RADIO HELPS REBUILD A COMMUNITY

In partnership with the Rural Internet Connectivity System and the Regional Media Centre, both part of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), COL has helped launch a new community radio service in the outer island of Niuatoputapu, Tonga. The devastation of a tsunami in late 2009 highlighted the need for better communication and learning among residents of this remote island.

SPC provided a “radio in a suitcase”, enabling the Niuatoputapu community to broadcast locally on FM. The Regional Media
Centre, with technical and financial assistance from COL, provided training for 20 local residents in designing, planning and creating radio programmes, including interviewing techniques, editing and using the Internet to gather information. A management committee was established to oversee a group of budding radio announcers.

Enthusiasm for the new radio station was such that it was launched ahead of schedule. On the day of the launch, the station broadcast for nine hours instead of the planned two hours. Since then, the station has been on the air for approximately six hours a day instead of two hours every Friday as originally envisioned. Government agencies on the island share the enthusiasm and have collaborated on recent programmes about an outbreak of bacterial skin infections and sanitation.

In the past, residents of Niuatoputapu would tune into radio stations from Tongatapu and Samoa that had spotty reception. Today the new community radio station is providing relevant local information that is helping the island recover and rebuild.

OERs FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

Expert panel members at the OERs for English Language Teaching critique workshop at CIET in New Delhi, India 

COL is spearheading an initiative to develop a bank of open educational resources (OERs) to support English language teaching in developing countries. Representatives from teacher training institutions in Ghana, Kenya, India, Nigeria and Tanzania have collaborated to produce six learning modules in both traditional text and multimedia formats for use by teachers at the Junior Secondary School level.

The draft modules were evaluated at a workshop hosted by the Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET) of the National Council of Education Research and Training in New Delhi, India. A panel of 12 experts reviewed and critiqued the text and multimedia course materials, providing suggestions for improvement. Following the workshop, the course developers made the necessary revisions. The modules will be adapted for national contexts, pilot tested and then made available to teachers throughout the Commonwealth.

“OERs for English Language Teaching” supports school-based teacher training, which is seen as a solution to the lack of adequately trained teachers in the basic education sector. Other knowledge-based occupations and the prevalence of HIV/AIDS are reducing the stock of teachers in developing countries, particularly in Africa. As a result, many junior secondary schools are staffed by unqualified, under-qualified and incompetent teachers. This is likely to continue for many years.

School-based models of teacher training can help improve the effectiveness of
in-service training, but there is an urgent need for up-to-date resources and support systems. By providing teachers with access to quality learning materials, “OERs for English Language Teaching” has the potential to make a contribution to improving the quality of learning at the Junior Secondary School level throughout the Commonwealth.

www.col.org/TeacherEducation  

EXPANDING ODL FOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

Trinidad & Tobago

COL is supporting development of the Open and Flexible Training and Education Network (OFTEN) in Trinidad & Tobago. OFTEN is an ODL work-based training strategy that responds to the need to upgrade skills of people in the workforce, particularly in the public sector.

COL has provided the Government of Trinidad & Tobago with open educational resources (OERs) in topics such as Working with Concrete, Working with Timber and Small Engine User Maintenance. The OERs were originally developed as part of the Pacific programme of Basic Trades for Small Island Nations.

COL also arranged for The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand (TOPNZ) to consult with its counterparts in Trinidad & Tobago. Following a three-week visit, the team from TOPNZ provided a business case and plan for a TVET system that uses flexible approaches to skills development. Trinidad & Tobago’s Distance Learning Secretariat in the Ministry of Science, Technology & Tertiary Education is now moving forward with plans for OFTEN, which will bring together a fragmented tertiary sector and expand access to quality TVET.

Nigeria

COL is helping Nigeria’s National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) to explore new approaches to skills development through ODL. NIEPA has the potential to offer their continuing education programme for education officials through ODL but requires assistance with distance education programme planning, costing and instructional design. COL Education Specialist, Skills Development, Ms. Alison Mead Richardson facilitated a capacity building workshop on distance education system planning at NIEPA in May.

