01. Research & Publications

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Open Access
Addressing the Learning Needs of Out-of-School Children and Youths through the Expansion of Open Schooling
(2020-12) Mays, Tony; Singh, Rajiv Kumar
At any one time, about 300 million children of school going age are not in school. Experience indicates that when schooling is disrupted, whether by a pandemic, a natural disaster or other reasons, not all children return to the classroom. In addition, most countries have growing numbers of young people who have not completed schooling, or not well enough to progress, and who find themselves neither in employment nor in further education and training. Open schooling can create learning opportunities for those not in school, those who left school and those who are in school but not learning effectively. // There is no single model for open schooling provision which might offer a complementary or alternative curriculum, or both. However, all models can benefit from greater use of open educational resources; open, distance and flexible methods and open educational practices. In this way it is possible to address issues of access, quality and affordability in a sustainable way. // Addressing the Learning Needs of Out-of-School Children and Youths through the Expansion of Open Schooling makes a case for open schooling to be an integral part of future-looking education systems that will be more resilient to changing contexts and needs. // The nine chapters in Part A of the book explore the need for and nature of open schooling as well as cross-cutting issues related to curriculum, open educational resources, technology enabled learning, monitoring and evaluation, finance, open and distance learning methods and open educational practices, as well as gender and policy. The first four chapters in Part B then explore open schooling practice in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific. In the final chapter, the editors summarise the key issues which policy and practice need to address. // This book offers guidelines and examples that will be of use to teachers, managers, policy-makers and education leaders interested to ensure that the education system meets the needs of all children and youths.
Open Access
Agricultural Extension Agents' Use of Learning-Based Extension Methods in Trinidad and Tobago
(2020-07-20) Ramjattan, Jeet; Chowdhury, Ataharul; Ganpat, Wayne
Agricultural extension agents are highly credited for their roles of providing advice to farmers and supporting their learning and decision-making to improve livelihoods. The use of appropriate methods to promote learning in developing countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, has often been highlighted as a development priority. Nevertheless, agricultural extension agents encounter difficulties in applying new competencies. Understanding and utilising appropriate methods based on farmers’ learning needs is critical. This study sought to investigate extension agents’ use of learning-based extension methods. A survey was conducted with 106 extension agents. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used to analyse data. The findings show that male agents prefer Plant Clinics and Farmer Field School learning methods. Social influence and networking among organisations had a significant influence on the use of Discovery Based Learning methods. The positive influence of social pressure motivated the agents. The study recommends supporting facilitative conditions through a coordinated programme and to focus on farmers’ learning as a critical consideration for improving the use and impact of learning-based methods.
Open Access
Blended Learning Practice
(2019-08) Commonwealth of Learning
The Blended Learning Practice massive open online course (MOOC) is an introduction to blending technology and distance education teaching strategies with traditional, in-person classroom activities. Blended learning is an important and rapidly-developing form of education, and this intermediate-level course will emphasise its benefits to both educators and students, including greater flexibility and convenience, as well as potential increases in learner creativity and independence. // This free, 4-week course, provided by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) in collaboration with Athabasca University, is open to teachers and other education professionals in diverse contexts. Anyone considering the implementation of blended learning practice in their classrooms or programmes will enjoy and benefit from participating in this MOOC. The course is supported by a guidebook on blended learning, which offers a review of various types of blended learning in reference to the level of education, the needs of students, and the subject being taught.
Open Access
Book Review: Dede & Richards, Eds., The 60-Year Curriculum: New Models for Lifelong Learning in the Digital Economy
(2022-03-19) Olcott Jr, Don; Panda, Santosh
The 60-Year curriculum: New models for lifelong learning in the digital economy examines new vantage points for higher education reform and global shifts in workforce development driven primarily by new models of lifelong learning. The chapter authors have provided insightful and occasionally provocative analyses of how universities in the digital economy will need to reconceptualise their models of lifelong learning given the impacts of digital technologies and increases in life expectancy resulting in longer careers and the need for education, training, upskilling-re- skilling-upgrading. In sum, these trends mean that “what we learn, when we learn it, how we learn it, and who we learn it from will all change” (Scott, p. 25).
Open Access
Challenges and Opportunities for use of Social Media in Higher Education
(2019-03) Anderson, Terry
Likely the most significant and life changing technologies of the 21st Century is the adoption of social media as major components of commercial, entertainment and educational activities. In this article, I overview the supposed benefits of the application of these tools within formal higher education programs. I then discuss the disadvantages and challenges, with a focus on the paradox that accompanies convenience and value in use, with loss of data control. It is likely that we will continue to see both authorized and unauthorized use of data that we have created for both personal and institutional use. I conclude by examining some of the solutions proposed and tested to resolve this challenge. I then overview two possible solutions - the first focused on institutions creating and managing their own social media and the second an emergent technical solution whereby users keep control of their data, while sharing and growing in multiple social contexts.
