A number of Communications science students from Unisa and Tshwane University of Technology braved the cold weather last Tuesday to attend the 12th annual Media Conference hosted by Communications Students Association (COMSA) in conjunction with the Department of Communication Science held at Unisa`s ZK Mathew?s and broadcasted live by Unisa Radio.
Kgaugelo Moema COMSA?s Chairperson welcomed the guests and the students and expressed the theme of the conference Mapping the Digitalization of Communication and guest speakers dived more into the subject matter and addressed the development of Digitalization, it?s competiveness, the trends shaping digitalization within the communication field and the impact of Digitalization in the communication disciplines.
?The Deputy Chair of the Department of Communication Sciences, Professor Elize Terblanche spoke about the impact of Digital Media and the influence cellphones have in our lives.
Executive Dean of the College of Human Sciences, Prof Rosemary Moeketsi opened the conference by making reference to the Olympics with emphasis on World Champion athlete, Usain Bolt who? she says went into the race with a goal, that which was to do business. ??As Unisa students faced with the mighty challenge of studying from a distance and basically left to our own devices, what lessons do you learn from this star athlete? Dear students, I stay motivated by young, accomplished people like yourselves and Usain Bolt and I have all the confidence that you will keep your eye on the qualification you have enrolled for. Set your goals as clearly as possible and make sure that they are attainable,? said Prof Moeketsi.
The Dean of students, Convey Baloyi expressed his appreciation for student associations such as COMSA and how these play a major role at Unisa. ?When we see COMSA growing, we get inspired. At Unisa, we have a student affairs and one of the things we do is to encourage students to succeed and impact society. We also encourage students to form these kinds of associations so that we also encourage and assist them to function intellectually. As we journey together, let us be encouraged,? said Baloyi.
The event progressed with different speakers from different media houses telling their view of digitalisation:
Dr Julie Reid ( Department of Communication Science), Joe Tlholoe ( Press Ombudsman), Prof Rosemary Moeketsi ( executive Dean of CHS), Convey Baloyi ( Dean of students) and Prof khatija Khan with COMSA Executive members
Eddie McAlone, Technical Director of DSTV said, ?Digitisation is the conversion of analogue materials into digital format for use in computer based applications. Digitalisation provides us with a vast array of commercial opportunities and has now become more important in terms of boosting a countries economy than ubiquitous access.?
Arthur Goldstruck from Worldwideworx gave a short history of e- South Africa and quoted ?The Digital participation curve reveals that the average internet user needs to be online for five years or more before engaging actively with high-level applications like online retail and interactive participation.?
Shalate Davhana from Huawei Technologies Africa said, ?Material needs to be digitised so that it is accessible through your PC as a journalist though we still have a challenge in terms of information on a digital scale.?
Sipho Masingo from the SABC said ?Digitalisation is a growth for the field. It means more jobs for students and an expulsion for the field.
Joe Tlholoe from the SA Press Ombudsman said, ?We cannot predict where this wave is going to take us to. The quality of communication depends on the values of both the receiver and the recipient. It is crucial for us to use the values when we use technology as we ride this wave of communication.?
Dr Julie Reid, Lecturer at Unisa?s Communication Science Department said, ?My main concern is how media users underground are going to be affected by all this. Millions of rands are spent on digitalisation instead of being spent on relevant matters.?
Students were treated with entertainment during and after the conference, the entertainers included singer Dedre Cupido and Penpals Poerty. This is what students had to say about the event:
?Social networks will help us a lot in the public sphere. Digitalisation is growing fast,? said Kholofelo Moffat, 2nd Year Public Relations student.
?I have learned the different types of social networks prevalent today. Presentations like these are valuable because Unisa does not offer face- face contact. You get to know what people in the media industry are doing. There should be forums like these frequently so that students are able to interact,? said Minkie Chaawe, 3rd Year Communication Science student.
By Mercy Bvuma and Ntombi Mtshali
Source: http://www.unisa.ac.za/chs/news/index.php/2012/08/12th-annual-comsa-media-conference/
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