ARCHIVE DOCUMENT

News and Events
From Connections & EdTech News, June 2001
(Compiled based on selected news items, meeting reports and event notices
appearing in Connections, COL's quarterly newsletter)

COL initiative to upgrade teachers in South Africa produces results

Southern African collaboration produces materials for training upper primary and junior secondary teachers. All are designed for study by distance education.

For several decades, many African countries have faced a consistent and serious shortage of trained teachers and the supply vs. demand situation is now rapidly worsening due to the burgeoning population of young people combined with the devastating effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic that is cutting a wide swath through the teaching profession.

Just as the world enters the "knowledge era" and leaders worldwide grapple with the challenge of helping to close the digital divide, Africa finds its capacity to respond to these challenges undermined by its lack of the most basic resources - teachers. Whether and how Africa participates in this knowledge era and meets global Education For All targets will depend on its success in training new teachers, upgrading existing teachers and extending the reach of all qualified teachers.

Recognising the need for innovative models to address the problem in Southern Africa and elsewhere in the Commonwealth, COL took the initiative to invite Ministers of Education from Southern Africa to agree on a co-operative programme designed to bring the benefits of distance education to the training and upgrading of under and unqualified teachers who are trying to cope with limited resources and imposing demands on their time.

Training teachers

A good teacher has always been able to make learning effective and engaging, and a bad one can reduce a subject to boring at best, and incomprehensible at worst. "Born teachers" certainly exist, but for most training is required.

A good learner is self-motivated, but the role of the well-trained teacher in helping a school-age student to really understand something, and perhaps even like it, is integral to the learning process. Even in the increasingly high-tech environment of distance and open learning at the leading edge of educational practice, telecommunications and computer software have been unable to completely replace a young learner's need for human interaction and guidance.

Teacher training methods and approaches are also being upgraded and improved. The simplistic axiom, "spare the rod and spoil the child," has been replaced by a greater understanding of child psychology and of the effect of sociological issues on human development - especially in Africa where students can include AIDS orphans and those affected by war-torn environments. Learning by rote has been supplemented or supplanted by more creative and effective teaching and learning methods. Teachers are more, not less, involved in the larger academic bureaucracy than ever; they need to be informed of new or better ways to manage resources and to cope with administrative issues. Rapid advances in all fields of knowledge, especially in the sciences, have made regular knowledge refreshing and upgrading essential.

STAMP 2000+

In 1997, COL proposed a five-year distance education project to train and upgrade upper primary and junior secondary teachers and administrators in Southern Africa. Six Commonwealth countries, all also members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), responded to COL's proposal. A meeting in early 1998, convened by COL and involving representatives of international education development agencies and the education ministers and senior education officials of the six countries, produced a ministerial accord and a two-year work plan for the Science, Technology and Mathematics (STM) Programme - STAMP 2000+. The original signatories, Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, were later joined by Mozambique and Zambia, also members of SADC. COL provided start-up funding for the programme and served as the co-ordinating agency. Although there has been some further contributions from third-party organisations, most hosting, staffing and other ongoing costs continue to be provided by participating countries.

Who it's for

STAMP 2000+ offers in-service skills training and upgrading for educators and education administrators in participating countries. In addition to the specialised STM subject areas, the programme also has a general education component on professional teaching and administrative skills such as language and communication concepts, child development, education management and curriculum practice. To ensure the STM topic modules are compatible with educational practise in SADC countries, they have been designed to follow the core regional curriculum. The course modules are also sufficiently generic in content and design, to allow for adaptation to the specific requirements, delivery media and methods of existing in-country teacher training programmes.

The general education modules will be in the hands of Ministries of Education and training authorities in the eight participating countries by July and, through COL, are available for use in other countries.

How it works

Designed for learning at a distance, STAMP 2000+ is cost-effective and provides opportunities for training that are not otherwise possible. Teachers can study while on the job, with minimal disruption to the education system's human resource base. Theoretical as well as practical course components ensure the "who, what, when, why and where," as well as the "how," are covered. User-friendly without watering-down, the modules are basic but thorough introductions to each topic with an appendix of further references. The language contains little jargon and explains any unfamiliar terms or concepts succinctly. Self-assessment, evaluative and interactive learning techniques are built in. The specifics of module delivery, however, will depend on each country's available infrastructure and training needs.

From outline to blueline

STAMP 2000+ has been a collaborative Commonwealth and regional effort at every step of the development process. With a work plan in place by early 1998, a curriculum team of COL and participant country education ministry officials designed a general module writing guide based on existing regional and internationally-sourced STM syllabuses. Regional project co-ordination is shared by South Africa and Zimbabwe, with ongoing monitoring of the actual writing process by the education ministries of Botswana and Zimbabwe, the University of Fort Hare (South Africa) and the University of Zambia.

