​A unique partnership between the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and Student Village is set to make video-based UJ tutorials available in indigenous South African languages. Students will be able to capacitate themselves in their mother tongue via the tutorials on Student Village’s online portal – www.UVillage.co.za.

The University’s in-depth, curriculum-based maths tutorials are based on real lecture sessions and are available in English, Sipedi and isiZulu.

According to Prof Betsie Jonck, HOD for the Department of Mathematics at UJ, the online learning environment complements student preparation for upcoming exams. “Students preparing for exams must practice good time management, self-discipline and continued revision to ensure a successful pass rate. The electronic learning environment is playing an increasingly important role in bridging the gap between lectures and self-study where many students do not have the resources to acquire textbooks but have access to the internet and online material, such as e-books and explanatory videos;” says Prof Jonck

The University’s school-to-university transition programme First Year Experience Programme (FYE) complements this innovative collaboration that also addresses the challenges faced by first time entering students, especially in the subjects of maths and science.

“I am impressed with the whole idea of sharing available resources, it is very relevant if we want to overcome the challenges that students face. At UJ our aim is to ensure that we are always looking for ways in which to increase access for students to learning material and our partnership with UVillage platform has presented us with the opportunity to do just this – where students reap the benefit from a step-by-step example, which could be revisited at the students’ leisure,” concludes Jonck.

(Adapted article from Gadget.co.za)​