Polokwane's connected campus gives you the edge
All around us, people are learning with the help of new technologies. Children rely on the World Wide Web for research and to play games which require them to think strategically. Students are pursuing courses through online high schools and colleges, while some adults rely on technology to carry out their daily tasks.
New technologies have created learning opportunities that challenge traditional schools and colleges. Rosebank College has taken it upon itself to respond to the major changes currently occurring in the world of education.
With over 12 000 students studying full-time, part-time, at a distance or through its support session programmes, Rosebank College, an educational brand of The Independent Institute of Education (The IIE), will be expanding into the Limpopo province to open its first digitally-enabled connected campus in Polokwane.
The digitally-enabled campus offers a carefully planned blend of both classroom instruction and online learning activities.
"The modules of the qualifications are presented on the RCLearn system, so that students can engage with real life examples, case studies and collaborative activities, while they master the content and how it is applied in the world of work. Sessions with lecturers help to deepen that learning and ensure that all students fully grasp what they need to know," says IIE Director Dr Felicity Coughlan.
What makes this method of teaching and learning unique is the fact that lecturers or tutors can be in the classroom at the campus, or they can be tutoring from any other location using the online tools within the learning management system, which includes online classrooms with video and other interactive abilities.
"This new method of teaching and learning will promote the practice of all your 21st century skills, such as problem-solving, collaboration and working with information which will ultimately prepare our graduates for the world of work in the 21st century," says Coughlan.
"The Rosebank College Polokwane campus will be set up to make the most of the Rosebank College learning management system RCLearn, and will also allow students to fully engage with the digital learning experience, which will give them the same high quality education offered at all Rosebank College campuses - but with added focus on the digital environment," adds Coughlan.
These new learning niches enable people of all ages to pursue learning on their own terms. People around the world are taking their education out of school into homes, libraries, Internet cafes, and workplaces, where they can decide what they want to learn, when they want to learn, and how they want to learn.
Rosebank College truly believes this will give its learners the edge, allowing students to get firsthand experience of using specialised technological support to put them ahead of their counterparts.