Information Systems 1 lecturer Anwyn Hawkings says the award is not only relevant to her roles and responsibilities, but the knowledge gained will be to the benefit of CPUT and her students.
According to the Microsoft website Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Experts for 2021-2022 “are self-driven educators who are passionate about teaching and learning. They inspire students with creative thinking and work in a collaborative spirit to share their learning with the world. Resourceful and entrepreneurial, they relish the role of change agent, and work to achieve excellence in education using Microsoft technologies paired with innovative teaching”.
Hawkings said she spent many hours studying online via Microsoft Educator and taking the tests.
“I was self-nominated with support from CPUT. I also had to motivate with numerous essays as to why the award is appropriate to my effort,” she said.
She said the knowledge she gained may also open doors with other training opportunities or contacts from other award winners in her field.
“It connects me globally to fellow award winners where teaching and learning can be discussed at an international level. As I learn from my fellow award winners and gain other perspectives on teaching computers, I am hoping my skills and teaching ability will not only improve but it will assist me to keep abreast of the latest developments in the industry.”
Asked what she enjoys most about her job, Hawkings replied that she loves meeting new people and helping them in their studies and seeing them grow as people. This applies to both staff and students of CPUT.
“I love learning and improving my own ability to teach something I am very passionate about, so being given this opportunity to both improve my level of skill and my ability to teach as well as forming global contacts have all been a great source of excitement to me.”
