COL RECEIVES LESOTHO PRIME MINISTER
The Rt. Hon. Pakalitha Mosisili, Prime Minister of Lesotho, and First Lady, Mrs. ‘Mathato Mosisilli, met with children from Deep Cove Elementary School in North Saanich, British Columbia while visiting COL’s office in Vancouver in September. The couple (pictured here with Merril McMillan, left, and Rose Chisholm) thanked the children, whose school has raised over CDN $10,000 to help rebuild a school in northern Lesotho in collaboration with a Canadian NGO, Help Lesotho. The delegation from Lesotho that met with COL staff also included the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Mphu Ramatlapeng, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Mr. Mohlabi Kenneth Tsekoa. Lesotho is a mountainous kingdom of two million people that is completely surrounded by South Africa.
UNESCO’S WORLD CONFERENCE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
By Sir John Daniel, President & CEO, COL
Over 1,500 ministers of education, senior officials and university leaders converged on Paris for UNESCO’s World Conference on Higher Education in July. A similar meeting had been convened in 1998. This year’s title, The New Dynamics of Higher Education and Research, emphasised the considerable transformation of higher education (HE) in just 10 years. Quality assurance, for example, barely featured on the 1998 agenda whereas it now receives sustained attention in most countries and was a recurrent theme at the conference. Similarly, although open and distance learning (ODL) was already well established in the 1990s, the steady development of information and communications technologies (ICTs) has given new prominence to alternative methods of teaching and learning. Five regional conferences were held before the main event, and summaries presented in the first plenary revealed common global trends and specific regional concerns.
UNESCO’s intergovernmental conferences are different from academic conferences. Their aim is to go beyond analysis of developments to influence the future through action plans. Ministers from developing countries often articulate policy on the basis of the trends reported at these meetings. This gave particular significance to the conference communiqué and ensured that its drafting committee was the scene of tussles between different visions of higher education that continued until dawn. For example, although private HE is burgeoning almost everywhere, the diehards hoped it would go away if references to it were expunged from the communiqué! Protagonists and opponents of globalisation drew different implications from the generally agreed statement that higher education is a public good.
Reasoned discussion of such issues made the final communiqué a good summary of the current state of play. It highlighted:
• the social responsibility of HE,
• the need to strive for access, equity and quality simultaneously,
• the important – and different – trends of internationalisation, regionalisation and globalisation,
• the need to for research and innovation in learning methods, and
• the particular challenges of HE in Africa.
COL participated in the conference in three ways. First, at the request of the organisers, COL’s Education Specialists all contributed to a substantial document on ICTs for Higher Education (see New Resources, page 10), which was given to delegates in English and French. Second, I was privileged to have a spot in an early plenary session at which I argued that the explosively growing demand for HE can only be satisfied through greater use of ODL and technology-mediated learning. Third, Dr. Emma Kruse Vaai, Chair of the Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC) Management Committee, and I gave a parallel session on HE in small states citing the work of VUSSC. These contributions helped to bring COL’s work and values to the attention of an important global audience of decision makers.
The success and “buzz” of the conference reflect great credit on its executive secretary, Ms. Stamenka Uvalić-Trumbić (who is also COL’s chief functional contact at UNESCO) and her colleagues in UNESCO’s section for Reform, Innovation and Quality Assurance. A follow-up committee has been established, which will have a special focus on Africa. There is also talk of issuing regular global monitoring reports on HE on the model of the impressive annual reports that support the Education for All campaign.
Conference Communiqué: www.unesco.org/education/educprog/wche/declaration_eng.htm
COL’s Background Paper: www.col.org/resources/publications/ConferenceReports
Sir John’s presentation to the World Conference on Higher Education: www.col.org/speeches and www.col.org/videos
NEW WEBSITE & MANAGEMENT FOR VUSSC
The VUSSC Management Committee in Vancouver in August 2009 (left to right): Leon Higgs, Karen Rosemin, John Lesperance, Emma Kruse Vaai, Sir John Daniel, Mamolete Mohapi, Kaylash Allgoo, Ricaus Auckbut, Paul West and Ali Fawaz Shareef
The Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC) has launched its own website (www.vussc.org). The site is a gateway to information about VUSSC activities and resources, including online courses in subjects such as disaster management, entrepreneurship, life skills and tourism. Developed for VUSSC by VUSSC partners, the courses are freely available to anyone for download, adaptation and use.
