Educators and others engaged in today's global economy recognise that upgrading knowledge and skills in the course of one's career is vital for success, and in some cases, for survival. In developing countries, knowledge and skills upgrading are increasingly important in the development of human capital beyond the needs addressed by basic and formal education.
One of COL's four major roles is that of a resource for training in the policies, methodology and practice of open, distance and technology-mediated learning, responding to Commonwealth member countries' desires to develop and/or strengthen national capabilities in this area.
Training for open and distance learning (ODL) practitioners has been key to COL's work since its inception in the late 1980s, when the need was identified as a major concern for the new Commonwealth agency to address. With the rapidly changing environment of educ ation and the incorporation of educational technologies there is a continuing demand for an enlargement of the required skill sets.
Commonwealth Heads of Government and Ministers of Education have continued to endorse this role in reviewing COL's achievements and plans, while renewing and increasing funding pledges for COL. The current Three-year Plan budgets CDN$6 million for training over three years, or about one-third of the CDN$21 million total for 2000-2003.
COL focuses on training the trainers, and encompasses web-based to print-based delivery of formal education, regional or national seminars and workshops, and study and professional exchanges. Additionally, many education professionals are trained as a matter of course in other COL collaborative and information-providing projects.
While the emphasis on training in COL's objectives has not changed, the type of training programmes and services it provides has evolved with the educational landscape and with the demands of the global economy. COL seeks to use information and communications technologies (ICTs) innovatively and cost-effectively in programme delivery, and fosters and undertakes collaborative relationships in achieving its goals. COL's efforts are aimed toward anticipating where education will go next, and are fine-tuned to be responsive to the needs and requests of individual nations and regions.Training has been key to COL's work since its inception
In 1998, COL began a series of training initiatives involvin g the use of ODL beyond traditional and formal schooling. Designed for individuals at the early or mid-point of their careers, they address needs in the wider work environment and embrace diverse topics from agricultural research to gender studies.
Internships are a rewarding way for young graduates to acquire work experience in different social and cultural environments. Employing an intern, and tapping into their enthusiasm and skills, is a smart strategy for organisations involved with special or large-scale projects.
COL is a participant in Canada's Youth International Internship Programme, or YIIP that provides opportunities for young Canadian graduates to benefit from practical, hands-on international experience. The Government of Canada sponsors the programme through its Youth Employment Strategy (YES) initiative and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT).
Under YIIP, COL's interns are placed in partner organisations, that are located in or serving developing Commonwealth countries, in collaborative training efforts focussing on ODL in line with COL's mandated objectives.
Increased DFAIT sponsorship has allowed COL's YIIP internship programme to grow in three years from eight positions for a six-month period in 2000/2001 to 11 positions for a period of up to a year in 2002/2003. Participating organisations include the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association in London, England, the Musokotwane Environment Resource Centre for Southern Africa (IMERCSA), The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, and Commonwealth Youth Programme Regional Centres. Internships are available in fields as diverse as broadcasting, agriculture and gender and youth affairs. Thus far, COL's Youth Internship Programme has placed interns in Guyana, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mozambique, Nigeria, the U.K., Zambia and Zimbabwe.
COL's attachment programme (www.col.org/internship) provides an opportunity for mid-career distance education professionals from developing Commonwealth countries to upgrade their skills and thereby contribute to increased ODL capacities in their institutions. Modest financial assistance is available from COL to fund attachments to ODL organisations in other parts of the Commonwealth.
Attachments normally run for about a month, and both the host organisation's profile and the focus of the proposed attachment must reflect COL's Three-year Plan objectives, e.g., training in the use of ICTs, instructional design, non-formal education, copyright or learner support systems . Funding is available for six to ten placements per year. Participants have come from administrative and teaching positions in many parts of the Commonwealth and been hosted by organisations such as the Co-operative College of Kenya, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU, India), Radio Australia and the University of Regina in Canada.
COL's new Sharing our Services programme, is a self-serve, web-based database that connects experienced or retired distance educators as senior advisers/trainers to distance education organisations seeking development or project assistance.
