Dear Colleagues, 

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the shift from contact-based classroom to online teaching. Academics are required to upskill themselves to a new skillset and capabilities for successful online teaching and learning.

You are invited to participate in a survey, aimed at measuring the extent to which you possess the skills required to succeed in an online environment. The researcher hopes to validate the ASSET framework, which she developed earlier in 2020, into an automated tool, through your feedback.

Please access the survey at this link https://forms.gle/1T7g94Jhp9C6Nikb8 

Ethical approval, as attached, for this study has been granted at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa as per Protocol Reference Number: HSSREC/00002193/2020 with Dr Upasana G Singh as the Principal Investigator.

Research office contact details: Marietta Snyman/Duduzile Dlamini HSSREC (031-260 8350/ 3587/ 4557)

The survey should only take 15 minutes to complete.

Your participation is completely voluntary and your identity, as well as that of your Institution, will be confidential. Gatekeeper consent is also attached.

The survey contains matrices, which display better on a full size screen, so it is suggested you complete it on a desktop screen rather than on a mobile device.

I look forward to your response by 18th January 2020.

Please do not hesitate to contact me at singhup@ukzn.ac.za if you require any further information about this project.

Stay safe and Happy Holidays.

Dr Upasana Singh