The University of Johannesburg prides itself on its forward-thinking and digital-first approach. This is why we have embraced online learning as a way to make both undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications more accessible to people who live further afield or who have commitments that prevent them from attending scheduled classes in person.

UJ offers students a 100% online learning experience, along with all the benefits this provides. If you are used to traditional teaching methods, adapting to online learning may seem intimidating at first, but it really shouldn’t be. Studying online has many benefits and UJ students are supported throughout their studies. Unlike many large online course providers, you don’t just become an anonymous account when you sign up to study online with UJ.

Covered in this article:

Online learning platforms and tools
Virtual classrooms and collaboration
Assessment and feedback
Technical requirements and support

Online learning platforms and tools

UJ uses a learning management system named Blackboard for accessing all your lectures and learning materials, collaborating with student peers and engaging with your lecturers.

Blackboard provides all the tools and resources you need to complete your course, along with some other additional features. It is used to access recorded lectures, learning materials, tests and assignments. It provides a single point of reference to keep track of all your assignment deadlines and other important dates. Other features that can improve your learning experience include plagiarism tools and reflection diaries.

Virtual classrooms and collaboration

One of the many benefits of online learning with UJ is that all lectures are pre-recorded. This means you aren’t at risk of falling behind the same way you would if you missed a physical lecture. Lecture videos can also be watched again or paused and rewound so that you can go back to any points that you may have missed or struggled to grasp the first time.

At UJ, we believe that learning flourishes in a social environment where conversation between students takes place. For this reason, students are strongly encouraged to collaborate and engage with each other. While you may not physically meet face-to-face, Blackboard’s collaborative functionality makes it easy to engage and talk with your student peers as well as your lecturers.

For even greater collaboration Blackboard also offers a separate app, Blackboard Collaborate.

Assessment and feedback

All your assessments are done online through the Blackboard interface. Unlike some supposed distance learning qualifications, you do not have to attend exams in person at a specific location and can do so from the comfort of your home.

All of your assignments are submitted through Blackboard and you will also receive personalised feedback from your course facilitators and tutors through the Blackboard platform.

It is important to note that, unlike many large online learning platforms, this is not an impersonal or one-way interaction. Your lecturers or course facilitators will also be available to answer any questions and provide one-on-one guidance.

Technical requirements and support

Learning online does not require you to be a computer expert, but you will need a basic level of computer literacy and should be comfortable using your device and software. UJ Online’s dedicated team of support staff and facilitators will also help guide you through the technical setup and are always available to assist you should you encounter any problems along the way.

Aside from having a reliable high-speed internet connection, you need to be able to send and receive emails, create and edit documents in a word-processing program and use an internet browser.

Whether you choose to use a laptop or tablet is up to you. Whichever device you use, will need the following minimum specs:

• 64GB of file storage
• 4GB of RAM

Depending on your device, you will need to have the following minimum specifications and operating systems:

Windows:

• Operating system: Windows 11 or later
• Display: 10 inches or larger
• Minimum resolution: 1280 x 800

Android: 

• Operating system: Android 12 or later
• Display: 10 inches or larger
• Minimum resolution: 2048 x 1536

Apple iPad

• Version: iOS 14 or later
• Display size: 9.7 inches
• Resolution: 2048 X 1536

For best performance, you should use the latest stable versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Microsoft Edge. Microsoft Internet Explorer is not supported.