On any given morning, millions of learners across the Commonwealth travel to classrooms by bus, car, or foot, often facing barriers of cost, distance, and time. As climate change intensifies, these challenges are only likely to grow, with increased floods, fires, and other natural disasters making access to education even more difficult.
This Earth Day, Dr Jako Olivier, Adviser: Higher Education, COL, explores how Open and Distance Learning (ODL) can expand access to education and leave a lighter footprint on the planet. He highlights how COL’s ODL efforts support climate action and considers how education systems can become more resilient, equitable, and responsive to a changing climate.
Read more: www.col.org/news/greening-education-systems-the-role-of-open-and-distance-learning-in-advancing-c...
#EarthDay #ClimateAction #DistanceLearning #GreenEducation
... See MoreSee Less
In Johannesburg, South Africa, a regional workshop to advance Open Educational Resources (OER) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for schools of education across the Southern Africa region is currently underway.
Supported by COL and co-hosted by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), the University of the Witwatersrand, and the African Deans of Education Forum (ADEF), the workshop has brought together about 60 representatives from schools of education and other tertiary institutions in Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, and Zambia to strengthen regional collaboration in teacher education.
Led by Dr Betty Ogange, Education Specialist: Teacher Education, COL, key outcomes of the workshop include supporting institutions in applying COL’s Framework for OER in Teacher Education, strengthening capacity to find, adapt, co-create, and openly license resources, and exploring sustainable approaches to policy development, quality assurance and regional collaboration.
The event forms part of the growing NOTES initiative — the Network for Open Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is building an African-led platform for collaboration, shared learning, and coordinated action to strengthen teacher education through OER, AI, and sustainable regional systems.
#OER #AIinEducation #TeacherEducation #OpenLearning #Africa Wits - University of the Witwatersrand
... See MoreSee Less
How are small states driving innovation in Online and Distance Learning (ODL)?
VUSSC Voices, a webinar series highlighting expert voices from COL’s Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC) network, returns on 29 April with its tenth session on advancing ODL through policy, practice and capacity building. Engage with education stakeholders from the Commonwealth’s small states and hear from Dr Hermanica Eugene-Zamore, Dean of Academic Affairs at Dominica State College (DSC), as she shares how DSC is advancing online learning.
Register: www.col.org/news/vussc-voices-10-advancing-odl-through-policy-practice-and-capacity-building/
#OnlineLearning #ODL #EducationInnovation #SmallStates #VUSSC
... See MoreSee Less