Open Access
Climate Change Cannot Defeat Us
(2021)
In partnership with the Climate Resilience Execution Agency Dominica (CREAD), COL supported the development and broadcast of six public education messages focussed on Emergency Readiness. Under the general theme Climate Change cannot defeat us!, the radio broadcasts seek to raise community consciousness about emergency readiness, motivate citizens to be proactive, intentional and responsible for emergency readiness and encourage them to participate in community readiness initiatives.
Open Access
Comparative Advantages of Offline Digital Technology for Remote Indigenous Classrooms in Guatemala (2019-2020)
(2022-03-19) Wiebe, Adrienne; Crisostomo, Luis; Feliciano, Ruben; Anderson, Terry; Panda, Santosh
Technology has been viewed as a means to improve the quality of education for children globally, particularly in remote and marginal communities. This study examines the comparative advantages of the use of appropriate technology (off-line servers with digital libraries connected to a classroom set of laptops) in ten intervention schools in Indigenous communities in Guatemala for one school year. The study was too short (due to pandemic restrictions) to demonstrate statistically significant differences for learning outcomes. However, using an instructional core model as a framework, qualitative findings supported four previously identified comparative advantages, and identified four additional ones relevant to remote Indigenous communities. The intervention validated the ability of technology to improve standardized instruction, differentiated instruction, opportunities for practice, and learner engagement. Newly identified advantages are: access to high-quality educational resources (substitution for print materials), teacher capacity-building, student technical skills and digital literacy, and sharing cultural knowledge.
Open Access
Connections (vol. 10, no. 1)
(2005-02) Wilson, Dave; Speirs, Karen
COL newsletter published February 2005
Open Access
Connections (vol. 10, no. 2)
(2005-06) Wilson, Dave; Speirs, Karen
COL newsletter published June 2005
Open Access
Connections (vol. 12, no. 1)
(2007-02) Wilson, Dave; Speirs, Karen
COL newsletter published February 2007
Open Access
Connections (vol. 13, no. 2)
(2008-06) Wilson, Dave; Speirs, Karen
COL newsletter published June 2008
Open Access
Connections (vol. 4, no. 3)
(1999-10) Wilson, Dave
COL newsletter published October 1999
Open Access
Covid-19 - A Two-Week Transition from Campus to Online at the Acsenda School of Management, Canada
(2020-11-20) Daniel, John; Panda, Santosh
In March 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic obliged Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in many countries to vacate their campuses and operate at a distance. We narrate the experience of the Acsenda School of Management (ASM) in making this sudden transition. ASM is a private for-profit business school with some 1,200, mostly international, students based in Vancouver, Canada. Drawing on interviews with ASM staff the paper identifies why the transition was relatively successful. It concludes with reflections on the longer-term impact of COVID-19 and how to integrate online and distance learning more effectively in HEIs around the world.
Open Access
Distance Education Leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean
(2018-04) Torres, Patricia L; Rama, Claudio; Gaskell, Anne
Distance higher education has only relatively recently been established in some Latin American and Caribbean countries, as part of wider higher education reforms. It has steadily boosted enrollment since the 1970s but despite its growth and significance, the overall contribution and coverage of distance education are still marginal. However, the existence of distance education systems contributes to the increased complexity of higher level education in this region, allowing greater diversity in the use of technologies.
Open Access
Emerging Trends in the Development of School Networking Initiatives
(2004) Naidoo, Vis; Ramzy, Heba
This collection of research and case studies provides snapshots of developments in school networking in seven regions of the world. Schoolnets can be defined as the entities that facilitate collaboration among schools and that use information and communications technologies (ICTs) for this and other educational purposes. Recent developments in ICTs (especially computers and Internet-related technologies) and their application to education and training have increasingly allowed learners to access information and knowledge from different sources. In many countries schoolnets as an organised entity do not exist, but the activities generally associated with school networking are being carried out. In the developed world, the school component of the education and training system has made massive strides to ensure that all learners have access to technology and information. In the developing world, access is much more difficult due to limitations with the technology and infrastructure and lack of good information resources and skilled teachers. Schoolnets in developing countries have also been driven by the need to support the attainment of quality education at both the primary and secondary levels of education. This book focuses on the variety of school networking models that have emerged in different regions and the resulting trends and issues that need to be considered in terms of supporting the learning, teaching, management and teacher training processes. Both policy-makers and educators will find this book useful. // Series formerly called "Perspectives on Teacher Education." Renamed to "Perspectives on Open and Distance Learning."
