With the support of COL, the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) organised a three-day capacity-building workshop on blended course design using Moodle Learning Management System (LMS) from 29 to 31 May 2019. Thirty-seven faculty members participated in the workshop, including lecturers, instructional designers, the Dean of the School of Business and Public Policy and Acting Executive Director of the UPNG Open College.

The Vice-Chancellor of UPNG, Professor Frank Griffin acknowledged with appreciation COL’s role in facilitating the workshop to build the competencies of teachers to use new technologies. He said, “At a time when most of the students and teachers are connected to the digital world, it is important for the UPNG to embrace the available technology and focus on preparing learners for the lifelong learning needs of the 21st century.” He also noted that, as a research-focused organisation, the UPNG “recognises the importance of digital education skills.”

The UPNG faculty and staff demonstrated high levels of motivation, engagement and excitement in the hands-on practice using Moodle tools for course development. Workshop participants developed skills to prepare blended courses using a template and features of the LMS. Dr Sanjaya Mishra, COL’s Education Specialist: eLearning said, “UPNG is at the cusp of implementing the technology-enabled learning policy developed earlier. This workshop was designed to orient the faculty to this policy and integrate ICTs systematically in the courses and programmes of UPNG”.

The workshop was coordinated by Dr Janet Rangou of the UPNG Open College and facilitated by COL consultant Dr Philip Uys from Australia.