Both advisers and requesting institutions register their information independently on the secure, online database. Consultant s have an opportunity to offer their services gratis, or for a nominal fee, on short-term assignment. Organisations with developing distance education programmes have a forum to post requests for assistance and a context for their consultant search. The self-regulated programme also encourages initiative and dialogue. On approval of an ap plication, COL can offer modest assistance for costs such as airfare and daily expenses.
The comprehensive Training Toolkits series of practical manuals, including case studies, provides a facilitator with a set of materials, handouts and exercises for use in training workshops on the specifics of managing and implementing a distance educati COL's efforts are aimed toward anticipating where education will go next on programme. Producedin collaboration with the Asian Development Bank and the International Extension College, U.K, topics tackled cover the study spectrum from an overview of open and distance learning, designing materials and using media, to quality control and learner support in ODL. Toolkits are available for a nominal CDN$12 each, plus shipping.
COL's Knowledge Series of succinct start-up guides in distance education practice and delivery (www.col.org/knowledge) was recently profiled in the December 2001 issue of Connections (www.col.org/connections). Freely available on COL's website, the expert-authored, ongoing series is designed to introduce distance education's potential benefits and applications to education professionals unfamiliar to the field. A recommended reading list and detailed bibliography accompany each guide, providing the reader with a handy reference for further information. Initiated in 2000, topics in the series have included the general areas of editing, learner support, audioconferencing and online learning in distance education. There are currently 11 titles and more are produced each year.
Regionally co-ordinated training is an efficient way to help streamline the educational development of individual countries within a region. The annual Managing Change - Leadership and Strategic Change in Higher Education conference series for heads of African a cademic institutions is designed to help leaders provide effective leadership in times of rapid educational and economic change. COL is collaborating with the University of Abertay Dundee, the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the Association of African Universities on this series.
A similar professional development series for heads of African teacher training institutes had its first presentation in 2001, with the co-operation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Singapore and the National Institute of Education in Singapore. Also initiated in 2001 was an annual management institute for senior managers and executive officers in the technical/vocational education and training (TVET) sector of the Pacific island nations, made possible with funding support from New Zealand's Official Development Assistance Programme. The institute will increase access to skills development training in the region.
The Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship Scheme, initiated in 1993 and piloted in 1995 with 100 students from 15 countries, is a two-year, distance-delivered Masters of Distance Education degree programme for education administrators. It is delivered in collaboration with the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), on-site tutors and the Ministries of Education of participating countries. Sixty of the first 100 students, from 15 countries, graduated in 1998. The Scheme's original rationale was to help create a Commonwealth-wide group of trained distance education professionals to join the vanguard of development in the ministries and schools of their respective nations.
The need for such trained professionals remains relevant today, and favourable participant feedback from the first Scheme has encouraged COL to offer the programme for a second time after an evaluation and update of course materials. Invitations to participate have been extended to Ministries of Education in 19 Commonwealth countries that were not included in the first round. Students are usually employed in a publicly funded institution offering distance-learning options or in a governmental policy function, and local tutors are contracted to provide learner support. A level of sponsorship from the nominating Government is required.
Another example of ICT use and collaborative effort is the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA), a broadcast training and media libraryCOL stays committed to a "training the trainers" approach facility as well as COL's regional arm ( www.cemca.org). Established in 1993 and housed in premises provided by IGNOU, CEMCA holds seminars and workshops in the educational applications of broadcast media and produces a newsletter and programming for India's national education network. Its media library of about 10,000 educational broadcast programmes, contributed by 150 international organisations in six countries, provides resources for all of Commonwealth Asia.
Existing programmes will continue, as the need exists, with revision, expansion or updating as necessary to anticipate emerging educational trends and ICT usage. COL stays committed to a "training the trainers" approach, will continue to explore ICT use in programme delivery, and will organise more training activities that include distance education professionals from both the academic and non-academic arena. Also, currently in development on the agenda for the next Three-year Plan is the formation of a Commonwealth Masters of Distance Education Programme.
Further information about training resources can be accessed on the COL website at www.col.org/TrainingResources. For general information or to order materials, please contact info@col.org. You are also welcome to contact Helen Lentell, education specialist in training and materials development.