Frugal AI: A Blueprint for Digital Sovereignty in Commonwealth Education
As AI reshapes how we teach, learn, and govern knowledge, we at COL believe the future must belong to communities, not external platforms. That’s why we’ve published our new blueprint showing how “Frugal AI” can help institutions in resource-constrained settings build locally owned, sustainable AI capacity.
Through open-source tools, offline-first models, and tiered, scalable architectures, Frugal AI offers a path to:
✅ Secure data ownership and institutional control.
✅ Affordable, dependable access to AI, even where internet and infrastructure are limited.
✅ Inclusive, context-appropriate AI-powered learning environments.
This isn’t about chasing the biggest models. It’s about ensuring every learner, no matter where they are has access to the tools that support their success, on their own terms.
Read more: www.col.org/news/frugal-ai-a-blueprint-for-digital-sovereignty-in-commonwealth-education/
#FrugalAI #DigitalSovereignty #AIinEducation #OpenLearning #EdTech #SustainableAI #Commonwealth #COL4D
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Teachers are the backbone of educational change, and in Lesotho, they’re leading the transformation.
With support from the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), the Lesotho Distance Teaching Centre (LDTC) is leveraging Moodle and Open Educational Resources (OER) to empower teachers as skilled agents of change.
20 course-team members (15 female / 5 male) participated in a training workshop in Maseru (15–19 Sept 2025), developing five new short courses and revising five existing ones, including Continuing Education, Open & Distance Education, Teaching & Learning in ODE, Research & Evaluation in ODE, and Creative Conflict Transformation.
This initiative strengthens Lesotho’s capacity for flexible, resilient, and learner-centred open and distance education.
Read the full story: www.col.org/news/empowering-teachers-as-skilled-agents-of-change-in-lesotho/
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Happy 59th Independence Day, Barbados!
Barbados is advancing open education with vision and determination.
COL values its key partnerships with:
- The Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training
- Ministry of Labour and Social Partnership Relations
- Caribbean Association of National Training Agencies (CANTA)
- Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)
- Erdiston Teachers’ Training College
- The University of the West Indies Open Campus.
Recent achievements with these institutions in collaboration with COL VUSSC include:
- The National programme to scale upskilling launched, based on the success of COL’s Workforce Recovery Programme.
- Two TVET institutions have developed institutional strategies and action plans for open and distance learning (ODL).
Barbados’s leadership in open and distance learning sets a bright future for accessible, inclusive, and sustainable education.
High Commission for Barbados in Canada Ministry of Educational Transformation
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