ASIA:

Tamil Nadu Open University and COL recently hosted a workshop to review COL's learning for livelihoods initiatives in South Asia and to plan for the way forward towards a sustainable socio-economic advancement and improved livelihood, particularly among disadvantaged communities. More than 20 people from Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka attended the meeting in Chennai, India. Participants reviewed ongoing activities while proposing new ones through the use of open and distance learning for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

 

The Hon. Mrs. D. Purandeswari, Minister of State, Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India, recently met with staff members from COL and the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) to discuss learning for livelihoods in India. Attending the meeting were (l to r): Dr. Dinesh K. Paliwal, Deputy Educational Adviser with MHRD and COL Focal Point; Mr. Keshav Desiraju, Joint Secretary, MHRD; Mrs. Purandeswari; Mr. Joshua mallet, col education specialist; Dr. R. Sreedher, Director of CEMCA; Mrs. Rukmini Vemraju, CEMCA's Programme Director; and Mr. Nanda Kumar, CEMCA's Head of Administration and Finance.

 

 

AFRICA:

Mrs. Charlotte Enninful, Principal, Community Health Nursing Training School, Winneba, Ghana receives her certificate of training from Mr. Joshua Mallet, COL Education Specialist, Learning & Livelihoods. COL provided training to enable African educators to convert Maths and English lessons into Wiki format so they can be used as Open Educational Resources. The initial training involved educators from The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. The learning materials were donated by College of the Rockies in Cranbrook, B.C., Canada and are freely available through WikiEducator under a Creative Commons license.

 

QUALITY ASSURANCE FOR WEST AFRICA

More than 20 academics from Cameroon, The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone attended a workshop of Quality Assurance for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) at the University of Education Winneba, Ghana in February 2007. The event was hosted by the Regional Training and Research Institute for Open and Distance Learning (RETRIDAL) in collaboration with COL.

The workshop introduced important issues in Quality Assurance and ODL. Participants shared best practices and reviewed case studies of ODL Quality Assurance initiatives in West Africa. They discussed issues such as international standards, Quality Assurance indicators and Quality Assurance in ODL course development, delivery and learner support systems.

 

STRENGTHENING TEACHER TRAINING

UNESCO's Teacher Training Initiative for Sub-Saharan Africa (TTISSA) project held a two-day workshop on Quality Indicators for Teacher Education in Kaduna, Nigeria in February. The event was supported by COL, the National Teachers' Institute, Teachers' Registration Council of Nigeria, the Universal Basic Education Commission and the National Commission for Colleges of Education.

Fifty teacher educators examined the key areas of quality for teacher training, analysing their own situations against each quality indicator. Participants were asked to go back to their institutions and report on best practices, which will be compiled into a publication for other teacher education institutions in Nigeria. TTISSA is a ten-year project is working to help 46 sub-Saharan countries achieve Education for All and the Millennium Development Goals by improving national teacher policy and strengthening teacher education.

 

CONSORTIUM FOR TEACHER EDUCATION

COL provided support for the West African Consortium for Teacher Education Development (WACTED) through a workshop in Ghana, held in collaboration with Teacher Education in sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA). The meeting at the University of Education, Winneba drew 20 teacher educators from Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo. The programme introduced new teacher education institutions to TESSA and WACTED, and provided a full session on quality assurance in teacher education. After two days in Ghana, the workshop moved to the University of Cape Coast for another two days. Initiated by COL five years ago, WACTED is being reactivated with a commitment of more involvement by members, with an aim to improving the quality of teacher education and address the severe teacher shortage in West Africa. www.tessaprogramme.org  

 

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

eIndia2007, the 3rd International
Conference and Exhibition on ICT4D

31 July - 3 August 2007, New Delhi, India
http://icool.uom.ac.mu/2007

 

DETA Conference 2007

Distance Education and Teachers' Training in Africa
"Addressing the quality and number of teachers in Africa"
5-8 August 2007, Kampala, Uganda
http://www.deta.up.ac.za/

 

2nd Annual Connecting Rural Africa Forum

21-23 August 2007, Nairobi, Kenya
"Bridging the digital divide through sustainable ICT connectivity"
http://www.commonwealthconnects.net/

 

ODLAA 2007
Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia

11-14 November 2007, Christchurch, New Zealand
"Open and Distance Learning in the South Pacific Region - Cultures - Collaborations - Cognitions - Communities"
http://www.odlaa2007.info 

 

chogm 2007
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

23-25 November 2007, Kampala, Uganda
"Transforming Commonwealth Societies to achieve Political, Economic and Human Development"
www.thecommonwealth.org/chogm

 

Fifth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning

13-17 July 2008, University of London
"Access to Learning for Development"
www.col.org/pcf5