Recently, teachers, educators, and education leaders from across sub-Saharan Africa and beyond convened virtually for a webinar entitled Empowering African Teachers through Open Educational Resources (OER): Strategies for Implementation.

The webinar, co-hosted by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and five initial teacher training institutions from Botswana, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa, marked the kick-off of a collaborative research-based project to promote inclusive pre-service teacher education in sub-Saharan Africa through OER. The Wits School of Education led this activity while coordinating efforts across institutions.

Over 200 participants attended the webinar, which explored strategies for implementing OER in teacher education while focusing on the challenges faced by educators in sub-Saharan Africa. Some observations shared during the event included examples of innovative OER usage, such as open games and simulations, and increasing exploration of how artificial intelligence can be utilised to develop inclusive OER. It was noted, though, that the overall quality of available OER remains variable, with relatively little content originating from Africa.

The speakers included Professor Freda Wolfenden of The Open University (UK), Dr Evode Mukama, COL Adviser: Teacher Education, Professor Ramashego Shila Mphahlele of UNISA, and Andrew Moore of OER Africa. These experts shared insights on the transformative potential of OER in teacher training and professional development while emphasising the significance of inclusion and localisation to produce contextually relevant OER.

COL’s Education Specialist for Teacher Education, Dr Betty Ogange, highlighted the importance of OER co-creation in this initiative. “By working together across institutions and borders, we ensure that the resources, policies, and solutions we create are not only scalable but also relevant to local contexts.”

This event is part of COL’s ongoing efforts to promote openness and innovation in teacher education for improved pedagogy and impact. The participating institutions include:

• School of Education, Botswana Open University;
• Federal College of Education (Technical) Gusau, Nigeria;
• College of Education, University of Rwanda;
• School of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, Faculty of Education, North-West University, South Africa; and
• Wits School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

The entire webinar recording can be accessed here: https://youtu.be/083p30vx6Rw.