nie!

Groetnis

Dewald

Elearning Update - Cape Town 3,4 September, 2009

So, having been sort of outside the mainstream of elearning in South Africa, I thought it would be useful to "Stir the Pot" a little again!

So, together with SSIR Schools Internet Resources, EpiUse learning, and a number of other friends, former colleagues and former students I am arranging an ELEARNING UPDATE in Cape Town.

The programme is coming on really nicely.

You can check it out at http://tinylink.com/?RJ557cAy9r