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Joining a new institution is challenging; doing so eight weeks before the advent of a pandemic was extremely challenging. Two new online learning specialists, together with the support of their manager, in a faculty’s Teaching and Learning Centre at a South African university, reflect upon personal experiences that highlight the challenges and affordances of supporting professional learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The two online learning specialists had to establish personal relationships with each other, their manager and the broader institutional community, in addition to building networks with the academics they needed to support. The faculty team had to work with the central support unit, as well as with faculty teams in other faculties to support academics in their transition to remote teaching and learning. Adopting an ethic of care philosophy, the team conceptualised and implemented various professional learning interventions for academics, while they themselves grew accustomed to the faculty and institution. In a short space of time, many academics in the faculty and institution looked at the team for advice, guidance and reassurance. Fortuitously, the period enabled the team to form/join support networks and communities of practice, both within the faculty and the institution. These experiences laid the foundation for a faculty support strategy for the future, and the design of short courses to further support the professional learning of academics and their capacity to develop and implement pedagogically sound blended and online offerings., {"references":["Gewin, V. 2021. Pandemic burnout is rampant in academia. Nature, 591: 489-492.","Gibbs, G. 1988. Learning by Doing: A Guide to Teaching and Learning Methods. London: Further Education Unit.","Hodges, C. B., Moore, S., Lockee, B. B., Trust, T. and Bond, M. A. 2020. 'The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning.' Educause Review. Available: https://er.educause.edu/articles/ 2020/3/the-di􀀹erence-between-emergency-remote-teaching-andonline- learning.","Mihai, A. 2021. 'A year later....' The Educationalist. Available: https:// educationalist.substack.com/p/a-year-later?s=r.","Noddings, N. 1988. 'An ethic of caring and its implications for instructional arrangements.' American Journal of Education, 96(2): 215- 230.","Noddings, N. 2012. The caring relation in teaching. Oxford Review of Education, 38(6): 771-781.","Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D. and Jasper, M. 2001. Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user's guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.","Tronto, J. C. 2005. 'An ethic of care.' In: A.E. Cudd, A.E. & R.O. Andreasen. eds. Feminist theory: A philosophical anthology. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 251-263."]}

This chapter from 'Learning Design Voices' examines the theoretical frameworks and models that underpin the design and facilitation of an academic professional learning short course at a research-intensive public university in South Africa. These principles for learning design and facilitation can be applied in a variety of learning contexts to promote community and collaboration. The “Facilitating Online” short course is facilitated through the adoption of an “ethic of care” perspective that promotes modelling, dialogue and the adoption of a critical digital pedagogy stance. The design and facilitation of the course is underpinned by the Community of Inquiry framework for online and blended learning that talks to the importance of three pronounced presences: teacher, social and cognitive. In our view, learning is a social phenomenon that manifests through collaboration between facilitators and participants. We focused on the establishment of a digital community to create safe spaces for learning to occur. Throughout the course, the need for active and responsive facilitation is emphasised. This is modelled for participants to encourage adoption within their own courses and for their own students. The chapter contributes a view of how frameworks and models can be used to inform the learning design and facilitation of courses that emphasise the importance of community and collaboration within a local institutional context.

El propòsit d'aquesta tesi doctoral és entendre els hàbits i comportaments d'aprenentatge dels estudiants que utilitzen diferents dispositius per a aprendre amb la finalitat de determinar com duen a terme les activitats d'aprenentatge utilitzant les diferents tecnologies de què disposen en els diferents llocs on es mouen, a més de diagnosticar els diferents tipus de suport que requereixen durant l'aprenentatge. La recerca utilitza com a mostra d'estudi dues universitats d'aprenentatge obert i a distància (AOD): una situada a Espanya i una altra situada a Sud-àfrica. Els resultats demostren que els estudiants són capaços de continuar l'aprenentatge en múltiples contextos i ubicacions fent servir múltiples dispositius (tecnologies mòbils i personals) i internet. En aquest sentit, l'aprenentatge és ininterromput. Així, doncs, les universitats d'AOD necessiten redefinir el seu disseny d'aprenentatge i els serveis de suport a l'estudiant durant l'aprenentatge., El propósito de esta tesis doctoral es entender los hábitos y comportamientos de aprendizaje de los estudiantes que utilizan diferentes dispositivos para aprender con el fin de determinar cómo llevan a cabo las actividades de aprendizaje utilizando las diferentes tecnologías de las que disponen en los distintos lugares donde se mueven, además de diagnosticar los diferentes tipos de apoyo que requieren durante el aprendizaje. La investigación utiliza como muestra de estudio dos universidades de aprendizaje abierto y a distancia (AAD): una situada en España y otra situada en Sudáfrica. Los resultados demuestran que los estudiantes son capaces de continuar el aprendizaje en múltiples contextos y ubicaciones usando para ello múltiples dispositivos (tecnologías móviles y personales) e internet. En este sentido, el aprendizaje es ininterrumpido. Así, pues, las universidades de AAD necesitan redefinir su diseño de aprendizaje y los servicios de apoyo al estudiante durante el aprendizaje., The objective of this doctoral thesis is to understand the learning habits and behaviours of students using different devices in their learning in order to determine how they move between technologies, locations and learning activities, and the types of support they require. A mixed methods case study was conducted at two open and distance learning (ODL) universities, one in Spain and one in South Africa. Students are able to continue their learning experiences across different contexts and settings with the aid of mobile and personal technologies, together with internet services. This fulfils the aim of seamless learning. The results of the study will enable universities to design better learning experiences or offer improved support services to better meet the needs of students using multiple devices.