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PublicationAgriculture MOOCs: Learnings from Five AgMOOCs( 2016)IIT Kanpur and the Commonwealth of Learning delivered five agriculture based massive open online courses (MOOCs). This report provides insights on learners’ feedback on the course pedagogy and its relevance, content, convenience and ease of use of the technological medium, and overall perceptions of learners towards the delivered courses. -
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PublicationThe Art of the Possible: issues of learner support in open and distance learning in low income countries( 2005)Although the quotation above uses language which sounds rather dated fifteen years on, questioning the assumption that distance learning practices established in one context can translate into new ones remains valid. As is well documented, there are many approaches to providing a learner support system in open and distance education. The ways in which this support is provided will vary considerably depending on a wide range of factors. This paper reflects on the existing approaches to learner support, with a particular focus on lower income countries, and gives examples of how such support is provided in a wide range of circumstances. It does not try to identify ideal models but rather provides a range of principles on which learner support systems may be based and gives some examples of how these systems have been developed in a number of institutions.
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PublicationAssessment of the Zambia College of Distance Education (ZACODE)( 2009)This study was carried out at the request of the Ministry of Education, Zambia. The Commonwealth of Learning contracted Turning Points Consultancy CC, a Namibian company, who provided the services of Justin Ellis, to “carry out an evaluation of the Zambia College of Distance Education (ZACODE) and submit recommendations to the Ministry of Education, Zambia, on measures to be taken to redesign the operations of the college.
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PublicationBarriers to Participation of Women in Technological Education and the Role of Distance Education( 1995)1. Introduction (excerpt) - The significance now attached to increasing the participation of women in technology and technological education reflects two world-wide trends. The first is the way in which technology is permeating all domains of activity in the contemporary world, with pervasive roles in national economic development and in our everyday experience. Not only are occupations involving technology on the increase, but populations in general, men and women, are engaging with the processes, products and effects of technology on a day to day basis. The second is recognition of the need for action by the international community in securing the advancement of women and the elimination of gender-based discrimination, particularly in the fields of education and employment.
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PublicationBaseline Study for Distance Technical and Professional Education in Mozambique( 2015-07)This baseline study has been undertaken to describe and analyse the current situation with respect to TVET, in order to evaluate the needs and the viability of employing open and distance Learning (ODL), and in particular eLearning in a flexible and blended approach. The main focus of the study is directed to that part of the system that is under the responsibility of the National Directorate for Technical and Professional Education (DINET) – namely the pre-tertiary level public-sector TVET institutions. These institutions are classified into three levels, equivalent to the subdivisions of the general education system: elementary, basic and medium, the last being equivalent to high school – the 11th and 12th grades. Elementary level courses are offered in 36 technical schools, 28 offer basic level courses and 19 offer courses at the medium level, a total of 85.
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PublicationA Baseline Study on Technology-Enabled Learning in the African and Mediterranean Countries of the Commonwealth: Report( 2015-09)The study reports the findings of a desk review derived from Internet-based searches on the status of technology-enabled learning (TEL) in the African and Mediterranean countries of the Commonwealth in June 2015. Wherever possible, practitioners and policy makers from each country were consulted through informal discussions, either via email or face to face during the process of preparation of the report. While it provides an illustrative snapshot of the status of TEL, it cannot claim to be a comprehensive review of investments and progress in TEL at institutional, national and regional levels as the findings are based largely from information gathered through Internet searches. Each country reports present the findings systematically covering: basic information about the country, national policies, systems and programmes, ICT access and use, major nation and institutional initiatives on use of ICTs in education, open educational resources, and prospects and challenges. A detailed list of initiatives and policies are listed in an appendix with links to the sources.
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PublicationA Baseline Study on Technology-Enabled Learning in the Asian Commonwealth( 2015-08)This report presents the findings of a study of technology-enabled learning in Commonwealth Asia to identify the basic mileposts in these countries’ vision and mission regarding ICT in education policies. The study looked into institutional framework and mechanisms of implementing ICT in education initiatives, including donor agencies and their contributions in this field. Online learning was a special area of focus in this study, and this included identifying institutions that offer online courses. Open educational resources (OER) and repositories are important developments in education that enhance learning choices and access to quality learning resources. This study made efforts to document OER policies and repositories in the selected eight countries. The study looked at three different issues related to human resources in ICT in education: the number of students enrolled in ICT and media-related courses as an indicator of future manpower in the field. Access to ICT in education, especially in the teaching–learning process, is dependent upon teachers. Hence, an effort has been made, although with limited success, to figure out the number of teachers needed to be trained in ICT in education.
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PublicationA Baseline Study on Technology-Enabled Learning in the Commonwealth Pacific Island Countries: Report( 2015-11)This report presents an overview of the developments related to technology-enabled learning in the nine Commonwealth countries of the Pacific as in June 2015. The author provides in-depth analyses of specific country covering ICT in education policies, specific projects, and integration of technology in different levels of education. It presents a summary view of the status of Commonwealth countries in the Pacific Island region.
