Employment Opportunities
COL is seeking an eminent and senior professional to join as an Education Specialist, eLearning, to develop and manage eLearning activities focused on policy development, capacity building in the use of appropriate learning technologies and development of models and learning materials. COL is also seeking an eminent open and distance learning (ODL)/ICT for development professional for the post of Vice President. The Vice President will assist the President in the effective management of the organisation.
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Application deadlines:
31 May 2012 - Education Specialist, eLearning
15 June 2012 - Vice President (re-advertised)
www.col.org/opportunities
2012 WISE Awards
WISE Awards are designed to identify, showcase and promote innovative educational projects from all sectors and regions of the world to inspire change in education. The 2012 round will continue to celebrate successful models and innovations within the theme Transforming Education. This year, one WISE Award will also be given to a project that has best delivered innovative financing of primary education.
A Jury composed of leading experts from the education world selects six innovative projects for their concrete and positive impact on communities and societies. These winning projects gain global visibility and receive a prize of US$20,000.
The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) is an initiative of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.
Submission deadline: 31 May 2012
www.wise-qatar.org/awards
The 18th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (18CCEM)
Mauritius, 28 - 31 August 2012
Hosted by the Government of Mauritius in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat (and other agencies such as the Commonwealth of Learning).
Theme: Education in the Commonwealth: bridging the gap as we accelerate towards achieving internationally agreed goals
- Ministerial meetings (Ministers and Senior Officials)
- Parallel Forums:
- Stakeholders’ Forum
- Post-Secondary and Higher Education Leaders’ Forum
- Youth Forum
- Teachers’ Forum
- Exhibition/showcase
Commonwealth ministerial meetings are one of the principal forums for Commonwealth inter-governmental consultation and decision-making. To this end, Commonwealth Education Ministers meet every three years to discuss issues of mutual concern and interest, to formulate policy on key developmental issues and to build consensus at a high political level within the Commonwealth. Among other organisations, the Commonwealth of Learning reports to Ministers of Education at CCEMs and seeks their endorsement for COL's next Three-Year Plan.
http://18ccem.gov.mu
Asha Kanwar appointed President of the Commonwealth of Learning
Professor Asha Kanwar, one of the world’s leading advocates for learning for development, and current Vice President of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the international organisation. She succeeds Sir John Daniel, whose term as COL’s President ends on 31 May. More...
Three-year Plan, 2012-2015
COL’s Three-Year Plan for 2012-2015, Learning for Development, is nearing completion, after extensive consultation. It will be presented at the 18th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) in Mauritius in August..
www.col.org/Draft3yp
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)
Perth, Australia: 24 - 30 October 2011 (www.chogm2011.org).
COL's report to CHOGM looked like this. The documentation is this wrap-around to a brochure on "COL and the Millennium Development Goals" which is available at www.col.org/MDG.
COL also provided Foreign Ministers with preliminary versions of the individual Country Reports for 2009-2012 that COL will be presenting to Commonwealth Education Ministers when they meet in Mauritius in August 2012.
October 26: Presentation to Foreign Ministers by Board Chair, the Honourable Burchell Whiteman, O.J. and President and C.E.O., Sir John Daniel.
October 26: Following the COL presentation to Foreign Ministers, Australian Foreign Minister, the Honourable Kevin Rudd, announced that Australia would be re-joining as a financial partner of COL: News release.
He also included this in his speech later in the evening.
Media? Please see www.col.org/news/media
PCF7 to be held in Nigeria
COL’s Seventh Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF7) will be held in Abuja, Nigeria in November 2013, co-hosted by the Federal Ministry of Education. The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is the lead partner institution.
www.col.org/pcf
Connections/EdTech News
Connections/EdTech News, February 2012:
includes: Partnerships, Innovation build Healthy Communities; Asha Kanwar appointed President of COL; Editorial: A U.S. withdrawal from UNESCO would hurt higher education; Expanding TVET in the Pacific; Fostering governmental support for OER; New Resources and EdTech News.
www.col.org/connections
New resources
Quality Assurance Toolkit for Open and Distance Non-formal Education
Non-formal education and training is an extremely wide field, encompassing themes with an enormous and ever-increasing need, including adult literacy, basic education for out-of-school children, life skills, work skills, gender equity and community development. Evidence of direct and tangible benefits to individuals, communities and economies must be demonstrated if these programmes are to receive the funding and support that they need. QA systems applied in educational contexts are generally concerned with inputs — how much money is spent, what staffing, resources and support are provided, what kinds of teaching and learning are involved, and so on. There is an assumption — not always fulfilled — that the higher the standards of the inputs, the higher the quality of the outputs. In this toolkit, we propose a different approach: the evaluation of the programmes’ outcomes, outputs and impacts.