A Management Committee is now directing VUSSC’s activities, supported by COL’s Education Specialist for VUSSC, Mr. John Lesperance. The Committee includes representatives from small states in all regions of the Commonwealth:
• Dr. Emma Kruse Vaai, National University of Samoa (Asia/Pacific), Chairperson
• Mr. Ricaud Auckbur, Ministry of Education and Human Resources, Mauritius (Africa, Mediterranean)
• Dr. Leon Higgs, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, The Bahamas (Caribbean)
• Dr. Mamolete Mohapi, National University of Lesotho (Africa, Mediterranean)
• Ms. Karen Rosemin, Ministry of Science, Technology & Tertiary Education, Trinidad & Tobago (Caribbean)
• Dr. Ali Fawaz Shareef, Centre for Open Learning, Maldives (Asia/Pacific)
• Mr. Kaylash Allgoo, Mauritius Qualifications Authority, (ex-officio as Chairperson of the VUSSC Transnational Qualifications Framework Committee)
At its first meeting in Vancouver in August, the Management Committee agreed on its terms of reference, finalised a funding proposal, and prepared a budget and plan of action.
The Management Committee also approved the implementation plan for the Transnational Qualifications Framework (TQF). The TQF is an important step forward in establishing credibility for VUSSC as it provides a widely recognised system of accreditation for VUSSC courses and facilitates the movement of courses and learners between states. Ministers of Education in all 32 VUSSC member states will be asked to formally endorse the TQF implementation plan.
One of the key themes that arose in the VUSSC Management Committee meeting was the need to continue building capacity in online materials development among educators in small states of the Commonwealth. VUSSC will continue to hold intensive training workshops or “boot camps”. The next one, scheduled for late 2009 in Samoa, will focus on creating learning materials related to the maritime industry.
VUSSC is a network initiated by, and built on the support of, Ministers of Education of developing small states of the Commonwealth. It is committed to the collaborative development of open content resources for education, training and capacity building and the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to broaden access to education.
www.vussc.org
www.col.org/vussc
BEST PRACTICES IN ODL
“OPERATIONAL DATA MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME FOR UNHCR”
Students learn how to use GPS receivers at the Nairobi "Operational Data Management for UNHCR” Workshop in May 2009
COL’s eLearning for International Organisations programme provides skills training to development workers worldwide through open and distance learning (ODL). Working primarily with international agencies, COL develops and delivers customised courses, usually supported by online one-on-one tutors. One of its newest courses, “Operational Data Management for UNHCR”, is helping to build important skills among United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees staff and, in turn, making a significant difference for the displaced people served by the agency.
Gathering, organising and presenting data is extremely important for UNHCR staff. It is often also extremely challenging. Working in volatile and remote locations, staff must accurately manage data about critical issues such as changing numbers of refugees, prevalence of disease, medications required and the need for water and food. Acquiring funding, resources and political support is often dependent on the accuracy of this data.
The new course is a blended learning programme that combines a self-study unit, a face-to-face workshop and a graduation project.
“Our goal was to develop an intensive learning programme that results in real behavioural change,” said Ms. Shelley Gornall, Operational Data Management Specialist, with the Field Information & Coordination Support Section of UNHCR’s Division of Operational Services. “Offering a workshop wouldn’t be enough, especially in such a highly technical field. Participants learn data management theory in the self-study component, sharpen their hands-on skills in the workshop and apply what they have learned to real challenges in their operations through the graduation project.”
The eLearning programme has been delivered to 90 UNHCR learners in 35 countries. The 80 percent completion rate is considered to be high for this type of programme, especially given the unpredictable environments in which the UNHCR staff work and live.
The programme is already having a profound impact on the people UNHCR serves, Ms. Gornall explained.
“Some of the graduation projects so far include procedures to speed up a resettlement programme for Iraqi refugees, a system to track sexual- and gender-based violence in Yemen, dozens of new data systems and local training for field staff to spread the learning.”
Learner support, an important element in any ODL programme, is provided by four tutors in four countries: Ms. Jess Gao (Canada), Dr. David Murphy (Australia), Dr. Gajendra Naidu (India) and Dr. Mike Robertshaw (UK). Dr. Robertshaw, who has tutored more than 40 people in the programme, says his role goes beyond guiding learners through their studies.
“My counselling tasks are to assist them in the development of appropriate study skills for their first experience in distance education, to reduce their sense of isolation and to provide a human presence to help them with their problems,” he explained. “It’s important to appreciate the potential challenges faced by each participant who has to continue their normal duties while studying. The unexpected influx of a large number of new refugees that have to be processed, a change in the local security situation, health problems and the need to cover a colleague on leave are just a few of the potential factors affecting a participant’s studies. I have great admiration for my students who are pursuing their studies in one of the most challenging learning environments.”