NIEPA also benefited from a COL-funded consultancy carried out by Dr. Delvaline Mowes from the Centre for Open and Lifelong Learning at the Polytechnic of Namibia. This helped NIEPA managers to cost their distance education plans and make a submission for federal funding for the programme. COL will provide ongoing support for the development of course materials in print and eLearning formats. NIEPA staff members are also developing links with important ODL groups in the region such as the COL-supported Regional Training and Research Institute for Distance and Open Learning (RETRIDOL), where they attended a workshop by world-renowned instructional designer, Professor Alexander Romiszowski.

IMPROVING LITERACY FOR TVET

Educators from the Pacific Islands put aside the myth that literacy skills are not essential for technical vocational education and training (TVET). Eleven educators travelled from their island homes in Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu to join with six staff from the National University of Samoa to write an open and distance learning (ODL) course, “Literacy for Basic Trades”. The course is based on two trade areas, working with timber and with concrete. It responds to a great need to assist people who left school early and are now trying to access TVET but have varying levels of literacy. Educators in the Pacific islands had asked COL to help them develop a literacy course that would bridge these students into regular TVET programmes.

Delegates worked solidly for two weeks to establish the learning outcomes, develop the modular structure and write the Student Workbook and Tutor Guide. The course material was designed to be delivered to students in any location, particularly in remote communities, using local people as tutors.

The workshop was a collaboration between COL and the National University of Samoa’s Oloamanu Centre for Professional Development and Continuing Education. It was facilitated by Mr. John Bartram, a consultant from COL, and Gatoloaifa’aana Tilianamua To’omata Afamasaga, the Director of the Oloamanu Centre.

The workshop was declared open by the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the National University of Samoa, Letuimanu’asina Dr. Emma Kruse Vaai. “The development of TVET literacy materials is not merely to address literacy in TVET,” she said. “It is in fact integrated to a much bigger agenda – the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in education, the goals of Education for All and the Commonwealth values of peace, democracy, equality and good governance.”

The new learning materials will be piloted in three countries before being introduced throughout the Pacific. By improving literacy skills, learners will be able to pursue further levels of TVET that will improve their livelihoods and their communities.

ICT IN TVET SUMMIT

A representative from Microsoft presents Ndeshimona Afunde with a Snap Windows phone that she won in a draw at the eLearning Africa conference. “Being an ODL learner myself, I can use my phone to surf the Internet,” she said. “ICT can make a huge difference in the learning process.”

COL partnered with UNESCO-UNEVOC to host the 4th African TVET Summit: “Flexible Learning: From TVET Policy to Skills Training Practice”, held prior to the eLearning Africa conference in Lusaka, Zambia in May. Close to 50 people from across Africa attended the pre-conference workshop on flexible and blended approaches to technical and vocational education and training (TVET).

COL also took part in the main conference, the 5th International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training, held in Lusaka, Zambia in May. More than 1,700 delegates from 78 countries attended the event, which is Africa’s largest conference on technology-enhanced education and training. COL sponsored five
people from TVET institutions to attend the ICT in TVET Summit and the eLearning Africa conference, including Ms. Ndeshimona Afunde from Namibia, who provided this report:

I work in the Learner Support Unit at the Namibian College of Open Learning. I was privileged to be sponsored by COL to attend the 4th International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training.

The conference focus was mainly on the use of ICT in the learning and teaching process. Discussions were thought-provoking; though it made me think about how many African children really benefit from the millions of dollars that are spent by governments and NGOs to buy ICT equipment. Purchases precede training of teachers and school managements in most African countries. As a result, in most places, these interactive boards, computers, etc. end up being white elephants decorating the store rooms.

Training for the use of ICT should include policy makers, managers (school principals and heads of institutions) and teachers/trainers. This will ensure the smooth implementation of strategies to include ICT in the learning-teaching process because all understand and support it.

