As SA wades into the second month of a protracted national lockdown, higher education, science and innovation minister Blade Nzimande on Saturday announced plans to reopen the country’s universities. Library Training during Covid-19 lockdown In light of the current lockdown due to the COVID 19 crisis, the Unisa Library is currently closed. The Spinoff Daily gets you all the day's best reading in one handy package, fresh to your inbox Monday-Friday at 5pm. Even if you’re not currently a library member, send your local library an email and they should be able to set you up online. “We allowed for the controlled return of final year students in programmes requiring clinical training, starting with medicine (MBChB) and the phasing-in of all other programmes, such as nursing, dental, veterinary sciences, and so on.”. Inclusion in this LibGuide does not imply University or Library endorsement of the ideas expressed. Sign up to The Bulletin:   The Spinoff’s 7am daily email covering only NZ’s most important stories. Book renewals: Books should be renewed online through the Library website. For the period of the lockdown, all Unisa services to students will be online. Compared to other South African universities, it’s easier for UNISA to remain open as they are an Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) institution. Ironically, this artificial scarcity hasn’t proven overly successful for publishers as studies have shown that people who want free ebooks but face a long holds queue from the library won’t purchase their own copy but will pirate one instead. Libraries are often restricted to lending a copy to one user at a time (meaning that multiple copies should be purchased for popular titles) and in many cases only “own” the title for a set time period or set number of loans and must repurchase when these expire. You are welcome to contact your Personal Librarian for assistance and training, as all Personal Librarians are working remotely from home. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. With the lockdown in full force, students who did not receive hard copy versions of their study materials will have to make due with digital copies for the time being via the myUnisa website. Prior to the lockdown, Unisa had already taken action to suspend and in turn, its graduation ceremonies from 16 March onward. Why can’t we all just read it at the same time? The LockDown period has also been extended with the 5 levels of LockDown, meaning that you will continue to use online platforms to engage. Check your email inbox to finalise email verification. I cant even submit any assignments or even access my Unisa. The LockDown period has also been extended with the 5 levels of LockDown, meaning that you will continue to use online platforms to engage. “In addition, institutions may also consider selected return of other categories of students to residences who may face extreme difficulties in their home learning environments provided that the above categories are prioritised, and all safety and logistical requirements are met,” Nzimande said. Libraries usually pay three to five times more than retail price for an e-copy, and these copies come with strict limitations. In a statement, the university said the extension of the national lockdown by President Cyril Ramaphosa meant that it had to make “some far-reaching decisions” regarding the examination period. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Briefing the media on measures in response to Covid-19, the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, said under level 3 which is still to be announced, a maximum of 33% of the students will be allowed to return to campuses, delivery sites and residences. Student enquiries. Music: Many libraries subscribe to streaming music platforms and curated collections – bye Spotify. Unisa payment details can be found here. Read more at the SA government's online coronavirus portal or use the 24-hour public hotline: 0800 029 999. If you’d like to log in you’ll need to set up a new members account. Learn more on the latest news on the COVID-19 virus and how to keep yourself safe online via the following links: Additionally, you can contact the Coronavirus Hotline Number: 0800 029 999 from 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday or send HI to 0600 123 456 via WhatsApp. The whole world is using online platforms to engage. If not sure, start living a SafeCyberLife today and obtain the skills because life will never be the same after this LockDown and many others to come. Students who return under the scaled back lockdown level will be given a two to three-week window to return to classes once they have been recalled by the institution. He said that should provinces or districts have their lockdown level scaled upwards, students who have returned will be sent home again. ONLINE WEBINAR USING MS TEAMS. Unisa, in conjunction with the NSRC and the Department of Health, are working to find a safe and feasible option for students to deal with the May/June 2020 exam period. This is about safety.”. Unisa Library services during the nationwide lockdown Online Library access: Clients are strongly advised to access the Library through myUnisa, the website and the Library app. This as speculation swirls that SA could move to level 3 restrictions on June 1. However, any deviation from this criteria must be approved by my department and must fall within the maximum of 33% of the student population,” he added. In that regard the UNISA Alumni is working with SafeCyberLife and encourages you to work on adopting the following important steps of living safe online. For more help go to www.safecyberlife.com. Here’s a sample of the stuff you can find in in your online library: Audio books: It’s been a real treat having Marian Keyes narrate my walks around the neighbourhood. Library members are also likely to purchase their own copies of beloved books, or bestsellers when a holds queue is too long. View this introductory video on the library! This email is not associated with a Spinoff They’re still free, though, so I count that as a win. How to