The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is supporting the Lesotho Distance Teaching Centre (LDTC) in using Moodle to develop curriculum content based on open educational resources (OER). Through this initiative, LDTC will create five new short courses and revise five existing COL-supported courses. Taking place in Maseru, Lesotho, a training session was organised from 15-19 September 2025 to strengthen the capacity of course teams in developing Open and Distance Learning (ODL) materials on Moodle using OER.
The five new courses being developed are the Continuing Education Programme, Open and Distance Education Programme, Teaching and Learning in ODE, Research and Evaluation in ODE, and Creative Conflict Transformation Programme. As these courses had no existing curricula or content, the development teams began their work from the ground up.
Twenty participants (15 female/5 male) attended the training and were divided into five groups, with each group developing one new course and revising one existing course. COL appointed Jan Nitschke as the consultant leading the project, supported by Ms Makhiba Thari from LDTC, while Dr Tony Mays was responsible for the project from COL.
The workshop programme was developed collaboratively and shared with the participants 10 days prior to the workshop’s start.
As part of the pre-workshop preparations, the consultant assisted the LDTC in setting up a Moodle Cloud Instance. The consultant engaged the IT Officer of LDTC to discuss different options for Moodle Cloud. A decision was made to activate the free Moodle Cloud for 30 days, which would allow time for LDTC to make a subscription payment to activate their formal Moodle instance, enabling the export of draft learning material from the free to the paid subscription.
A pre-workshop survey indicated limited prior experience with curriculum and content development, so workshop facilitation resources were prepared in advance and loaded onto the Moodle Cloud Instance for easy access during the workshop.
Each course had a group of three to five members who prepared the support material during the workshop. Each team produced four documents for each course, including a blueprint, a storyboard, module one content and the project plan to completion.
Acting Director of LDTC, and COL focal point, Ms Makhiba Thari, communicated after the workshop: “I wish to inform you that Mr Jan Nitschke, the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) consultant, departed Lesotho today, 22 September 2025, after a productive and impactful visit over the past week. During his stay, he offered valuable support, especially through the face-to-face sessions, which were both engaging and effective. Although Jan has now returned home, he will continue to support us remotely, ensuring continuity in our ongoing activities. We are grateful for the valuable knowledge and expertise he has shared with us thus far.’
Dr Tony Mays, COL’s Director: Education, shared that this activity is part of a broader series of initiatives that began with support to LDTC and the Ministry at the start of the strategic planning period. The first phase focused on finalising a national ODL policy, which envisioned transforming LDTC into a college of Open Learning offering programmes at both schooling and post-schooling levels. The policy received Cabinet approval at the end of Year 2. In Years 3 and 4, COL supported the development of a strategic plan for the renewed institution, as well as a set of institutional policies. Recognising the need to strengthen staff capacity and orientate students for new ODL approaches, the content development exercise reported here was initiated. This effort reflects the Gaborone Statement’s call to empower teachers as skilled agents of change—creating flexible, technology-enabled pathways for learning and fostering professional communities that inspire lifelong learning and drive transformation.