Open Access
Enhancing ICT Adoption and Use Through Change Leadership: Technology Stewardship Training for Caribbean Agricultural Communities of Practice
(2018-12) Gow, Gordon; Chowdhury, Ataharul; Ganpat, Wayne; Ramjattan, Jeet; Gaskell, Anne
Beginning in 2012, the University of Alberta in partnership with others has been undertaking participatory action research in Sri Lanka and, since 2017, in the Caribbean to foster inclusive innovation through a Joint Education and Training Initiative (JETI). The JETI is developing and testing a set of open educational resources on “technology stewardship” for resource-constrained organizations and communities in developing countries. The approach is a unique combination of social learning centred on communities of practice with action research methods intended to foster self-determination through improved “informational capabilities” as the primary outcome of development. In this article, we describe the learning objectives, design, observations, and initial outcomes of a pilot technology stewardship training course offered at the University of the West Indies in March 2018. Future plans and considerations for expanding technology stewardship training are discussed in the summary.
Open Access
Field Trials of Aptus Prototype: An overview of results from 15 countries
(2014-07)
Aptus is a server with its own WiFi router. It can be deployed in areas with no access to grid electricity or data connectivity, and the users (with Tablets, smart phones or Laptops) can access several thousand Open Educational Resources of repute and quality- such as videos from Khan Academy, Wikipedia for Schools, Simple English Wikipedia) and Moodle 2.7 or Drupal 7 (a content management system). Aptus prototype was launched in Sep 2013. During the 7th Pan Commonwealth Forum (PCF) at Abuja, Nigerai (Dec 2013), a series of demonstrations were conducted with Aptus. In one, a market place event, about 120 individuals attended a demo and gave written expressions of interest in testing the prototype in their respective sites and locations. Aptus was also demonstrated in the UNESCO Mobile Learning week (Paris, Feb 2014) and drew a significant audience.
Open Access
Fostering Rapid Institution-wide Curricular Change in Response to COVID-19
(2020-11-20) Werth, Eric; Williams, Katherine; Werth, Lori; Panda, Santosh
To aid students during COVID-19, the University of Pikeville transitioned all undergraduate classes to no-cost alternatives for course textbooks. Additionally, the academic calendar was modified for the first time in the institution’s 130-year history from a traditional 16-week semester to 8-week block scheduling. This case study explores strategies, approaches to corresponding with constituents, and lessons learned in leading an institution through two major curricular changes in under six months in response to a global pandemic.
Open Access
Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Capacity Building of Organisations and Individuals
(2022-11-21) Kuppuswami, Damodaram; Ferreira, Frances; Panda, Santosh
To ensure its partners have the capacity to implement gender responsive projects, COL introduced an online training programme on gender equality and women’s empowerment. This paper reports the methodology and results in measuring the efficacy of this online training at individual and organisational levels. The ability of individuals and organisations to plan and implement transformative actions with a gender perspective require adequate knowledge, skills and a change in attitudes. Given this need, the commonly used Knowledge, Attitude, Skills (KAS) model was used to measure the efficacy of this online training at individual and organisational levels by defining different dimensions of capacities with three learning domains — Cognitive, Affective, Psychomotor (Bloom’s Taxonomy). The baseline and the end line of KAS at the individual level on the six core gender capacities was established for comparison. Two questionnaires were designed to assess the learning achievements of the participants and to measure the efficacy of the training. An analysis of the study registers a clear trend of positive outcomes at the individual level regarding improved knowledge, attitudes and skills on gender equality that could be applied in their work. Furthermore, the paper reports that the organisations demonstrate an enabling environment for more gender equal policies, structures and practices and proposes ways to convert the success of this training by integrating it into the broader gender equality strategy of these organisations.
Open Access
Getting to Open at a Closed Institution: A Case Study of Evolving and Sustaining Open Education Practices
(2019-11-19) Morgan, Tannis
This study examined a Canadian post-secondary institution in the period between 2010 and 2014, with a follow-up assessment in 2018 in order to understand its evolution with open educational resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP). In the first timeline, the study looked at drivers that contributed to the uptake of OER in relation to the type of OER and factors contributing to the diffusion of OER. In the second timeline, the study looked at whether OEPs are being sustained and how they evolved at the institution. Results show that within the institution there are both benefits and tensions to being open, and an institutional approach that considers openness on a case-by-case basis is appropriate. In looking at these two time periods, the study fills a gap in OER research by providing a more longitudinal view of an institutional shift towards initiating and sustaining openness.

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Browsing 01. Research & Publications by Region "Caribbean and Americas"

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