My name is Ashiya (pronounced Aysha) from South Africa. I am a lecturer at the University of South Africa in the Department of Communication Science. I completed both my degrees at Unisa and I am almost complete with my third degree. Hence, not only is my career path in the Distance Education arena, my education too has been shaped through distance education and online resource navigation. I also completed a short course in Web design online, which I enjoyed thoroughly despite the challenges associated with online learning. I made many "digital" friends, whom I still have not met in person yet - but continue to interact with "digitally". Indeed, technology provides great opportunities for interaction and learning.
My interest in doing this course is to upgrade my knowledge and skills in online and distance education. The collaboration with fellow students across geographical boundaries creates greater opportunities for sharing of knowledge, skills, and resources related to distance and online education. My expectations of this course runs along these lines too - I expect great interaction and sharing of knowledge in order to learn new skills and theory, as well being introduced to various online tools and resources that I can apply and utilize in my teaching and learning. Nonetheless, what I see as a great challenge in doing this course is completing all the tasks on time. I have to plan and manage my time carefully - although I worry about unforeseen events that might create challenges for me in relation to time-management.
Apart from working and studying, I love reading, gardening, cycling, travelling, and crafts. I have a bit of a creative flair that manifests in some of my work too - I would not be me without this creative aspect. Choosing a favorite vacation spot is a challenging task, as every place that I have visited has its own magic. However, if I had to choose from all the beautiful places that I have visited, Edinburgh, Scotland would have to be my favorite as it has many different charms that touch on all my interests.