OPEN SCHOOL LAUNCHED IN TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

COL PRESIDENT SIR JOHN DANIEL JOINS STAFF OF THE DISTANCE EDUCATION UNIT AND CO-ORDINATORS OF THE ADULT AND CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAMMES AT THE LAUNCH OF THE NATIONAL OPEN SCHOOL OF TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

The new National Open School of Trinidad & Tobago enrolled its first students in June 2007. COL President Sir John Daniel attended the first orientation session for students, which was held at Waterloo High School. The National Open School uses a blend of conventional and distance education methods, allowing learners to choose how, when, where and what they will learn. A complement to the traditional school system, the National Open School emphasises skills, knowledge, abilities and competencies rather than qualifications.

A pilot programme is being conducted in nine secondary schools, targeting more than 1,200 students who received unsatisfactory grades in Math and English.
COL has supported the development of the National Open School, providing expert advice and training for course writers, management and tutors. COL's work is aimed at building local capacity to ensure sustainability of this important initiative.

 
CONSORTIUM PROMOTES eLEARNING IN INDIA

A group of more than 20 educational institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and governments has come together to form the Indian Consortium for Educational Transformation (I-CONSENT). COL helped to form I-CONSENT, which is working to increase access to quality education through eLearning.

"Technology will help us level the playing field for all learners," said Professor Ram Takwale, a former Vice Chancellor of India's Indira Gandhi National Open University and Honorary COL Fellow, who is the head of I-CONSENT. "It's not possible for a single institution to meet the challenge of Education for All, so we need to come together - public institutions, private groups, communities and individuals - to develop solutions."
I-CONSENT is currently leading four initiatives:

• Virtual School and Learning Homes: a pilot programme in Maharashtra State that offers education to out-of-school children through open and distance learning.
• Open Educational Resources: learning materials that are freely available online for educators.
• Nurturing Excellence and Talent Services (NETS): a training programme that teaches teachers to use various tools and techniques to identify and nurture talent in students.
• eTeacher Training: an audio programme with learner support that provides teachers with knowledge and skills in information and communications technologies, open and distance learning and the development and use of open educational resources.
  www.mkcl.org/iconsent 

DE ASSOCIATION LAUNCHED IN SRI LANKA

SIR JOHN DANIEL SPEAKS AT THE LAUNCH OF SLADE

The Sri Lanka Association of Distance Educators (SLADE) was formed recently with the aim of expanding educational opportunities for youth in the country. With funding from the Ministry of Higher Education and support from COL, SLADE is focussing on using technology to meet the need to massively expand access to education in Sri Lanka.

Speaking at the inauguration of SLADE, COL President Sir John Daniel identified distance education as the only way to expand educational opportunities to meet modern market demands. Vidya Jyothi Professor Dayantha Wijeyesekera, who has been a member COL's Board of Governors and a Vice Chancellor of the Open University of Sri Lanka and the University of Moratuwa, was elected founding president of SLADE.

COL PROTEIN PROJECT WINS ASHDEN AWARD

Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha has received more international recognition for its Mobile Internet Educational Unit in a Boat project in Bangladesh. Shidhulai won an Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy in Education and Welfare. One of the first projects funded by COL's Poverty Reduction Outcomes through Education Innovations and Networks (COL-PROTEIN) programme, this innovative project uses boats to provide remote, marginalised communities with education, library access, agricultural training, health advice and access to mobile phones and the Internet. All 88 of the project's boats use solar energy; the project has also provided renewable energy supplies to more than 400,000 people. Established in 2001, the Ashden Awards recognise exemplary examples of sustainable energy use in the U.K. and the developing world.

OPEN CONTENT IN NZ

Otago Polytechnic in New Zealand recently introduced a new Intellectual Property policy that encourages sharing of educational resources. Any material developed at the polytechnic will default to a Creative Commons (CC-BY) license unless specified otherwise by the creator. This enables staff and students, as the owners of Intellectual Property rights, to grant some or all of their rights to the public while retaining other rights. The result is that Otago Polytechnic's educational services and content will be more accessible, and the polytechnic will be able to collaborate in educational resource development internationally through platforms such as WikiEducator ( www.WikiEducator.org).