The Tamale College of Education (TACE), Ghana, with support from the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), recently concluded a four-day course development workshop for staff on open and distance learning (ODL). In the opening remarks, TACE Principal, Dr Sulemana Iddrisu emphasised the value of ODL in instruction after Covid-19 and encouraged participants to fully engage in the workshop as “it will greatly support our teaching and learning and position Tamale College of Education as the right place for our in-service teachers to develop themselves professionally regardless of their location.”

Forty staff members actively participated in the workshop with a blend of presentations and hands-on activities. The workshop covered the principles and frameworks of ODL course design, along with integrating technology-enabled learning (TEL) into course development. One participant noted, “The hands-on sessions were particularly enlightening” adding that they felt better equipped to apply ODL and TEL strategies in their work.

Mr Iddrisu Alhassan Sibdow, Dean of Student Affairs, presided over the closing session and stated, “This workshop has successfully highlighted the vital role of technology in modern education. We are immensely grateful to the Commonwealth of Learning for their support in this endeavour.”

Dr Betty Ogange, Education Specialist: Teacher Education at COL, said, “COL is working with various teacher education institutions to develop policies, strategies and resources for quality teacher training through open and distance learning. TACE is a leading example in this initiative.”

TACE, in collaboration with COL, is leveraging the skills and insights gained from the workshop to create 12 courses for the ODL programme for in-service teachers, marking a significant step forward in teacher training and professional development in the country.