www.col.org/QAToolkit_NF
Guidelines for OER in Higher Education
Stemming from the open educational resources (OER) policy forum last December and wide consultation, UNESCO and COL have developed Guidelines for OER in Higher Education. The guidelines are intended to help key stakeholder groups (governments, higher education institutions, teaching staff, student bodies, quality assurance/accreditation bodies and academic recognition bodies) as they assess the implications of OER for their future policies and actions. Sir John Daniel and UNESCO Director-General Ms. Irina Bokova will launch the publication at the UNESCO General Conference on 1 November.
www.col.org/oerGuidelines
A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER)
Prepared by Neil Butcher for the Commonwealth of Learning & UNESCO
Edited by Asha Kanwar (COL) and Stamenka Uvalić-Trumbić (UNESCO)
A summary of the key issues as FAQs: to provide readers with a quick and user-friendly introduction to Open Educational Resources (OER) and some of the key issues to think about when exploring how to use OER most effectively.
Plus: A comprehensive analysis of these issues.
And: A set of appendices, containing more detail.
www.col.org/oerBasicGuide
Instructional Design Tool
Developing quality course materials requires a specific set of skills. COL’s new Instructional Design Tool is a rigorous, yet simple resource that supports the development of quality courses and learning materials. Through this tool, COL is encouraging institutions to maximise the effectiveness, efficiency and appeal of the learning experience.
www.col.org/IDtool
The Commonwealth of Learning Review and Improvement Model (COL RIM) for Higher Education Institutions
COL blog
COL’s blog is encouraging interaction, discussion and knowledge sharing on issues related to education for development. The blog explores areas such as e-learning, gender, educational technology, livelihoods, best practices, news and book reviews. COL’s Educational Specialists will also contribute podcasts to help expand dialogue on relevant issues.
www.col.org/blog
Gender micro-site
COL's Gender micro-site has been designed to provide a one-stop, comprehensive platform to access print and electronic resources on gender and open, distance and technology-mediated learning (ODL) with a special emphasis on information and communication technology (ICT). The main purpose of developing this gender micro-site is to provide knowledge and information on gender and ODL/ICT so as to raise awareness and to provide tools to ODL policymakers and practitioners to help them address gender concerns in their areas of competence.
www.col.org/genderMS
Quality Assurance micro-site
COL's Quality Assurance micro-site has been designed to provide a single, convenient access point to existing resources in quality assurance in open and distance learning (ODL). We hope that it will be of particular use to institutions, researchers and governments seeking to establish benchmarks for quality provision and to all those who are interested in devising effective systems for the review and evaluation of ODL programmes.
www.col.org/qualityMS
Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC)
On behalf of Commonwealth Ministers of Education, COL is co-ordinating the development of a Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC). Twenty six countries are now actively engaged in making the VUSSC a reality. VUSSC countries have chosen to focus on creating postsecondary, skills-related courses in areas such as tourism, entrepreneurship, professional development, disaster management and a range of technical and vocational subjects. These non-proprietary, electronically-held course materials, which can readily be adapted to the specific context of each country, are used in the offering of credit-bearing qualifications in the countries' post-secondary institutions, strengthening their educational capacity and outreach. Small states thus become active contributors to global development and leaders in educational reform through the innovative use of information and communications technologies (ICTs). The VUSSC is throwing a wide bridge across the digital divide.
www.col.org/vussc
NEW RESOURCES
COL publications:
Consultants' reports:
Speeches and presentations: www.col.org/speeches
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Further information ...
CD-ROM
COL offers a CD-ROM (updated regularly) that contains our most popular knowledge resources and recent publications and reports, along with a video on COL and its work. It is available upon request from COL: info@col.org
PLEASE NOTE:
The Commonwealth of Learning's focus is in strengthening institutions in developing Commonwealth countries that are striving to provide affordable education to larger numbers of their citizens.
COL IS NOT an educational institution. It does not register students and does not directly offer courses, programmes of study, scholarships or bursaries.
COL DOES NOT provide an accreditation service and does not endorse institutions or programmes. COL is also unable to provide directories of courses available in the Commonwealth.
Please see: About COL for more information. |