COL'S RESOURCE CD-ROM
COL has updated its CD-ROM of most popular resource publications, news and software. It contains over 60 publications including training manuals, start-up guides and research and all 21 titles in COL's popular Knowledge Series, as well as free and open source software. While most of the contents are also available in print or on our website, the CD-ROM provides a convenient, fast-loading compilation of the open and distance learning resources that COL has produced for public distribution and use. It works with both PCs and MacIntosh computers. It is updated regularly and available upon request from COL: info at COL.
www.col.org/cdrom
BOYS' UNDERACHIEVEMENT IN EDUCATION
Boys' Underachievement in Education: An Exploration in Selected Commonwealth Countries (by Jyotsna Jha and Fatimah Kelleher), is a COL/Commonwealth Secretariat joint study and publication on boys' underachievement. Dr. Tony Sewell, a well-known researcher in the field, was the lead consultant and coordinated research on the case studies, which were undertaken in select Commonwealth countries: Australia, Jamaica, Lesotho, Malaysia and Samoa. This research identifies examples of successful practice and provides initial recommendations for policy direction. Surprisingly, there were few examples of how open and distance learning methodologies can alleviate the problem of boys' education in circumstances where under-achievement and under-performance is evident. This is an area which COL will now pursue. The publication is now available for viewing and free downloading on COL's website.
www.col.org/BoysUnder
ICTs FOR EDUCATION IN AFRICA
A Bibliography of ICT Education Applications in Africa, is now available on COL's website. This is a first step in an Information for Development Program (infoDev) initiative in partnership with COL to assess the state of ICT applications in education by undertaking a survey that will address several questions. The Bibliography is extensive, but now is posted to invite further additions and edits through WikiEducator.
www.col.org/progServ/programmes/KM/Pages/ICT.aspx
WOMEN'S LITERACY AND ICTs
"Women's Literacy and Information and Communication Technologies: Lessons that experience has taught us", by Dr. Anita Dighe and Dr. Usha Reddi, is newly published by COL's Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia in New Delhi. A primary focus of this paper is to highlight why the problem of women's illiteracy needs to be addressed and what experiences exist in using ICTs to for this purpose. The paper concludes by identifying strategies and planning elements that need to be taken into consideration when ICTs are used for women's literacy programmes.
www.cemca.org/CEMCA_Womens_Literacy.pdf
EDTECH CONFERENCES
Dr. Clayton R. Wright, who has completed a number of overseas assignments for COL, has prepared a comprehensive list of educational technology and related conferences to assist those seeking professional development opportunities.
http://cider.athabascau.ca/events/conferences
QA RESOURCES ONLINE
COL has added a new Quality Assurance Micro-site to its website. This micro-site provides a single, convenient access point to existing resources in quality assurance in open and distance learning (ODL). It is designed to be of use to institutions, researchers and governments seeking to establish benchmarks for quality provision and to all those who are interesting in devising effective systems for the review and evaluation of ODL programmes.
www.col.org/quality