AFRICA: BUILDING CAPACITY FOR MATERIALS DESIGN AND PRODUCTION
Educators from eight nations took part in a learning materials development workshop hosted by Mindset Network in Randburg, South Africa in September. COL sponsored the workshop, which brought together education specialists from Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia.
Over 10 days, participants designed a package of video, print and computer-based learning material. They then took the materials through the various stages of production in Mindset's television studios, graphic design department and edit suites. The workshop was designed to be interactive and "hands on", giving delegates the opportunity to tailor the materials for their parti cular needs and learning environment. Many participants were used to working in print only, and the exposure to the other media was exciting and opened up new possibilities for them. At the conclusion of the workshop, each country's products were displayed and constructively reviewed by the group. Each participant went home with a CD of their video, print materials and interactive lesson.
Mindset Network is a non-profit, South African organisation that supports the personal, social and economic development of all people in Africa by creating quality educational resources for primary and secondary schools, healthcare, technical/vocational education and under-resourced communities.
AFRICA: OVERCOMING OBSTACLES TO TVET
In support of its efforts to promote Learning for Livelihoods, COL participated in an African Development Bank workshop that focussed on "the intermediate level skills gap". The meeting in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso explored how to use technical and vocational education and training (TVET) to stimulate economic growth.
Obstacles to effective TVET in Africa include inadequate quantity and quality of teaching staff, obsolete infrastructure and teaching aids, and lack of links with the job market. This workshop provided an avenue for sharing African and international experiences on TVET and identifying best African practices. COL Education Specialist Mr. Joshua Mallet spoke about "Transnational Practices in TVET". COL and the African Development Bank are exploring opportunities to collaborate on TVET in Africa.
AFRICA: OERs FOR LIVELIHOODS
oer s workshop participants in Ghana
Educators from 11 West African countries took part in a training workshop on open educational resources (OERs) in Ghana in August 2007. The workshop, which was supported by UNESCO and COL, was hosted by the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana. It was held at the Winneba Open Digital Village, an information and communication technology (ICT) project supported by COL's Poverty Reduction Outcomes Through Education and Information Networks (COL-PROTEIN) programme.
The OERs workshop brought together people from the Commonwealth and la Francophonie. The focus was on building the capacity of participants to develop learning content using free and open source software technologies. Each person produced learning materials in their area of expertise, and learned how to enhance the content with illustrations, images and animation.
Representatives from the four French-speaking countries also decided to launch a French chapter of Free/Libre and Open Source Software for Education (FLOSS4Edu). An initiative of WikiEducator, the FLOSS4Edu project is building a thriving community of teachers sharing knowledge to widen access to quality learning opportunities.
ASIA: EDUCATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
DELEGATES AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN INDIA
"Environment education towards a sustainable future" was the theme of the 4th International Conference on Environmental Education (ICEE) in November 2007 in Ahmedabad, India. More than 1,000 educators, scientists and environmentalists from about 100 countries attended the conference, which was hosted by the Government of India and sponsored by UNESCO, the United Nations Environment Programme and the Government of India.
The 4 th ICEE offered a global platform for delegates to share practices, ideas and initiatives in environmental education. Group discussions and working sessions were conducted on various themes, including the role of open and distance learning in environmental education.
"Education for sustainable development must reach the masses," said COL President Sir John Daniel in an address to the conference. This means focussing on those who can multiply the message, cultivating lifelong environmental learning and using mass media and other technologies, he explained.
Sir John also introduced the online version of the Green Teacher programme. Developed by COL and India's Centre for Environmental Education, Green Teacher is a one-year Diploma in Environmental Education for teachers and educators. Introduced in 2005 as a distance education programme, Green Teacher has been digitised, which allows both online and blended learning. This will extend the reach of a programme that is changing how teachers, their pupils and the wider community are thinking about the environment and sustainable development.
UPCOMING EVENTS
| WORLD INDIGENOUS
TELEVISION BROADCASTING
CONFERENCE 26-28 March 2008
Auckland, New Zealand www.witbc.org | e LEARNING AFRICA
3rd ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON ICT FOR
DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATION AND TRAINING 28-30 May 2008
Accra, Ghana www.elearning-africa.com | FIFTH PAN - COMMONWEALTH
FORUM ON OPEN LEARNING 13-17 July 2008,
University of London
"Access to Learning for Development"
www.col.org/pcf5 |