LEARNING4CONTENT EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS

COL’s Learning4Content programme has trained 3,000 people in wiki skills for content editing over an 18-month period. More than 85 online and face-to-face workshops have been held around the world since January 2008, drawing participants from 110 countries.

“We are delighted to have been the catalyst to build this global collaborative education community,” said Dr. Wayne Mackintosh, who launched and oversaw the growth of Learning4Content as COL’s Education Specialist, eLearning and ICT Policy. “This is a fantastic example of what can happen when people have the opportunity to share knowledge freely.”

The Learning4Content workshops are offered at no cost. Participants learn how to use WikiEducator and other wiki technologies to create and publish open educational resources (OERs). In return, they are asked to contribute one open content learning resource for use in secondary schools, vocational education and post-secondary institutions.

“We’ve had tremendous support from governments and educational institutions who have contributed meeting space and computers, and from numerous people who have volunteered their time as facilitators,” Dr. Mackintosh explained. “Most importantly, we have a large and growing group of about 9,000 educators who are now able to create, use, share and adapt learning content. This will make a huge, long-term contribution to education worldwide.”

Dr. Savithri Singh is Principal of Acharya Narendra Dev College at the University of Delhi in India and a keen supporter of Learning4Content. She has acted as facilitator for three face-to-face Learning4Content workshops and was elected a member of WikiEducator’s first Community Council.

“The WikiEducator workshop that I attended in July 2006 opened up a whole new world for me – a world that allows us to actually practice collaboration and share what we know across the very wide world,” Dr. Singh said. “Through the Learning4Content workshops I hope to persuade more academicians to contribute OERs and maybe as a group, we can make a significant contribution in India. There is a need to make India-centric contextual materials, especially in local languages.”

“The Learning4Content facilitators have been an inspiration – motivating and supporting me to complete my training notwithstanding my work demands and a hectic travel schedule,” said Mr. Victor Mensah, who works for the Commonwealth Youth Programme Regional Centre for Africa in Zambia. Since completing the Learning4Content workshop, Mr. Mensah has encouraged others to take Learning4Content training, led workshops in Zambia, provided online support to other learners and developed several content resources for the community. “Through mass collaboration and a dynamic community – it’s hard to imagine what can’t be achieved!”

At a Learning4Content workshop in St. Kitts in March 2009, the country’s Minister of Education, Hon. Sam Condor, spoke to participants about the need for accessible learning materials that can be adapted to local needs.

“While we are yet to fully witness the potentially powerful impact and exciting prospect of making educational material, educational curriculum and content free and accessible to all, we anxiously await this moment,” he said. “It is equally significant that we hone the skills which would allow us to adapt and modify such content to meet our specific needs.”

Learning4Content is supported by COL and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. There continue to be opportunities to host, attend, facilitate and sponsor workshops. Visit the Learning4Content page on WikiEducator for more information about how to get involved.

www.wikieducator.org/Learning4Content

COL’S NEW THREE-YEAR PLAN, 2009-2012

The final version of COL’s new Three-Year Plan, which was presented to Commonwealth Ministers of Education and received their endorsement this month at the 17th triennial Conference (CCEM) in Kuala Lumpur, is available for review and download on COL’s website (www.col.org/3yp).

Read more about COL’s plans, activities and goals for the upcoming three-year period in “In Focus” on page 8.