Educators from 13 Commonwealth small states met in Mauritius from 7 to 25 August 2006 under the auspices of the new Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC). Participants in the workshop, organised by COL, developed online skills to enable them to continue to work together after the workshop through the use of information and communication technology. The educators posted, collaborated and developed learning content on a COL-hosted website, www.wikieducator.org (see "What is WikiEducator?" in EdTech News section). A "wiki" is a simple medium for online collaboration that requires minimal technical knowledge. The popular wikipedia.org is the best-known "wiki" environment.
"It is becoming essential for people in small states to work, learn and collaborate online," said Mr. Paul West, COL's Director for Knowledge Management and Information Technology. "With travel becoming increasingly expensive and worries of global warming caused by travel, this group has set an example for others."
Content development at the Mauritius meeting focused on entrepreneurship and tourism skills, both areas of important economic growth for small developing nations. The content will be relevant for users because it is being developed by educators from small states. The curriculum was planned online prior to the meeting. Development of materials, which started in Mauritius, will now continue as part of each person's regular work. The two courses are expected to be completed in 2007 and will then be offered by institutions in the member countries. Because the learning materials are being copyrighted as "Creative Commons BY-SA-2.5", anyone is legally allowed to download the materials and use them. There is no restriction on who may use the materials. COL and the member countries are encouraging other countries to follow their example of creating and sharing learning content as free and open educational resources.
Online collaboration is the wave of the future, according to Mr. West. "Educators will be able to collaborate in finding and adapting course materials and resources, creating new content and sharing ideas between classrooms and among countries," he stated.
The VUSSC is helping 25 of the smallest countries in the world to build development capacity and strengthen economies through improved education. Participants in this first such event include island nations located in Africa, the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and Pacific, and small countries in Africa. The plan is to involve the remaining small states of the Commonwealth in similar workshops over the next year.
A US$3 million project to date, the VUSSC is facilitated by COL with seed funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation. The Government of Singapore has also supported two organisational meetings. The VUSSC continues to actively look for funds to support course development and another content development workshop for educators from other small states of the Commonwealth. Development agencies and others that are interested in pursuing this social investment opportunity are encouraged to contact Mr. Paul West.
The Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC) is providing £1 million to COL over the next four years for the Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth. This funding will be used to support the development of learning content, such as the materials on tourism and entrepreneurship developed in the VUSSC start-up workshop in Mauritius in August 2006. It will also support two similar workshops in 2007, which will involve more small states of the Commonwealth, and will focus on professional development of educators and life skills for youth.
The CFTC provides for technical co-operation between Commonwealth member countries. It responds to requests from governments for technical assistance through the provision of experts to fill specific development needs in the short or long term, knowledge networks, training programmes and advisory services provided by in-house experts.
More than 400 people from almost 60 countries and several international organisations will attend COL's fourth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning, taking place in Ocho Rios, Jamaica from 30 October to 3 November 2006.
The theme of the conference is "Achieving Development Goals" and the presentations, panels, discussions and workshops are organised under the four sub-themes: Innovation, Learning, Collaboration and Foundations.
COL is also hosting four e-mail-based virtual conferences, held between July and October 2006, as a lead-up to PCF4. The discussions are open to all (whether attending the Forum or not) and there is no cost to participate. The three-week long conferences are being moderated by the leaders for the four sub-themes - Innovation, Learning, Collaboration and Foundations - and will help to jump-start discussions at the Forum itself.
The discussions have been lively and informative with participants contributing a wide variety of experience and opinions. Background papers for all four conferences are available at http://pcf4.dec.uwi.edu/overview.php. The moderators' reports will be available soon.
The Forum's keynote speakers include several leaders in the field of open and distance learning (ODL):
- Mr. Winston Cox. A member of the Inter-American Development Bank Board of Executive Directors, Mr. Cox previously served as Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth. (Asa Briggs Lecture)
- Sir John Daniel. Sir John is the President and CEO of COL and a world-renowned authority in ODL.
- Dr. Sugata Mitra. Dr. Mitra, Senior Vice President for Research and Development at NIIT Limited, India, is a visionary who is perhaps best known for his hole-in-the-wall experiment where slum dwellers, especially children, successfully learned computer applications through unsupervised access to technology.
- Professor Penina Mlama. A passionate voice for the education of girls, Professor Mlama is Executive Director of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), an organisation dedicated to improving access, retention and participation of girls in education in Africa.
COL's Excellence in Distance Education Awards (EDEA) will be presented at PCF4. The Awards recognise remarkable achievements and endeavours to benefit those who seek to emulate examples of good practice in the field. Award recipients will be announced in four categories, acknowledging excellence occurring at the overall institutional level, in the development of learning materials, of a lifetime's work as an educator and in student accomplishment.
PCF4 is being organised and hosted jointly by COL and the University of West Indies' Distance Education Centre (UWIDEC), in co-operation with the Caribbean Association for Distance and Open Learning; the Jamaican Association for Distance and Open Learning; the Trinidad & Tobago Distance Learning Association; and the Office of Continuing Education and Distance Learning at the University of Technology, Jamaica.
The Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Right Honourable Portia Simpson Miller, will officially open the Forum on Tuesday morning, 31 October.
www.col.org/pcf4
www.col.org/virtualconferences
COL has launched a new programme to widen access to information and communications technologies (ICTs) skills training using free software. Sir John Daniel, President of COL, announced the initiation of the Commonwealth Computer Navigator's Certificate (CCNC) on 16 September to coincide with Software Freedom Day 2006.
The CCNC will allow learners to acquire ICTs skills in the tools of their choice. COL will add value to the existing materials of the Open International Computer Drivers License created by the Go Open Source campaign in South Africa and distribute the training as free content for anyone to use, modify and distribute. By using free content, the CCNC will create more opportunities to acquire the prerequisite ICTs skills, throwing a wide bridge across the digital divide. The Certificate will be awarded by participating institutions around the Commonwealth. For more information, contact COL Education Specialist Mr. Wayne Mackintosh.
www.col.org/newsreleases
www.softwarefreedomday.org
http://icdl.tsf.org.za