Modules are written by seven regional and in-country teams of subject specialists. Regional meetings and workshops, co-ordinated by COL and participating countries, help keep the project on track. Third-party consultants from Canadian organisations such as British Columbia's Open Learning Agency, Hands-on Management Services and Alberta's Grant MacEwan College (GMC), as well as Technology for All in South Africa, have assisted with instructional design and editing.

The urgency of the need in Southern Africa combined with recognition of the value of COL's role in guiding the coordinated development of this distance education-based teacher-education programme motivated several other international agencies to offer support with additional funding, or personnel for workshops and meetings. These include the British Council (Botswana and Zambia offices), the Open University (U.K.), Northern College (Scotland), CfBT Education Services (U.K.), the Commonwealth Secretariat, the South Africa College for Teacher Education, the Netherlands government (Zimbabwe), the British Department for International Development (Zimbabwe office) and GMC.

Capacity-building

Already close to 300 education professionals, including administrative and technical staff, have received hands-on training related to instructional design, course writing and management through project support meetings and workshops. The project has stayed close to its original schedule and has maintained both co-ordination and equilibrium, along with its high degree of international collaboration. All 18 general education modules are now being printed and some of the modules have already been provided for use outside the region - to the Cyril Potter College of Education in Guyana and to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of Sierra Leone. Publication of 27 specialised STM topic modules is anticipated by the end of 2001.

COL has also assisted with the development of similar teacher-training programmes specific to Malawi and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, modelled after the STAMP 2000+ initiative.

A Pan-African Policy Dialogue on In-Service Teacher Training, using Open and Distance Learning is being convened by COL in July.  See below:

New publications from COL

Telecentres

Those following global discussions concerning the "digital divide", and the creation of the Digital Opportunities Task Force - or DOT Force - by the "G-8" group of major industrial democracies to help bridge the digital divide, will appreciate the attention that has been accorded to relatively recent developments in the use of telelearning centres or telecentres. As a contribution to these developments, COL has recently published, as a part of its Perspectives on Distance Education series, Telecentres: Case Studies and Key Issues.

This is a comprehensive reference on community- and information technology-based telecentres in support of education and socio-economic development. It provides insights on management, operations, applications and evaluation of such centres and is the first book to be published providing such a global outlook on this important topic.

The book opens with a overview of the multipurpose community telecentre movement and discusses the key issues of ownership, management, operational models and sustainability. There follows a series of case studies of telecentres drawn from Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia.

The final chapters draw on the experiences, insights and findings of some of the world's leading experts in telecentres in regard to evaluation, teleworking, training telecentre managers and staff, and selecting and using technology.

The book offers an unparalleled range of information and advice on the organisation and running of telecentres. It has been designed for policy-makers, centre managers and all of those in education, training, health and community development who are keen to serve urban, peri-urban, rural and other disadvantaged communities for which access to education and information means access to a better future.

Editors Professor Colin Latchem (formerly head of the Teaching Learning Group at Curtin University, Western Australia) and Mr. David Walker (Education Specialist, Educational Technology, COL) have worked with 23 chapter authors to provide this valuable resource.  COL is distributing copies to all Commonwealth Ministries of Education and to members of the Commonwealth Expert Group on Information Technology.  272 pages  www.col.org/telecentres 

Using audio in ODL

Audio for Distance Education and Open Learning: A Practical Guide for Planners and Producers: Written by John Thomas, who has worked with and produced audio support for education systems over 30 years, this handbook sets out good professional practice in the design, development and delivery of audio materials - radio, audio cassettes and audio-vision - for open and distance learning.

The handbook is intended for all those who are involved in the design, development, production and use of audio materials in distance education and open learning, including policy makers, managers, tutors/facilitators and trainers.

The approach adopted is appropriate to both industrialised and developing countries. However, it has been designed to be particularly relevant to those working in institutions and projects with limited access to resources. The handbook has been jointly published by COL and the International Extension College, U.K.  235 pages  www.col.org/audiohandbook 

Non-formal education

Case Studies of Non-Formal Education by Distance and Open Learning: This consultancy research report will be useful to people involved or interested in the planning, development and implementation of non-formal education programmes because of the useful lessons it offers. The case studies in this report demonstrate the potential and importance of distance learning approaches in enhancing the contribution of non-formal education to socio-economic development in Africa.

