TOOLS FOR OPEN SCHOOLS

COSTS AND FINANCING IN OPEN SCHOOLS

By Ed Du Vivier; published by COL

This self-instructional resource book and CD-ROM were developed as a result of a COL-hosted workshop on the costs and financing of open and distance learning (ODL) in Gabarone, Botswana in 2007. The aim of the workshop was to build capacity to plan, negotiate and manage appropriate financial arrangements for the development and maintenance of ODL. These resources will support managers of open schools and open universities, policymakers, government representatives and other staff in ODL institutions. The 11 units cover important financial issues related to the costs and funding of ODL.
www.col.org/Costs_OpenSchools

MANUAL FOR THE TUTORS OF LEARNING CENTRES IN OPEN SCHOOLS

By Dr. Sushmita Mitra; published by COL

This self-instructional manual is for all those who would like to take up the challenging task of acting as a tutor in an educational programme following open and distance learning (ODL) methodologies. The five units explore the basics of ODL, curriculum and learning materials, tutoring in ODL, the process of tutoring, and evaluation and monitoring.
www.col.org/Tutors_OpenSchools

HANDBOOK ON IN-HOUSE STYLE FOR COURSE DEVELOPMENT

Developed by Professor Santosh Panda; published by COL and the National Open School of Trinidad & Tobago

This Handbook provides the basics on how to create new curriculum or adapt existing classroom curriculum for open schooling, as well as how to acquire the required knowledge and skills to develop self-learning materials for school level distance learners. It is intended to be used by course writers and editors to give shape to their distance education curriculum and course units, and by trainers working with faculty who are new to distance learning.
www.col.org/NOSTT_Handbook

PERSPECTIVES SERIES

PERSPECTIVES ON DISTANCE EDUCATION:
FOREIGN PROVIDERS IN THE CARIBBEAN: PILLAGERS OR PRECEPTORS?

Edited by Stewart Marshall, Ed Brandon, Michael Thomas, Asha Kanwar and Tove Lyngra; published by COL

The growing phenomenon of cross-border higher education will not help developing countries unless it is accessible, available, affordable, relevant and of acceptable quality. This latest edition in COL's Perspectives on Distance Education series focuses on the trends of cross-border higher education in the Caribbean, which has its own unique characteristics.

The nine commissioned case studies provide an in-depth analysis and insights into a very complex and dynamic phenomenon. Are the foreign providers in the Caribbean pillagers or preceptors? Do they threaten existing institutions or further the developmental objectives of the countries they operate in? Are they a financial threat or an opportunity? Can the subjects they teach address both global and local concerns? Or is this a new form of cultural imperialism? These are some of the questions that this timely publication invites you to examine. The book can be downloaded for free from COL's website.
www.col.org/ForeignProviders

COL CO-PUBLICATIONS

EDUCATION FOR A DIGITAL WORLD, COLLABORATIVE RESOURCE AND COURSE MATERIALS

Co-published by COL and BCcampus

This helpful guide, resource, textbook and manual for policymakers and practitioners in developing and developed countries explores how the digital revolution is transforming hierarchical, industrial-based models of teaching and learning. It offers a comprehensive collection of proven strategies and tools for effective online teaching. Through practical advice, real-life examples, case studies and useful resources, this book supplies in-depth perspectives about structuring and fostering socially engaging learning in an online environment.
www.col.org/DigitalWorld

A PROSPECTIVE VISION FOR UNIVERSITIES:
THE ROLE OF THE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER UNITS AND DISTANCE EDUCATION

By Dr. Luis Miguel Romero Fernández, Rector, Universidad Técnica Particular De Loja, Ecuador. Translated from Spanish and published in English by COL.

In this thoughtful essay, the Rector of a thriving university in a remote area of Ecuador explores the crisis of the Latin America university (a situation that applies to many other developing countries), his response and a vision for the 21st century. In the words of COL president Sir John Daniel: "COL is publishing his essay in English so that it can inspire university leaders in other developing countries to escape from the stasis of the mental frameworks in which they are trapped and galvanise their institutions into effective action."
www.col.org/Loja

OTHER COMMONWEALTH PUBLICATIONS

CIVIL PATHS TO PEACE: REPORT OF THE COMMONWEALTH COMMISSION ON RESPECT AND UNDERSTANDING

The Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding was established in response to the 2005 request of Commonwealth Heads of Government for the Commonwealth Secretary-General to "explore initiatives to promote mutual understanding and respect among all faiths and communities in the Commonwealth". "Civil Paths to Peace" contains the analyses and findings of the Commission.

This report focuses on the issues of terrorism, extremism, conflict and violence, and argues that cultivating respect and understanding is both important in itself and consequential in reducing violence and terrorism. Cultivated violence, it argues, is generated through fomenting disrespect and fostering confrontational misunderstandings. The report looks at the mechanisms through which violence is cultivated and presents methods of countering disaffection and violence, including general policy recommendations.

This book presents civil paths to peace for use both inside the Commonwealth and beyond its boundaries. The Commonwealth has survived and flourished, despite the hostilities associated with past colonial history, through the use of a number of far-sighted guiding principles. The Commission argues that those principles have continuing relevance today for the future of the Commonwealth - and also for the world at large.

"Civil Paths to Peace" is available for purchase through the Commonwealth Secretariat website.
www.thecommonwealth.org/publications

GIRLS' EDUCATION: A FOUNDATION FOR DEVELOPMENT

By Mihirnie Wijayardene
Published by the Commonwealth Foundation

An estimated 75 million children, the majority of whom are girls, are being denied their right to an education in the Commonwealth today. Despite several Commonwealth countries making some headway with the enrolment and retention of girls in education, overall progress remains patchy and many countries will not meet the education Millennium Development Goal (MDG) by 2015 if trends continue.

This report from the Commonwealth Foundation provides an overview of the work being carried out with respect to the MDG focussing on eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education at all levels by 2015. The report analyses initiatives being taken on the ground by civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations in four Commonwealth countries that appear to be off-track from achieving the MDG target - Cameroon, India, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea - and offers recommendations for where governments and civil society organisations can go from here.
www.thecommonwealth.org/publications