News Selection – February 2022
With support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand, COL launched the ‘Partnership for Open, Distance and Flexible Learning in the Pacific’ project, in collaboration with PACFOLD. This five-year project aims to enhance the capacity and efficiency of the Pacific education sector through the greater use of innovative delivery mechanisms and technology. This newsletter highlights our key activities during November 2021 and January 2022.
Highlights
- MOOC on ‘Communication Skills for ODFL’
- 2nd Edition of the OER Guides for Teachers Are Available
- Online TVET Toolkit Project Design Workshop
- Development of an Online ODL Course Catalogue
WhatsApp Business for the Pacific Partnership
MOOC on ‘Communication Skills for ODFL’
A short course, ‘Communication Skills for Open, Distance and Flexible Learning’ was offered in January 2022 with over 1,000 learners from the Pacific. The course helped to improve teachers’ communication skills in ODFL contexts. The course covered practical communication practices, including course netiquette, the uses of technology and media for efficient and accessible communication, and strategies for conflict-management in the open, distance and flexible learning environment.
2nd Edition of the OER Guides for Teachers are Available
2nd edition of the OER guides for teachers have been published and are available online at the OER Collection for the Pacific:
Reversioning OER – This guide explains what OER are and how teachers can adapt them to suit their own teaching and learning environment.
Integrating OER in Teaching – This guide shows teachers ways to use OER in their classroom and with remote students.
Online TVET Toolkit Project Design Workshop
In December 2021, Ituani Vocational Skills Centre, Vanuatu had a project design workshop with its staff from three different provinces (Torba, Malampa and Sanma) as part of the TVET Project. During the workshop, staff assessed the needs and agreed on priorities based on the consultations and a detailed project plan is to be developed as a next step. Once a plan is designed, the project aims to address the professional development needs of the Ituani Vocational Skills Centre staff.
Ituani Vocational Skills Centre is one of nine partners to apply the Online TVET Toolkit to enhance the capacity of the TVET professionals in the Pacific. More workshops are scheduled in January and February 2022 in Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Tonga.
Development of an Online ODL Course Catalogue
Development of an Online Open Distance Learning (ODL) Course Catalogue is underway. COL had a series of workshops with an Australian-based developer and a project plan has been developed. Over the next months, COL will organise a workshop with a reference group for their review and feedback to ensure that a quality outcome is achieved. The Catalogue is expected to be launched by the end of May 2022.
Source: Commonwealth of Learning.
For more information visit: https://pacificpartnership.col.org/