Workshop on digital teaching methodology
On Monday 26 August 2024, The Centre for Africa-China Studies (CACS), in partnership with the Department of Philosophy at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), presented a joint workshop titled ‘Road Map towards a Global South Digital Teaching Methodology’. All welcome.
About the workshop
Given the reliance on Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT by students in the higher education sector, the possibility of LLMs shaping the thinking process of students with false information is real. This one-day workshop brings together experts in the field to discuss and engage with the implications of the continuous deployment of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Technology (especially LLMs) from the Global North to the Global South, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, for educational purposes. The aim is to unpack the implications of the application of these technologies in education, especially in teaching and learning in academic institutions of higher learning in South Africa
Facilitator
The workshop wasfacilitated by Edmund Ugar-Terem, a research at CACS, and a PhD candidate in Philosophy at the University of Johannesburg.
Presenters
Prof. Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem (University of Pretoria), Philosopher of Science and Tech, AI ethics policy advisor, machine ethics researcher and member of the UN Secretary General’s AI advisory board.
Title: ‘Changing students’ minds: Generative AI and the erosion of human cognition’
Dr Nicola Pallitt (Rhodes University), senior lecturer in the Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning (CHERTL)
Title: ‘GenAI – hype or hope for higher education in the Global South’
Dr Tanya de Villiers-Botha (Stellenbosch University), senior lecturer in Philosophy, Head of Unit for the Ethics of Technology in the Centre for Applied Ethics
Title: ‘Some reasons to be skeptical about deploying Large Language Models in higher education’
Kristy Claassen (University of Twente), PhD candidate
Title: ‘Large Language Models in Sub-Saharan Africa – A social postphenomenological perspective’
Dr Arnoo Louw (University of Johannesburg), Teaching and Learning Consultant (Instructional Design) to the Centre for Academic Technologies (CAT) at UJ
Title: ‘Harnessing AI for transformative education: principles for implementation, prompt engineering, and ethical integration of GPT-models in South African higher education’
