Inside “Learning Designers in Context”: Chapter 12

Kaya in Higher Education

Abstract:

Kaya, a learning design professional in South Africa, works as an instructional design intern at the University of Johannesburg. Formerly a secondary school teacher of life orientation and English, she transitioned to learning design after pursuing a bachelor’s and master’s degree in ICT in education at the same university. Kaya’s passion for computer-based learning drove her career shift.

I decided to do a short course because I realized I need practical experience with regard to instructional design. I needed to have hands-on experience. I registered with the University of Pretoria, because it seemed to be the only university that offered a short course on international design, based on my research. It is further away from where I stay. I would have to drive for an hour to get there, but it was an online course. Fortunately, for me, I would go to work and then after hours I would engage with everything that my classmates were posting online and engage with the activities. I felt it was empowering for me, because it actually exposed me to other tools that I never thought I could use as a teacher. Also, as someone who wants to design learning material for online learning I really enjoyed the course. It was an 8 week course. After completing this course, I decided that I should just resign from my workplace and fully focus on looking for instructional design opportunities.I was looking for an instructional design internship opportunity. I got called to work as an instructional design intern at University of Johannesburg. I actually told them [hiring managers] that I did this course at University of Pretoria, and they liked that. I think it put me at an advantage! That’s how I got the position that I’m in now.

Key takeaways from this interview highlight essential competencies for South African higher education learning designers, including online solution development, collaboration with lecturers and team members, and creativity to adapt content for diverse audiences. Kaya emphasizes translating K-12 teaching experience into learning design practice and notes the importance of proficiency in African languages to engage effectively with course materials in multilingual contexts.

But now, I have to be able to convince people on what works or what cannot work. At the same time, I have to be creative to say, if we can’t do it like this way, we [can] do it in this other way. So, I believe now I have to be more creative. Because I want to present ideas and suggestions that are going to be interesting to people, that are going to wow them. At the same time, I do not want to forget that this is a professional course that I am working on. I am supposed to be professional, I can’t suggest options or develop content in a way that will suit younger children or that will suit secondary students when that is not my audience. As learning designers, you have to ask yourself: What is it that I need to do? The work should be professional, because at the same time, it will represent you as an individual and it will also be representing the institution.

Romero-Hall, E. (2025). Learning Designers in Context: Examining Practices Across the Global South. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003270591

Photo Credit: The Happy Challenge – Nelson Mandela Square, Gauteng

Inside “Learning Designers in Context”: Chapter 7

Kito in the Financial Sector

Abstract:

Kito, a learning design professional from Tanzania, earned a degree in ICT with an emphasis on instructional design in 2016. After interning at Tanzania’s largest bank in Dar es Salaam, he transitioned to a full-time role focused on e-learning and in-person training. His responsibilities include needs assessment, program development, training implementation, and calculating return on investment.

The bank regularly has to introduce new products and that knowledge needs to get distributed across the entire staff network in Tanzania. The bank has almost 600 branches. It is costly to collect knowledge, from subject matter experts, from the same area [across branches] for learning purposes. So, if a need arises, then the owner of the product [subject area] sits with the learning and development team, and in particular myself, to work on an e-learning product. Then, we go through the content to create a course curriculum, we agree on the timelines, and all the resources.

Key takeaways from this interview emphasize collaboration with subject matter experts (SMEs) to create effective learning products, strong project management skills for large-scale e-learning solutions, and proficiency in mobile learning design. Challenges include navigating cultural resistance to online education and addressing language barriers by integrating Swahili and English.

Yes, we have a younger generation who have no problem with using technology. We have learners who have been with the company since it was established at medium age and those who are about to retire. These last two age categories have a bit more challenges with the technology and we have even moved the training to a mobile app, to make it easier to access and encourage them to complete the training. Part of the struggle is that we all have different digital literacy, different backgrounds, and our national language is not English is Swahili. For language in particular, depending on the type of background, the learners may have more proficiency with other languages. Sometimes we mix the language of the instruction. We use English and, for some complex explanations, we use the native language for each and everyone to understand. That has motivated them a little bit to complete the online training.

Romero-Hall, E. (2025). Learning Designers in Context: Examining Practices Across the Global South. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003270591

Photo by Moses Londo on Unsplash

Photo Blog: IFDS in Tunisia

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit the beautiful country of Tunisia in June as part a faculty member participating in the international faculty professional development (IFDS) seminar titled: “The New Tunisia: Migration and Democratic Consolidation” organized by SIT abroad. My participation in the seminar was sponsored by an IFDS grant awarded to faculty members at The University of Tampa by the Office of International Programs and the International Programs Committee. I was honored to received this grant. Participation in this seminar gave me the opportunity to learn more about topics related migration in the African continent, specifically the Maghreb region. Several of our meetings with experts and NGOs focused on conversations that allow use to learn more about the social, political, and economic effects of migration in the Maghreb region, sub-Saharan Africa, and European countries. I plan to write more about the seminar in the near future; however, for now I want to share some of the photos taken during the seminar.

One of the many reasons I am sharing this photo blog is that in the months prior to my departure to Tunisia, I mentioned to a few colleagues, friends, and family members the destination of my IFDS. I was amazed by the number of people who do not know where Tunisia is located or that it even a country. So, I feel that it is important to let others see (even if just through the lens of my camera) a bit of Tunisia.