Academic literacy MOOC

In 2016 the Language Development Group were selected and awarded funding to offer a gateway MOOC on academic literacy (in collaboration with CILT). The team have been hard at work designing the MOOC since the second semester of 2016 and have started 2017 in front of the cameras.The MOOC will run over four weeks and use the topical theme 'identity and mobility in an ever-changing world' to promote ways of reading and writing in academia.  The course will be directed specifically at students in their gap year, first year students, mature students resuming their studies - and the whole world! 

The MOOC goes hand in hand with broader transformation goals of widening access to higher education and social responsiveness.  It will enhance our understanding of how digital literacies can be recruited to promote academic literacies under the banner of access to disciplinary knowledge. 

Moreover, it is in line with the UCT MOOC strategy goals.  A snapshot of our teaching and content will become available free of charge worldwide, especially in the present context of globalisation and cross-border migration.  With its focus on the transitory nature of identity construction and migration, the materials will draw on local theorists, thus providing an African perspective on what has become a global phenomenon.  The theme of identity construction is also key for access at university for various reasons.  One is that it is important for students to understand that in an academic environment, one is exposed to a plethora of ideas that can offer the individual conflicting positions to speak or write from.  Therefore, it is important to create a space where students can interrogate these different positions and find a voice that is conducive to opening up and encouraging academic debates.

We will keep you posted with further developments on this front.