My sell by date

The shelf life of an education resource (and the developer team) can be quite limited. As technology advances and digital fashions change every season, the primary decision facing the owner of an educational website often is “When must I bin my site“. I think an open course should rather be asking, “Who is the best person/partner to help you keep up with technology and the social web?” Some may think that digital transformation is driven by tech. Its not. Its ed techies who keep education resources alive and teachers who make the difference.

Here are 10 points to ask of your website and partner

1) How “findable” are you on the World Wide Web?

Go to a search engine and type in your organization’s name. Do you come up with the results? An you connect with some of the people who are mentioned on the site.

2) How “compliant” is your site?

Web standards are the infrastructural building blocks for the digital world. There are standards we take for granted in the physical world. And there are also standards that make it easier to find and share information on the web. Validation can help.

3) How responsive is your design?

Your web page will be viewed on different screens. Perhaps you might look at your pages at different page widths. A well-designed site will adjust according to the browser. A badly designed site will ask you to change the browser to look at it.

4) How intuitive is your navigation?

You will not be able to orientate people to your site. They will need to find their own way around. A consistent and clear navigation scheme, common conventions (clickable logo, breadcrumbs)  and clear signage can assist.

5) Do you have Terms and Conditions?

Many people are going to want to do things with your site content. Spell out clearly what they can do. The web is also social and if you choose to collaborate with others. Make the ground rules very clear for the community. Right from the start.

6) Are you giving to others?

It’s easy on the web to take other people’s hard work for granted. Sometimes we copy and paste ideas, or link to other sites without saying thanks.

7) How personable are you?

Every word and piece of code represents a system of thinking. Some choose to hide their digital identity (and have a good reason) and only share words and code. Others find safe spaces to make themselves known to others. They use images and language to connect and be personable.

8) Do you have a mentor or are you mentoring anyone?

Sometimes it’s better to model a good practice than to tell others what is better. Being a better model requires that you also find a model or a mentor.

9) Is there an archive your work?

Who is going to appreciate all your hard work, ten years later?

10) Solipsism and Narcissism happens

Watch out for imaginary friends. Get real ones.

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The following educational resources (affectionately known as MOOCs) are no longer available. Pity

1. Results-Based Project Management: Monitoring and Evaluation (Internet Archive – launched 5 Oct 2016)
2. Research Methods: An Engineering Approach (Internet Archive – 7 Sept 2016)
3. Introduction to Stewart’s Model of Physiological Acid-Base Chemistry (Internet Archive -)
4. System Dynamics for Health Sciences (Internet Archive – 3 August 2016)
5. Mining for Development: The Taxation Linkage (Wits News July 2020)
6. Theory of Change for Development (YouTube)
7. Media Freedom and Freedom of Expression in Africa (2018 Wits News)
8. Forced and Precarious Labor in the Global Economy: Slavery by Another Name? (Live EdX)
9. Digital Transformation and the IT Team (2018)
10. Postgraduate Academic Literacy for Management and Business Students (Wits News Feb 2019)
11. Academic writing for clarity and meaning (Internet Archive -)
12. What do Architects and Urban Planners do? (2020)
13. Civil Society and African Media Policy in the Digital Age (YouTube)
14. Activism and Citizen Journalism through Media (Sept 2018)
15. Civil society and African media policy in the digital age (Sept 2018)
16. Decolonizing Evaluation (Nov 2020)

But this “MOOC” is still around. Not on EdX but on FutureLearn

• Global Urban Theory Lab: Extended and Displaced Urbanisation .