For example, the Zambia Radio Farm Forum programme enables the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries to reach larger numbers of peasant farmers than is possible through other extension services. The Radio Farm Forum programme helps over 21,000 small-scale farmers/peasants in rural areas, who listen and participate in the programme, to learn new knowledge and develop new skills. In the Ghanaian case study, the use of radio strengthened the coverage, by the literacy programme, of the functional and developmental themes.

The study was funded by the British Department for International Development and was edited by Professor Richard Siaciwena, Directorate of Distance Education, The University of Zambia.  148 pages  www.col.org/consultancies 

Obtaining copies

COL in Action

COL assists UNHCR in staff training

"I very much enjoyed participating in this course. Even more important, I really think the course has helped me to improve my writing. I am encouraging two local staff members who work under my supervision to apply." - Blanche Tax

"I think the course is very helpful. With the wise tutoring like I had, my writing for UNHCR is improved significantly." - Elena Mihailevskaia

Subsequent news: COL/UNHCR Course Wins Prestigious Distance Learning Award

The importance of clear and succinct writing to carry out its work prompted the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to seek the help of COL to develop a distance-learning course for this purpose. It will enable UNHCR staff to be more effective in their communications at Headquarters and in the field.

COL with the assistance of Ms. Maree Bentley, the course author, and Dr. David Murphy, the instructional designer developed the Writing Effectively for UNHCR course. The materials will be used to train 500 staff members by the end of 2001.

Fifteen Canadians, with expertise in communications and experience of tutoring adults at a distance, support the course through e-mail. A training workshop to brief tutors on the specifics of this course was conducted by Maree Bentley, in Australia, through a videoconference between the Australian National University in Canberra and COL Headquarters in Vancouver. This training process was assisted by pre-and post-workshop Internet Listserv discussions.

Currently, 200 UNHCR staff are participating in the course. They include administrators, refugee workers and field staff based all over the world. Learners are given a self-study package containing a workbook and a style companion, and receive individual tutoring through e-mail. Tutors mark the electronically submitted assignments and offer detailed suggestions and comments. Taking advantage of this electronic mode of student support, COL is delivering a "paperless" course by organising and storing learner records on Client Information Systems software.

In response to UNHCR's request for a similar course for use by French-speaking personnel, COL, with the help of Universite du Quebec's Tele-Universite (Canada), translated and adapted this course into French. It will be available for delivery later this year.

Canada renews support for COL's youth internships

COL has been delighted to participate in the realisation of the Canadian Government's strategy to use international internships to equip young Canadians to be better prepared for the demands of globalisation. Under the Government of Canada's Youth Employment Strategy (YES), Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has approved funds for COL to place 10 youth interns around the Commonwealth during 2001/2002.

The internships are designed for Canadians who have recently graduated from college or university and seek international experience in education and/or educational technology. Eight- to nine-month placements are arranged with host organisations in India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Uganda, the U.K., Zambia and Zimbabwe. Insofar as possible, work experiences will relate to COL's fields of interest.

COL first participated in the programme last year (2000/2001) when it received funding for eight Canadian youth interns. Their postings were at the Women In Development Southern Africa Awareness Programme and the Musokotwane Environment Resource Centre for Southern Africa, both located at the Southern Africa Research and Documentation Centre, Harare, Zimbabwe; the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai (Madras), India; the Commonwealth Youth Programme's Africa Centre (Gender and Youth Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat), Lusaka, Zambia; the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia, New Delhi, India; the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, London, England; and The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, Lower Hutt (Wellington), New Zealand. Other agencies and organisations interested in hosting youth interns are invited to contact COL.  www.col.org/internship

From COL's partners

Britain announces basic education funding for Commonwealth children

In February, U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, launched a multi-million pound fund to mark next year's celebrations of the Queen's 50th year on the throne. In a speech to the Global Children's Conference in London, he said that the fund would help the 75 million children in the Commonwealth who lack access to basic education by building fair and effective education systems and creating more opportunities for girls and other disadvantaged groups.

The initiative forms part of efforts to meet the United Nations' international development targets, including providing universal primary education and halving the number of people in extreme poverty by 2015, and eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005.

Commonwealth Secretary-General, H.E. the Rt. Hon. Don McKinnon, has welcomed the initiative noting that about half of the 140 million children worldwide who lack access to primary education live in the Commonwealth. He said the initiative reinforces the Commonwealth's commitment to quality education, as reaffirmed by Education Ministers at their meeting in Halifax, Canada, in November last year.

Declaration on the African University

Over 250 delegates attended the 10th General Conference of the Association of African Universities (AAU) that was held in Nairobi, Kenya, in February 2001, and hosted by Kenyatta University. On the final day of the conference, members agreed to a Declaration on the African University in the Third Millennium, which calls for "the revitalisation of the African University, and for a renewed sense of urgency in acknowledging the crucial role it should play in solving the many problems facing our continent."

