THE COL ELEARNING WRITING PROGRAMME TEAM: Back Row: Bob Byrne, Education Technologist and MaryWilson, Instructional Designer. Front Row: Angela Kwan, COL Development Manager and Dave Smulders, Content Writer
Since 2000, COL has worked with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Health Organization, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the International Labour Organization in transforming their face-to-face effective communication courses through customisation into eLearning format to make learning more accessible, affordable, equitable and learner centric. Recent evaluation studies carried out on all existing programmes have revealed a high level of satisfaction expressed by learners of which a third are first-time adult distance learners.
In April 2006, the World Bank, having assessed COL's design and delivery model for this eLearning programme, decided to engage COL to turn their face-to-face writing programme into eLearning format. COL has formed a team of Canadian experts comprising a writer, instructional designer, education technologist, critical reader, copyeditor and evaluator to develop the World Bank eLearning writing programme for its 10,000 employees based in 109 countries. The materials will be developed and piloted by end of this year and ready for delivery for a three-year period in early 2007.
COL recently hosted a two-day workshop to train course writers to adapt educational materials for open and distance learning (ODL). Ten writers from the University of Education Winneba and three technical institutes attended the session in March 2006. This workshop is in support of the President's Special Initiative on Distance Learning (PSI-DL). Initiated by the President of Ghana, His Excellency John A. Kufuor, PSI-DL is developing an open technical school initiative for youth in Ghana. The course-writing workshop focussed on adapting existing distance learning materials in vocational skills such as block laying, concrete, catering and hospitality, supplied by UNESCO, COL and the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, for delivery in Ghana.
This is one of a series of workshops supported by COL to train staff in writing, delivery and management of ODL for technical and vocational education and training aimed at helping Ghana achieve accelerated development. The course materials being developed in Ghana will be available for adaptation by other Commonwealth countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
To build open and distance learning (ODL) capacity in an important area of the world, COL is helping Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) in Pakistan to train its teachers in multimedia content development. The first step was a workshop at AIOU Campus in February 2006. Teachers from every academic department at AIOU attended the workshop, which focused on multimedia content development. Workshop participants gained valuable skills and developed fourteen scripts for multimedia, radio and TV. Professor Mohammed Butt, AIOU's Vice-Chancellor, encouraged participants to work with the new technologies as the AIOU has ambitious plans to move forward in this direction. COL will continue with capacity building efforts and plans to hold an eLearning workshop at AIOU in 2007.
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| A GROUP OF LEARNERS IN NIGERIA RECEIVE CERTIFICATES AFTER PILOTING COL'S NEW COUNSELLING PROGRAMME FOR ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN. THE NINE-UNIT MODULE ON COUNSELLING FOR ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN (OVC) WAS DEVELOPED BY A PAN-AFRICAN GROUP OF WRITERS. IT WAS ALSO PILOTED IN KENYA AND ZAMBIA. APPROXIMATELY 100 STAFF AT NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOS) WHO WORK WITH OVCS ARE TAKING PART IN THIS DISTANCE EDUCATION INITIATIVE. THE LEARNING UNITS FOCUS ON ETHICAL AND CULTURAL ISSUES IN COUNSELLING AREAS SUCH AS GRIEF, DEALING WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND FOR THOSE AFFECTED OR INFECTED BY HIV/AIDS. THE COUNSELLING MODULE IS THE FIRST OF FOUR PROGRAMMES AIMED AT HELPING VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN AFRICA. THE OTHER MODULES WILL COVER NUTRITION, CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND HEALTH CARE.
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COL's President and Chief Executive Officer, Sir John Daniel, is a much sought-after keynote speaker and has delivered presentations as his business travels take him to all parts of the Commonwealth. His speeches, often prepared in collaboration with colleagues on staff at COL and/or other international organisations, are available on COL's website within hours of delivery. Topics range from open schooling to higher education, from collaboration to cross-border education and from non-formal education to open educational resources.
Two themed booklets of recent speeches can be downloaded from www.col.org: "Six speeches delivered in Southern Africa; August - September 2005" was published late last year and "Developing a common wealth of learning: Selected speeches of Sir John Daniel and colleagues in India, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius and Singapore; September 2005 - February 2006" is also now available.
www.col.org/speeches