The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is supporting Mauritius’ Higher Education Commission (HEC) in implementing technology-enabled learning (TEL) in higher education institutions. Currently, in Phase 3 of the implementation, six higher education institutions are actively participating in the process of developing blended courses by integrating appropriate learning designs and technology.

Two five-day workshops on ‘Developing Blended Learning Courses using Moodle’ will be held in Mauritius from mid-April to late May 2024, providing hands-on opportunities for teachers to provide best practices for developing blended courses using online tools. 65 academic staff members from the University of Mauritius, University of Technology, Universite des Mascareignes, Open University of Mauritius, Mahatma Gandhi Institute and Mauritius Institute of Education participated in the workshops.

Participants are given the opportunity to work on the Moodle learning management system, develop the blueprint for their courses, explore the use of artificial intelligence tools to create interactive learning materials, and use open educational resources (OER) appropriately in blended courses.

Professor Romeela Mohee, Commissioner of the HEC, thanked COL for the support provided and urged the participants to make the best use of the training to revise and reform the courses and support active learning in higher education institutions. “The Commission advocates the integration of educational technology for student learning and promoting interaction in both physical and virtual classrooms,” she said.

Dr Sanjaya Mishra, Education Specialist, COL, commented: “The support provided to HEC is part of a broader focus on strengthening the capacity of higher education institutions in the Commonwealth to leverage the use of technology to increase access and improve the quality of higher education. In Mauritius, COL has also supported the National OER policy, and the teachers trained through the collaboration with HEC will develop blended courses that will be shared through the national OER repository.”