When AAU was established in 1967, its membership was only 34. Today, its membership has grown to more than 170 universities, drawn from 43 countries.  info@aau.org   www.aau.org 

Indian school students visit Canadian high schools

Three junior high school students from India visited Canadian high schools in British Columbia (BC) and Ontario in May to exchange knowledge on developing school websites. The students, ages 13 and 14, are the winning team in a website contest, chosen from among entries from 400 Indian schools.

Canadian science teacher Tom Harding (left) hosts visiting Indian students who won a national school web site contest. Left to right: Manisha Prakash, Rupinder Sabharwal and Nimay Donde

With an accompanying teacher, they visited a new high-tech school in West Vancouver, BC - Rockridge Junior Secondary - and the Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific, an international high school in Victoria, BC. They also visited schools in Toronto and Ottawa, Ontario.

The SchoolNet India Websites Contest 2000 is a prestigious national-level competition organised to recognise the best talent in the country. It is open to 2500 schools in India. 400 schools from ten cities took part in this contest, which encourages schools across the country to create their websites through the inspiration, experience and knowledge of their students in Grades 6 to 10 (10 to 16 years old).

Part of the prize for the winning team is an educational trip to Canada being facilitated through COL's affiliate, COL International.

The winning team is from Sanskriti Civil Services School, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. The Students are Manisha Prakash, 13, Nimay Donde, 14, and Rupinder Sabharwal, 14. Their accompanying teacher is Kavitha Punjala.  www.schoolnetindia.com/main/schoolcontest 

COL President inaugurates BRAOU research academy

"There is a need to build research capability in distance education and there should also be a desire to sustain it," Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan, President and CEO of The Commonwealth of Learning, said [in Hyderabad on 19 January 2001]. He was inaugurating the G. Ram Reddy Research Academy of Distance Education (GRADE) at the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University (BRAOU) campus.

"The Commonwealth is concerned about the quality of services, the impact of learning through interactive sessions and is extending support to help the cause of distance learning" Professor Dhanarajan said. "The state with many firsts to its credit, will be the first to establish an open university dedicated to research", he said.

Professor Afzal Mohammad, Vice Chancellor of BRAOU, said that the university set up GRADE as part of the efforts to carry out system-based research in distance education using teleconferencing facilities and multimedia packages.

[The late Professor Ram Reddy was the first Vice-Chancellor of BRAOU and first Vice-President of COL.]

The Times of India

Quality guidelines for online education

Commonwealth Education Ministers, meeting late last year in Halifax, identified the need for better standards in offering online and off-shore education, noting the need to "protect our citizens against malpractices".

At their own risk, students of all ages are now using the Internet for education and training. Every person who signs up online takes a chance that the time, registration fees, and effort may be wasted. Consumers need to know how to recognise and use quality online learning services. In Canada, COL has joined a new initiative to provide clear comparative guidelines for e-learning services.

COL is working with the Canadian Association for Community Education (CACE), FuturEd Consulting Education Futurists and other partners to create a set of quality standards for online learning products and services to assist in risk reduction for consumers of e-learning in Canada. All elements of an online course - design, content, credibility - will be incorporated.

"Across Canada, students are overwhelmed by the amount of choice they have in online learning. They're wondering about quality and how to get the best return for their education investment, " says Barbara Case, Past-President of CACE.

The project will also create a consumer's guide to give students, parents, and workers the questions they should ask before signing up for an online course. Producers of online learning - public universities, colleges and school boards, not-for-profits, commercial firms - can then use the guide to meet consumer expectations.

Dr. Kathryn Barker, President of FuturEd, notes: "This project is a unique Canadian contribution to the on-going management of content on the Internet. It will provide consumers with a Bill of Rights, and it will create a Seal of Approval for Canadian producers of Internet-based education and training competing in the tough global market."

While a Canadian initiative at this stage, COL's involvement promises to bring any benefits to the wider Commonwealth, in part by informing COL's work and consultations in this area.

The project is funded by the Office of Learning Technologies of Human Resources Development Canada (HDRC, Government of Canada). Other project partners include the Canadian Association for Distance Education, the Association for Media and Technology in Education in Canada, LICEF Télé-Université (Université du Québec), SchoolNet of Industry Canada (Government of Canada), the TeleLearning Network (the Centre of Excellence providing research in this area), CanLearn (the HRDC education web portal for higher education and training) and CanLearn Interactive. New partners are welcome.