“The support and motivation of the e-coaches is absolutely essential in helping students get through this very technical material,” Ms. Gornall said. “The tutors also ensure a high level of quality in the learners’ assignments, which gives credibility to the programme.”
A second cohort of English- and French-speaking students will start the course early next year. UNHCR plans to offer the programme to 60 staff annually.
www.col.org/COLeLIO
COMMUNITY MEDIA RESEARCH
COL and UNESCO are working on a joint applied research project to explore the potential for mobile-friendly content developed in association with local and community media in developing countries. Launched earlier this year, the study aims to help media build capacity to make innovative use of mobile handsets and other devices in reaching populations with local content and news. Research results will be reported next year.
www.comminit.com/en/node/294122/307
SCRIPTWRITING FOR AFRICAN RADIO BROADCASTERS
COL is working with Farm Radio International to help build capacity in rural communities through its support of a scriptwriting competition on smallholder farmer innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Competitors are invited to submit a radio script that tells the true story of a farmer (or farmers) from their region who has developed an innovation.
Participants were offered a free two-month online scriptwriting training course, developed with support from COL, to help them prepare their radio scripts. The deadline for the scriptwriting competition is 1 November 2009, and winners will be announced in January 2010. The competition is run in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Inter Press Service (IPS) Africa, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), USC Canada and the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC).
http://scriptcompetition.farmradio.org
ONLINE LEARNING RESOURCES FOR OPEN SCHOOLS
Open schools in six Commonwealth countries – Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Seychelles, Trinidad & Tobago and Zambia – are developing new learning materials for 20 subjects through COL’s Open Educational Resources for Open Schools initiative. This two-year partnership between COL and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is focussed on improving access to secondary education by developing open educational resources (OERs) and training “master teachers” in online materials development.
Following training workshops on developing OERs in early 2009, the master teachers are creating self-instructional learning materials. Country Management Committees are ensuring the materials comply with the country’s syllabi and will conduct peer reviews of materials developed in other partner countries. The completed OERs will be freely available for download, adaptation and use by open schools and other institutions, creating a valuable new pool of quality learning resources.
The first of two evaluation reports about the OERs for Open Schools project has been conducted by the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE). The Input Indicator Evaluation Report examines two elements of the initiative: master teachers and their competence regarding materials development, and the quality of training provided by consultants. The evaluation report found that while the teachers have considerable teaching experience, their background in materials development is generally more limited. As a result, Country Management Committees need to accommodate teachers with diverse experience. Satisfaction with the quality of workshops and facilitators is generally high, according to the report. The major issues were time constraints and, most importantly, access to reliable computer and Internet facilities.
The Input Indicator Evaluation Report is available on COL’s website, along with numerous other reports and resources.
www.col.org/OpenSchooling
COL IN SECOND LIFE
COL has created a Second Life site to showcase its work and provide an online meeting space for Commonwealth institutions. To visit, one needs to create a Second Life avatar – a virtual character that can move around the site. COL’s Second Life space includes a tree with rooms and platforms that serve as meeting areas, as well as an amphitheatre and pagoda.
“Our Second Life site enables us to profile COL and the Commonwealth to a group of people who might otherwise not know about us,” said Mr. Paul West, COL’s Director of Knowledge Management and Information Technology. “It’s important that we have a presence at the extremes of bandwidth so that, in addition to communicating with those who have little or no access to technology, we can also communicate with ‘early adopters’ through a rich online presence.”
COL is seeking volunteers to create buildings on its Second Life site to represent Commonwealth areas or activities. For more information, contact Mr. West at pwest@col.org.
http://tinyurl.com/colsecondlife
SECOND LIFE BOOK LAUNCH, COPYRIGHT GUIDE
COL hosted a virtual book launch for Introducing Copyright: A Plain Language Guide to Copyright in the 21st Century on 26 May 2009. Participants signed up for a free Second Life account (if they didn’t already have one) and logged into COL’s Second Life space. Others chose the audio-only option and listened to the book launch on Elluminate. Online book launches are an increasingly popular way to generate awareness of new books while overcoming geographic barriers.
Elluminate audio of book launch:
http://tinyurl.com/pxss4j
SUPPORTING A NEW OPEN SCHOOL IN CAMEROON
COL has supported a strategic development plan for the establishment of a new open school in Cameroon.
As a highly indebted developing country, Cameroon faces numerous challenges related to education including high rates of repetition and drop-out, a shortage of qualified teachers and quality learning materials, limited school infrastructure and a mismatch between the curriculum and the needs of the labour market. Open schooling has the potential to help Cameroon overcome many of these challenges.
