Indian OUs draw charters for sharing resources amongst their institutions.
Quality assurance and content development professionals from 17 State Open Universities of India met recently to draw an action plan for sharing their courseware and other learning material as open educational resources (OER) at a three-day OERfest organised by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL)’s regional centre, Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA), and Dr B. R. Ambedkar Open University (Dr. BRAOU) in Hyderabad, India.
Dr B. Shadrach, Director of CEMCA, said that the event helped to enhance institutional capacity to use OER for course development and micro-credential creation and to recognise benefits, such as cost savings, quality improvements, autonomy, student engagement and personalised learning pathways. He remarked that bringing these open universities under the Consortium of Open Universities of India has been a highly beneficial move in their attempt to implement the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) and as important allies to the government in achieving national goals for a more all-encompassing, flexible, and technologically-driven higher education ecosystem in India.
As Chief Guest, Dr Nirmal Jeet Singh Kalsi, Chairman of the National Council for Vocational Education and Training emphasised the importance of open universities sharing best practices to enhance the implementation of open and distance e-learning programmes. He underscored the potential of these programmes to equip and empower those who lack resources, as well as the flexibility they offer in developing and delivering courses tailored to meet the learners’ current needs.
Professor K. Seetharama Rao, Vice Chancellor of Dr BRAOU, discussed the challenges in meeting the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals and India’s NEP, highlighting the crucial role of open universities in growing the gross enrolment ratio. In his keynote address, Professor V. S. Prasad, former Vice-Chancellor of Dr BRAOU and former Director of NAAC, emphasised the need for open universities and COL to promote OER for public benefit and warned against the commercialisation of education.
Over the event’s three days, OU officials developed their roadmap for OER practice in their universities while also proposing collaborating arrangements for offering joint programmes, addressing language diversity and interoperability of OER repositories. Arrangements for content sharing among all OUs were the outcome of the OU OERfest.
#COL4D #CEMCACOL #OpenUniversities #HigherEducation #EdTech #ResourceSharing #DigitalLearning #CollaborativeEducation #DistanceLearning #InclusiveEducation #OpenLearning
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#digitalskills are becoming an absolute priority for teachers in the Pacific region, and #COL4D is equipping them with the necessary training.
In #Fiji, #Kiribati, #Nauru, #papuanewguinea, #samoa, #solomonislands, #Tonga and #Tuvalu, local educators are embracing technology to enhance their teaching methods and better prepare their students for the digital world ahead.
COL is proud of the dedication of these educators and the progress being made in the Pacific.
#PacificEducation #DigitalLearning #teachertraining #pacificislands #EmpoweringTeachers #DigitalTransformation #FutureOfEducationOut of 15 Pacific Island countries, 11 are actively developing or have established policy frameworks for disability-inclusive education, with many highlighting the crucial role of technology.
These frameworks aim to create more accessible and equitable learning environments for all students. By integrating technology, these policies are paving the way for innovative solutions that support diverse learners across the Pacific!
➡️ See more in the NEW 2024 Pacific Report by #GEMReport and the Commonwealth of Learning:
bit.ly/2024pacific
#TechOnOurTerms #CHOGM2024
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“New Zealand is ‘of’ and ‘with’ the Pacific, connected not only by the ocean but our shared geographical, historical and cultural bonds. Our collective resilience is deeply intertwined with our #Pacific brothers and sisters.”
New Zealand is a proud long-standing partner of education in the Pacific and supporters of the UNESCO GEM Report, Commonwealth of Learning and The University of the South Pacific (USP).
Ngā mihi nui to MFAT’s Dr. Helen Leslie (United Nations, Human Rights and Commonwealth Unit Manager) for representing New Zealand at the #CHOGM2024 Commonwealth of Learning side event. She talked about the importance of international development support to advance education for resilience in the Pacific.
The event also saw the launch of the Global Monitoring Report on technology in education in the Pacific.
Learn more here ➡ www.unesco.org/gem-report/en/articles/launch-2024-gem-report-technology-education-pacific
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