National consultations are scheduled to take place during the next few months.  www.FuturEd.com 

Zambia offers management diplomas through DE

Zambia's National College for Management and Development Studies launched its Distance Education Diploma Programmes in April 2001. College Principal Mr. J.M. Bwalya, reports that the programme has 300 students enrolled in its initial offering - 75 students in each of four diploma courses: marketing management, social work, public administration and human resources development and management

COL has provided some staff training to help the college to design and begin offering courses through distance education.

People

Abdul Khan moves to UNESCO

Professor Abdul Khan, COL's Director, Development and Training, has been appointed as UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information.

A leader in the application of communication, distance education and education technologies in South Asia, he was Vice-Chancellor of India's Indira Gandhi National Open University from 1998 to 2000, served at COL from 1992 to 1998 and returned to COL in October of last year. He joins UNESCO in July.

Sir John Daniel, formerly Vice-Chancellor of the U.K. Open University, became UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Education in April. Sir John is a pioneer of open and distance education and played a major role in the formation of COL and its governance in early years.

Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan, on behalf of all those associated with COL, has congratulated both and offered COL's continuing support, assistance and collaboration in common goals such as the use of distance, open and technology-mediated education to help achieve the global targets agreed to in the Dakar Framework for Action on Education For All. He said that, "I am also confident that both Sir John and Abdul will continue to be strong supporters of the work of COL in these fields. While both will be missed by their respective institutions and countries, they will continue to make major and valuable contributions to the field of education, specifically open and distance learning, and the advancement of opportunities for governments and citizens of developing countries. Distance education has never been represented at such high level at UNESCO before and it is another demonstration of how important the field, and the opportunities it offers, has become in the world today."

Professor Khan and Sir John are part of the newly appointed management team consisting of a Deputy Director-General and five Assistant Directors-General, recruited from outside the organisation by UNESCO Director-General, Koïchiro Matsuura.

UNESCO's new Deputy Director-General is Márcio Nogueira Barbosa of Brazil, a space research specialist and formerly Director-General of the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espacias (INPE).

COL staff

Ms. Kgomotso Motlotle, COL's Education Specialist, Teacher Education, is returning to the Ministry of Education in Botswana at the end of June. She served with the Ministry for 18 years before joining COL on secondment three years ago. She has made many contributions to COL's work, including being the driving force behind the STAMP2000+ project in Southern Africa and the Pan-African Policy Dialogue on Teacher Training.

Ms. Helen Lentell will be joining COL on 1 July 2001 as Education Specialist, Training and Materials Development. She has been Head of Higher Education and Professional Studies at the National Extension College in the U.K. since 1997 and previously held a variety of posts within the U.K. Open University system between 1978 and 1997. Ms. Lentell has several publications in the field of distance education to her credit and is a frequent contributor to Open Praxis, the bulletin of International Council for Open and Distance Education. 

Board of Governors

Professor Stephen Matlin, Director of the Commonwealth Secretariat's Human Resource Development Division (responsible for the Departments of Education and Health), will join the British Department for International Development in July as Chief Education Adviser. He succeeds Ms. Myra Harrison, who retired from the position and stepped down from COL's Board of Governors late last year.

Among Professor Matlin's many initiatives was the creation of the Parallel Events at triennial Commonwealth ministers meetings, which have enhanced opportunities for dialogue between Ministers of Education and the wider professional, academic and development communities and the private sector.

The Secretariat's Education Department has also collaborated closely with COL on a number of projects and Professor Matlin has taken a close personal interest in COL's work. He will continue to do so in his new role as he takes over responsibility for representing the United Kingdom on COL's Board of Governors. Mr. Steve Packer, DFID's Acting Chief Education Adviser, has been serving on COL's Board in the interim.

Dr. H. Ian Macdonald, Chairman of COL's Board of Governors, and His Excellency, the Rt. Hon. Donald C. McKinnon, Commonwealth Secretary-General, have announced two new Board memberships. Ms. Ali Gillies, Assistant Director General, International Programmes Branch, Australian Agency for International Development, was appointed by the Government of Australia as its representative as a major donor. And Professor Michael Omolewa, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Nigeria to UNESCO, was named to the Board as a regional representative for Africa. Professor Omolewa was formerly Head of the Department of Adult Education and Director of the External Studies Programme at the University of Ibadan and a former Coordinator for West Africa for the African Association for Distance Education. He and Ms. Gillies succeed Dr. Ihron Rensburg, Deputy Director-General of the South African Department of Education and Professor C.D. Blake, AM, retiring Vice-Chancellor of Charles Sturt University.

COL's Board provides valuable policy direction for the agency. Service on the Board is non-remunerative.  www.col.org/board