access e-resources via the Library website. As ebooks are impervious to wear and tear they never need replacing – won’t someone think of the oligopolies! can log in to The Spinoff. Due to contractual and licencing agreements, access to some content may be restricted to the Unisa community. “No-one must try and recklessly move outside of these parameters. Throughout the duration of the 21 day lockdown (from 27 March to 16 April), UNISA will remain open with services made available online. Unisa has since stated that with regards to applications, students who applied will receive feedback on their application status by end June 2020. Throughout the duration of the 21 day lockdown (from 27 March to 16 April), UNISA will remain open with services made available online. for support, It looks like this account has been Please note, however, that we will be fully online during the lockdown period. A-Z list of databases (with attention to databases with special requirements during lockdown) A-Z list of e-journals; E-reference; Subject LibGuides For more on this, check out this article from librarian legend Jessamyn West. Students who are unable to complete this assessment will automatically be deferred to the October/November 2020 examination period, without penalty or additional cost. © 2008 - 2020 TOGETHER WE PASS. Publishers saw libraries as a real threat to ebook sales – if everyone could simultaneously read the same one copy that a library bought, why would anyone purchase their own ebook? The longish answer is that the publishing world often clashes with the ethos and goals of the library world. That’s pretty incredible – and there’s a lot of evidence to show that public libraries greatly enhance their communities by making society a little bit fairer and people’s lives a little bit easier. [Ed: as an example, Auckland City Libraries has 41 e-copies of The Mirror and the Light; at the time of writing the queue was 125 people long.] var googletag = googletag || {}; Hardcopy assignments Unisa members of staff are working online from home due to the nationwide lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Book renewals: Books should be renewed online through the Library website. Unisa has announced that, while May/June examinations will continue, its students will not write venue-based exams. The most impactful thing you can do to support your local public library is to use it. With print books, libraries buy a few copies of a title from a publisher, lend them out, and replace copies where necessary due to general wear and tear. “We know that the lockdown is not nice and it's not designed to punish people, but rather to save lives,” he said. Participants will learn how to access Library resources while off-campus during lockdown . As a result, no hardcopy assignments can currently be processed. googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; var googletag = googletag || {}; 0800 00 1870. Universities and colleges to remain closed under Covid-19 level 4 lockdown The decision is based on the need to prevent the spread of the infection and save lives 30 April 2020 - 18:37 Linda Ensor The situation has not changed to date and while students may object to not being able to attend their graduation ceremony, this remains the correct option. The university has since issued new closing dates for assignments due, giving students enough time to complete their assignments. National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Study Junior Bookkeeping Course through Distance Learning, Junior Bookkeeping Course Distance Learning, Downloading the UNISA MCQ App (learn more. This will apply to each changing level. This information will be available on myUnisa early in May 2020. Mine too. SIGN IN Clearly, life won’t be the same after the LockDown and the 4th Industrial Revolution is now in implementation. SafeCyberLife and UNISA Alumni wish to encourage all the UNISA alumni to adopt a cyber security posture at home and in your workplace especially with the Work From Home principles. Extension of assignment dates for year co… JOIN PREMIUM The university has made it possible for students to submit their handwritten assignments via scanner / a PDF scanner app. They’ve been dishing out the goods for centuries and no pandemic is about to stop that. In accordance with the Unisa Policy for copyright infringement and plagiarism, you are personally accountable for respecting copyright and licensing requirements. While the May/June 2020 examinations will take a different format, Unisa will maintain its zero-tolerance policy towards any form of plagiarism or examination dishonesty.”. Online safety during the LockDown. We need to work together and work to these carefully thought-out prescripts and arrangements,” the minister added. SIGN OUT. Under level 3, a maximum of 33% of the student population will be allowed to return to campuses, delivery sites and residences on condition that they can be safely accommodated. Because of the COVID-19 outbreak and other factors, the assignment due dates were extended multiple times. A librarian walks us through all the virtual offerings, and explains why we have to queue for ebooks. Libraries usually pay three to five times more than retail price for an e-copy, and these copies come with strict limitations. You are welcome to contact your Personal Librarian for assistance and training, as all Personal Librarians are working remotely from home. #FeesMustFall then and now: Activists reflect on trauma, sacrifice and what's ... 'Rewriting the code of life': Why 'genetic scissors' discovery matters and how ... Students in the final year of their programmes, who are on a path to graduating in 2020. Kids’ and teens’ collections: Includes reading recommendations, school resources, fun websites, printable colouring pages and more. Students without a scanner at home can download a PDF scanner app for their smartphones from their respective mobile stores (Google Play/Apple App Store). Phone, tablet, computer, anything with a screen, really. We also have a custom editorial division which creates smart, shareable content for brands.