Orientation Programme

In response to the spread of the Covid‑19 pandemic, the President of South Africa declared a national lockdown that commenced on 27 March 2020. This posed numerous challenges to the higher education sector, one of which was the preparation of students forced to stay at home to be able to study remotely under unique and often unfavourable circumstances. This article outlines and reflects on the conceptualisation, development, and implementation of an online orientation programme aimed at preparing students to rapidly move to emergency remote learning as a result of a nationwide lockdown. Teaching and Learning Centre staff in the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at a South African university rapidly created a short online orientation programme in the institutional Learning Management System, using Salmon’s five-stage model as a conceptual framework. The objective was to enable students to acquire the skills and knowledge required for continuing with the university academic prog...

In response to the spread of the Covid‑19 pandemic, the President of South Africa declared a national lockdown that commenced on 27 March 2020. This posed numerous challenges to the higher education sector, one of which was the preparation of students forced to stay at home to be able to study remotely under unique and often unfavourable circumstances. This article outlines and reflects on the conceptualisation, development, and implementation of an online orientation programme aimed at preparing students to rapidly move to emergency remote learning as a result of a nationwide lockdown. Teaching and Learning Centre staff in the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at a South African university rapidly created a short online orientation programme in the institutional Learning Management System, using Salmon’s five-stage model as a conceptual framework. The objective was to enable students to acquire the skills and knowledge required for continuing with the university academic prog...

In response to the spread of the Covid‑19 pandemic, the President of South Africa declared a national lockdown that commenced on 27 March 2020. This posed numerous challenges to the higher education sector, one of which was the preparation of students forced to stay at home to be able to study remotely under unique and often unfavourable circumstances. This article outlines and reflects on the conceptualisation, development, and implementation of an online orientation programme aimed at preparing students to rapidly move to emergency remote learning as a result of a nationwide lockdown. Teaching and Learning Centre staff in the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at a South African university rapidly created a short online orientation programme in the institutional Learning Management System, using Salmon’s five-stage model as a conceptual framework. The objective was to enable students to acquire the skills and knowledge required for continuing with the university academic prog...

In response to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the President of South Africa declared a national lockdown that commenced on 27 March 2020. This posed numerous challenges to the higher education sector, one of which was the preparation of students forced to stay at home to be able to study remotely under unique and often unfavourable circumstances. This article outlines and reflects on the conceptualisation, development, and implementation of an online orientation programme aimed at preparing students to rapidly move to emergency remote learning as a result of a nationwide lockdown. Teaching and Learning Centre staff in the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at a South African university rapidly created a short online orientation programme in the institutional Learning Management System, using Salmon's five-stage model as a conceptual framework. The objective was to enable students to acquire the skills and knowledge required for continuing with the university academic programme from 20 April 2020 via emergency remote learning. The orientation programme covered the priority areas of how to get started in emergency remote learning, broad study skills, how to use the required technologies for learning, and managing personal well-being during social isolation and emergency remote learning. In this article, the conceptualisation and development of the orientation programme is analysed, before reflecting on its implementation, challenges, mitigating measures, and lessons learned. Feedback from students indicates that the majority of students felt more prepared for continuing the academic programme, although they still reported feeling anxious about the many uncertainties. The intervention emerges as a useful strategy for helping students transition during a crisis and contributes to the understanding of how to prepare students for rapid transition to Emergency Remote Learning.

Purpose: This paper aims to study the current status of the various Assistive Technology facilities available for the people with disabilities in National Capital Region Libraries, India. Design/methodology/approach: Survey methodology has been used as the basic research tool to collect the data with the help of questionnaire from various institutions/libraries serving the people with disabilities. Findings: The study depicts the lack of Assistive Technology facilities in National Capital Region libraries. The study concludes that there are negligible amount of Assistive Technology facilities for the deaf/hearing impaired and locomotor impaired users in the institutions/libraries. Research limitation: The total number of 15 libraries was selected for the study as there were many libraries that do not have the sufficient Assistive Technology facilities to serve the people with disabilities. Research implication: This study will prove useful for the LIS professionals and the research community to provide an insight into the current status of the Assistive Technologies available in National Capital Region Libraries, India. Originality/value: This paper identifies the current status of the Assistive Technology facilities available for the people with disabilities in National Capital Region Libraries as there is almost no literature and research available which is relevant to this area.

The purpose of this article is to study users' perspective regarding the importance of library orientation/training programmes for the people with disabilities in the leading academic and special National Capital Region (NCR) libraries of India. Survey methodology has been used as the basic research tool for data collection with the help of Likert-type questionnaires. The total 375 users surveyed in all the 15 libraries are selected randomly on the basis of willingness of the users to participate in the survey with the experience of working in digital environment. The survey results were tabulated and analyzed with descriptive statistics methods using Excel software and 'Stata version 11'. The help of 'Sign Language Interpreters' was taken to communicate with the deaf/hearing impaired users. The Library orientation/training programmes are found 'Essential' for the people with disabilities. Majority of users in all the libraries are not found aware of any orientation programme organized at their institution/library which depicts lack of 'User Awareness Programmes' in the National Capital Region Libraries. The people with disabilities are found aware of latest technologies and rely on training to utilize its benefits. This study is the first to explore the users' perspective regarding library orientation/training programmes for the people with disabilities in NCR libraries of India. The findings will assist the libraries to review their training policies to improve the service quality for the users.

Cases of student’s unrest are on the rise despite the spirited effort by the education stakeholders to curtail them. They have recently taken a violent dimension, leading damage of property and even loss of life during fires in school. This is an indicator of a relationship gone sour right from orientation, where the learners neither connect nor associate themselves with the school community, facilities and the programmes offered. The researchers used critical analysis research methodology to critically analyse the impact of secondary schools orientation programmes dynamics on the student’s school connectedness in secondary schools in Kenya. Using this method, the researchers assessed the various orientation programmes dynamics and how they impact on the students’ school connectedness against the backdrop of the induction programmes currently undertaken in secondary schools. The study found out that the orientation programmes offered in secondary schools exclude key stake holders, facilities and educational programmes. They also lack support mechanisms to sustain the momentum of the orientation week. Further, they run in the same way over time and hardly involve any feedback or evaluation processes. The study concluded that secondary schools recognise the importance and carry out a form of orientation for new students. These induction programmes achieve the intended short term goals but lack sustainability. Among the recommendations made is that school administrations should have orientation programmes which include parents and school community, allow feedback and equate the process. The ministry of education should also do budgetary allocations that would cater for orientation programmes and capacity building in schools. This would facilitate funding of more comprehensive and sustainable orientation programmes, which would in turn raise the level of school connectedness.