With support from the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), 30 staff of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), Nigeria, including seven persons with disabilities, recently reported improved knowledge for course enhancement by making use of open educational resources (OER). A COL-assisted capacity-building workshop was held as a follow-up of the engagement with stakeholders towards the development and validation of an OER policy, which took place earlier in the year.

Through hands-on activities, staff were equipped with the necessary skills for implementing the OER policy, especially as it relates to instructional design, course material development and enhancement of existing course materials with OER. The course materials were analysed and updated in the areas of learning outcomes, instructional content, in-text evaluation and sourcing for relevant OER in form of pictures, graphics, texts and videos.

In his remarks to the participants, Professor Abdullahi Bala Alhassan, UNIMAID Director, Centre for Distance Learning, said COL’s support to the university was appreciated in the continued effort towards staff improvement in OER. He further stressed that this would lead to improvement in the quality of course materials and instructional processes.

Professor Jane-Frances Agbu, Adviser: Higher Education at COL, commented that UNIMAID is one of eight pilot institutions in Nigeria supported by COL, in collaboration with the National Universities Commission, towards implementing OER policy.