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end of March 2021. Students were given the option of telling the stories in their own language, or in English, together with a written script translated in English. This was done in support of World Literacy Day also held annually during March. Submitted stories were assessed by students (peer reviewed), followed by a final assessment by lecturers.
The first phase served as a pilot for the next phase of the project which was launched in April 2021. The launch was an online webinar with representatives from Brand South Africa, the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA), UJ colleagues and involved students. A team from UJ Marketing and Brand assisted with the video production of the three top stories of PR students. The unique stories included themes of hope, overcoming adversities and awareness of personal health challenges students experienced. Funding for the project was provided by the UJ Teaching Innovation Fund.
During the second phase of the project, PR students were briefed on a wider range of topics to also meet their learning outcomes across two modules. This involved local heroes within various community projects, businesses, formal social structures such as churches or micro influencers. Local heroes were identified by students who stayed in the area and observed the actions of these individuals in supporting local residents to cope with the effects of lockdown and the pandemic. Students were guided in their search for local heroes by lecturers and during group sessions discussed who they would like to involve. They had to provide motivations to lecturers and group members for their respective nominations.
The ALS students under the guidance of the Law Clinic attorneys were important in this phase to ensure that Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, Consumer Protection Act, Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act, Copyright Act and Designs Act were adhered to. The ALS students had to undertake extensive research and prepare opinions on the levels of protection offered to individuals against privacy infringements, on the right to privacy when processing and disseminating personal information of individuals used in the storytelling part of our project. The AIS students again assisted with the digital platforms for these stories. During this phase, the AIS students had their first pilot project completed by end of August 2021. After the pilot project, AIS students worked with the PR students to finalise the digital platforms and present the final product at their Annual Project day which was held in October 2021.
The final phase of this project was to include another AIS group that was working on a WIE website for the university. The aim of this group project was
to create a fully functioning website that would showcase what the University
of Johannesburg is doing to prepare their students for the work environment through their WIE. The website showcased additional projects from the School of Consumer Intelligence, which includes the departments of Applied Information Systems, Marketing and Information & Knowledge Management. In so doing
it also integrated the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Law from the interfaculty, multi-disciplinary storytelling group’s website. This final phase also integrated all 13 other projects before the virtual project presentation day that was also accessible virtually for industry representatives.
Innovative teaching and learning practices, especially during a disruptive period such as experienced in Covid-19, demand an alternative approach to developing capabilities in students. As experienced lecturers, we decided to use our shared
Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century | Showcasing UJ Teaching and Learning 2021
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