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In the posthuman era, teaching and learning through technologies are becoming increasingly important, most especially in the university system. Connectivism, a theory of learning that emphasises the importance of connections between people and information, is one of the most influential educational philosophies driving today’s educational dynamism. In a posthuman world, where technology is constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated, connectivism is argued to provide a framework for understanding how students learn and how can technology be used to facilitate learning. This study argues that connectivism is one of the ways in which classroom stakeholders can be made to prepare for the posthuman era. The study is located within the transformative paradigm to enable the researcher to tailor the argument toward transforming the university classrooms towards developing a new way of thinking about society's present social boundaries by pursuing truth within a postmodern framework. In the same vein, conceptual analysis was adopted to make sense of the argument since it helps to interoperate and dismantle complex and ambiguous concepts toward meaning-making. The analysis begins by presenting connectivism and its potential assumptions. The assumptions were juxtaposed with the posthuman agenda by arguing the relationship between posthumanism and connectivism and lastly, how it prepares classroom stakeholders for building students’ capacity ahead of the emerging interaction between human (students) and non-human (technologies). The study concludes that connectivism viewpoint is one of the unavoidable philosophies of the future.

Nowadays, many classrooms are content-based and, therefore, disadvantage students from gaining lifelong skills that could support them in their future endeavours. This study proposed transformational teaching as a veritable strategy for effective classrooms where teaching and learning are taken beyond content delivery. This theory enables teachers/instructors/lecturers to promote expressive change that could lead to life-changing experiences among students. The study answers the following question: How can transformational teaching be presented as a stimulative teaching strategy for effective classrooms. The study is located within the transformative paradigm and designed with concept analysis, where the principles of transformational teaching are conceptualised and analysed using thematic analysis. The study was implemented by exploring the theory, its assumptions, and the connections between the theory and classroom activities. The study found that when effectively implemented in the classrooms, transformational teaching will enhance students’ lifelong learning experiences and contribute to a productive society. The study further recommends that teachers and students adopt transformational principles/strategies in curriculum facilitation (in the teaching and learning activities).

The study investigates the effects of e-learning as an alternative form of curriculum dissemination for rural Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college students. This study adopted connectivism theory, which enabled lecturers to reflect and adapt to how learning has changed and the accompanying implications of designing the spaces and structures to the current mode of learning. The researcher made use of two research methods to gather data; phone interviews and questionnaires. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20.0, Office Word format. The results indicated that the unavailability of technological resources, lack of financial support from single parents’ side due to socio-economic factors, and child-headed families hinder the correct implementation of e-learning and make it difficult to reach its objectives.

This special issue contains quality, well-researched, and well-argued articles towards inter/multi-disciplinary understanding of the current and future state, manner, and disposition of social, educational, environmental, humanitarian, and technological perspectives of COVID-19 pandemic. Readers, academics, practitioners and students are provided with robust knowledge on the state and status of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world from its advent in 2020, its present state and future projections. We thank all colleagues involved in the editorial and publishing process for their supports, assistance and exceptional guidance. We are bold to say that the quality involved in the publication process of RESSAT Journal is second to none. To all our authors, your quality products remain part of the historical contribution to knowledge on the COVID-19 pandemic.

The advent of COVID-19 and its implication on university education has been the bone of contention in recent times. The COVID-19 emergency has led to a change in knowledge inputs, processes, and outputs. This trajectory has demotivated student approaches to their learning. In response to this revolution, this study provides motivational strategies through students' perspectives to respond to the underside of new normal among South African university students. Ubuntu underpins the study within the Transformative Paradigm lens and Participatory Research as a research design. Ten students of a particular module in a selected university in South Africa were chosen to participate in the study. They were selected using the snowballing sampling technique because the participants were under level 3 lockdown with little or no access to campus at the time of the study. Online interview via phone calls, email and WhatsApp, was conducted with the students, and the data were analysed using Thematic Analysis. The study revealed a lack of visualised physical engagement between students and their lecturers and unstable internet access and lack of the internet as the major challenges. The study, therefore, recommends solutions that there should be adequate provision of effective online audio-visual sessions with enough space for student-lecturer’s interactions and low-tech online sessions and content deliveries.