Initially, Cameroon National Open School (CAMNOS) programmes will focus on three groups of learners: primary failures, junior secondary failures, and unemployed youth and adults. The pilot phase, running from July 2009 to September 2010, will focus on developing learning materials, creating administrative and academic support services, and carrying out trial runs in several regions.
NAMCOL LAUNCHES MULTIMEDIA LEARNING
A demonstration from a physical science video lesson developed by NAMCOL
The Namibian College of Open Learning (NAMCOL) has introduced 16 video lessons, developed through a multimedia capacity building programme supported by COL. The videos, for students in Grades 10 and 12, cover lessons in Mathematics, English, Physical Science and Accounting. They were developed by NAMCOL staff, supported by training from Mindset Network.
The video lessons are now freely available to learners and the general public. Broadcast of the lessons began on 31 August 2009 on Namibian national television. The videos are also available at learning centres across Namibia, NAMCOL bookshops, and the COL and NAMCOL websites.
The development of these videos is an important step in NAMCOL’s efforts to complement its print-based learning materials with multimedia materials.
“Our ultimate objective is to develop multimedia content that is independent from print, thus enabling learners to choose the type of media they use when they engage in programmes offered by NAMCOL,” said Mr. Heroldt Murangi, Director of NAMCOL. “We see information and communications technologies as enabling tools to expand and improve on the quality of education.”
The Namibian Ministry of Education is providing funding to continue the educational broadcasting initiative for the next three years. The video lessons are also being made available to conventional schools in Namibia, with the aim of improving learner outcomes on a broad scale.
www.col.org/coursematerials
CHANGING THE TECHNOLOGY OF LEARNING
By Desmond Bermingham
Enrolments of over 350,000 students per year. Student/teacher ratios of over 1,000 to one. Students living hundreds of miles from the nearest school. Sounds like the worst example of an underfunded education system?
No. In fact, it is an example of what COL President Sir John Daniel calls “mega-schools”: open schools that use technology and networks of distance tutors to support the learning of literally millions of students through flexible programmes designed to meet their needs without requiring full-time attendance at a traditional school.
Open schools are not new. The figures above refer to the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) in India, which was launched in 1979. NIOS has enrolled more than 1.5 million students over the past four years at secondary and senior secondary levels, and has supported the establishment of open schools in 16 states. The list of open schools in both developed and developing countries is growing.
Open schools come in various forms: some are designed to complement conventional schools, others offer alternative courses and still others are fully integrated into the main schooling system. The common feature of all open schools is that they change the technology of learning by abandoning the assumption that education can only be achieved through face-to-face teaching in traditional schools. Open schooling shifts the focus away from teaching and onto learning. It recognises that students learn in different ways, at different speeds and at different times of their lives. Distance learning combined with periodic face-to-face tuition allow students to learn at their own pace and to combine studying with work or other commitments.
As someone who has worked in the education and aid world for over 15 years, I was aware of the use of open and distance learning (ODL) in many countries – and indeed have been a lifelong learner through the U.K. Open University myself. But until my recent attachment at COL, I had not fully realised the extent to which developing countries have already adopted ODL – and particularly open schooling – as part of their response to the growing demands for quality education at all levels. This has important implications for the international education community, particularly aid agencies and donors providing support to education programmes in low income countries.
It is clear to me that developing countries will not be able to achieve the goal of providing Education for All (EFA) without including ODL programmes as part of their response to the challenge. The numbers are daunting: 72 million primary aged children not in school; estimates of up to 400 million secondary aged children without a school place; 10 million new primary teachers needed. It is unlikely that open schools and other forms of distance learning will ever replace traditional schools and colleges. But, as Sir John points out, ODL and the new technologies will allow countries to achieve significant economies of scale and thereby maximise the use of their scarcest resource: high quality, trained and experienced teachers and tutors.
The international donor community (with one or two exceptions) has to date largely failed to grasp the potential contribution of ODL in the global effort to achieve the EFA goals. External aid for open learning programmes is limited and (perhaps as a result) developing countries rarely include ODL in their education sector plans and requests for funding from donors. Several developing countries have already embarked on large scale open learning programmes – often with help from COL – but further support is needed to share their experiences and to help other countries to find the (often considerable) costs of establishing high quality open learning programmes.
It has been a commonplace belief for many years that “business as usual” will not be sufficient to achieve the education goals. Students and teachers in open schools across the globe are demonstrating that there are alternatives.
Mr. Desmond Bermingham is currently a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington DC. He was formerly the head of the education profession in the UK’s Department for International Development and the head of the Fast Track Initiative Secretariat at the World Bank. This article was written during a one-month senior executive attachment to COL.