It was indeed a privilege to listen to how ICT has been used in other countries and institutions to enhance the teaching-learning process.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION FOR OPEN SCHOOLS

Participants at the Monitoring and Evaluation Workshop for Open Schools in Windhoek, Namibia, 16-18 August

Thirty-one people representing Commonwealth Open Schooling Association (COMOSA) members from 11 African countries and India took part in a three-day workshop at the Namibian College of Open Learning (NAMCOL) that explored the role of monitoring and evaluation in open schools, results-based monitoring, tools and resources. The participants, including tutors, lecturers, directors and principals of open schools, developed conceptual frameworks, logframes and indicators for their own institutions. They have committed to sharing their knowledge and tools with colleagues upon return to their home countries.

This capacity building in monitoring and evaluation is part of COL’s efforts to improve the quality and reach of open schooling across the Commonwealth. The Namibia workshop drew upon COL’s publication, “Results-based Monitoring Evaluation at the Commonwealth of Learning”. This handbook is freely available on COL’s website at www.col.org/MEHandbook.

COMMUNITY LEARNING IN BELIZE

A new community learning programme launched in Belize is the result of a partnership that involves a community radio station, a local education centre, health authorities and a women’s group. COL and the Caribbean Institute for Media and Education (CARIMAC) at the University of West Indies Jamaica hosted a workshop in June 2010 that brought together the partners: the Tumul K’in Center of Learning, Ak’ Kutan Radio, Isabel Palma Policlinic (Ministry of Health), Belize Family Life Association and the Toledo Maya Women’s Council.

Three regional facilitators shared COL’s approach to community learning. After learning about programme design, the story-based approach to learning content, interview skills and blended learning strategies, participants designed a pilot radio programme about healthy lifestyles including nutrition, exercise, and warning signs of diabetes, hypertension and other illnesses. In addition to introducing a learning programme that will address health issues in the community, the workshop built capacity among both the delegates and the regional trainers. The local partners are continuing to collaborate on a weekly health radio programme.

MULTIMEDIA FOR ODL IN SWAZILAND

COL Education Specialist, Open Schooling, Mrs. Frances Ferreira is welcomed by Swaziland’s Minister for Education and Training, Honourable W. Ntshangase (far right); University of Swaziland Vice Chancellor Professor C.M. Magagula (middle); and University of Swaziland Pro-Vice Chancellor, Professor V.S.B. Mtetwa 

Integrating multimedia learning with open and distance learning (ODL) was the focus of an August 2010 workshop in Swaziland. Twenty-six lecturers, teachers and managers from ODL institutions in Swaziland were introduced to multimedia learning methods and techniques during the five-day workshop. Participants learned about the skills and processes required for high quality digital content development.

This workshop is part of COL’s efforts to build capacity in multimedia content development among open schools. Recognising that the development of digital content requires different expertise than traditional print content, COL has provided training in integrating multimedia into open schools in several African countries. The Swaziland workshop exposed participants to devices for users to access digital content and outlined guidelines on the requirements of digital content production skills. This learning will enable institutions to develop a strategy for multimedia content development

www.col.org/OpenSchooling

COMMUNITY BANKING FOR FARMERS

COL hosted a six-day travelling workshop about community banking for universities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and banks from Kenya and Uganda that are active in L3 Farmers programme. The workshop, which was held in Tamil Nadu, India, introduced participants to the principles and practices of community banking in L3 Farmers. This increased awareness will help strengthen L3 Farmers in Kenya and Uganda and will help the rural poor access loans and other financial services.

AN L3 Farmers participant and a Kenyan banker share ideas during a visit to the village of Rasingapuram

• 14th Cambridge International Conference on Open, Distance and eLearning

COL is sponsoring five delegates from developing countries to the 14th Cambridge International Conference on Open, Distance and eLearning 25-28 September 2011. The sponsorship would appeal to individuals interested in the role of open, distance and eLearning in internationalisation and social justice. Conference details are available at www2.open.ac.uk/r06/conference.

For more information, contact us before 30 November at rameresekere.

• Sixth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF6)

Access and Success in Learning: Global Development Perspectives

Le Méridien Cochin Resort & Convention Centre
Kochi, Kerala, India. 24-28 November 2010
Hosted by the Commonwealth of Learning and Indira Gandhi National Open University

www.col.org/pcf6