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PublicationBaseline Study on the Current State of Open and Distance Learning in Cameroon( 2016-03)Meeting in Mauritius in May 2014, COL Focal Points from Africa and the Mediterranean Regions reviewed the state of ODL in their respective countries and proceeded to map out their strategic plans for 2015–2018. The report from Cameroon demonstrated that although the country is making some progress in the domain of ODL, it lacks an ODL policy framework, a national body to manage distance education and expertise in the field of ODL. To address the issues raised, it was important to establish the baseline situation. The general objective of this study was to establish the current situation of ODL in Cameroon.
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PublicationBaseline Study on the Status of Open and Distance Learning in Rwanda( 2016-07)The purpose of the study was to gather current baseline data on the status of open, distance and eLearning (ODeL) in Rwanda. This data is vital to the planning of projects and initiatives that support the use of ODeL in the country. Having a deep and clear picture of the current developments is also critical for the success of engagement by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), and will ensure that the proposed projects are conceptualised based on an accurate picture of the country context and what is available.
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PublicationBaseline-Endline Report: Reaching the Unreached (RtU) through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan( 2018-01)This report documents the baseline–endline study by the GIRLS Inspire team’s Reaching the Unreached project to examine the implications of skills training and education for women’s and girls’ empowerment and sustainable livelihoods in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. // It is based on data collected from quarterly reports mirrored against the project outcomes, meeting reports and surveys from March 2016 to March 2017. The quarterly and meeting reports documented the activities undertaken to provide training for unreached women and girls in the selected countries. While the actual training was offered exclusively to women and girls, the reports and surveys also captured the input of men and boys in terms of their participation in various community events and as staff members of the partner organisations.
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PublicationBaseline–Endline Report: Preventing Child, Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM) through Open, Distance and Technology- Based Education in Bangladesh, Mozambique, Pakistan and Tanzania( 2019-08)This report explores the results of the Baseline-Endline study conducted throughout the project to capture its long-term impacts, and was conceptualised through the Performance Measurement Framework (PMF). Surveys were created to measure changes in attitudes and behaviours from before and after participation in the project among the women and girls, employers, community members and organisational partners. This report unpacks the results of these surveys and draws on supporting qualitative data, drawn from open-ended questions, case studies and partner reports, to highlight changes that occurred during the project.
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PublicationBenchmarking of Technology-Enabled Learning at Kibabii University( 2023-04)This report presents the findings of the TEL benchmarking carried out at the Kibabii University (KIBU) during March -April 2023. It provides an overview of the methodology, the validated self-study report and an action plan developed by the KIBU team.
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PublicationBenefits and Challenges of OER for Higher Education Institutions( 2010)Paper commissioned by the Commonwealth of Learning for workshop discussions at the Open Educational Resources (OER) Workshop for Heads of Commonwealth Universities, Cape Town, South Africa, 28 April 2010, and workshop discussions at the Open Educational Resources (OER) Workshop for Quality Assurance Agencies, Windhoek, Namibia, 3 May 2010.
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PublicationBest Practice in Education Portals: Research Document Prepared for The Commonwealth of Learning and SchoolNet Africa( 2002)A key feature of the ongoing growth of the Worldwide Web over the past five years has been a proliferation of web portals that focus on supporting school education. While many such sites require subscription and registration, there are large numbers that deliver services free of charge to anyone with Internet access. This research project has focused on identifying a representative sample of these sites, describing the services that they offer, and distilling an understanding of emerging best practice. In completing the latter task, we have not constrained ourselves to data gathered during this research project, although all of that data is attached as an annexure to this report. Thus, summary of the best ideas we have found - which is also informed by several prior years of research and experimentation by the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) - is presented in this report
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PublicationBlended Course Experience at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology( 2021-04)This is the report of a survey conducted at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) to evaluate the implementation of technology-enabled learning. The research was conducted among students and lecturers on courses that were offered in a blended mode. The courses were developed and facilitated by 20 lecturers who had been trained as champions for the implementation of blended learning. Each of the 20 champions was required to set up their blended courses on the eJOOUST platform, which had been customised from Moodle. The blended courses were taught throughout the September–December 2019 semester, and the survey was undertaken in January 2020, after the students had completed their blended courses.
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PublicationBlended Course Experience at Kibabii University( 2022-10)Blended Course Experience at Kibabii University reports on a study conducted to evaluate the implementation of technology-enabled learning. A student survey was carried out in 20 courses that were being offered in the blended mode during the July–September and October–December semesters of 2021. The research involved both students and lecturers. The study collected data using questionnaires for students and interviews with lecturers. Most of the student survey questions were closed-ended, with one open-ended question, while the lecturer survey interviews consisted entirely of open-ended questions. // The study findings are intended to propel the implementation of blended learning in Kibabii University and other Kenyan universities.
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PublicationBlended Learning Experiences at Nakuru Training Institute( 2023-05)This report presents the results of a survey conducted at Nakuru Training Institute, Kenya to evaluate the blended learning experiences of students and instructors in courses developed during a technology-enabled learning project and offered in the blended mode. The study was carried out among 144 students and nine instructors of blended learning classes. The courses were created and facilitated by instructors who had received blended learning implementation training from the Commonwealth of Learning. Mixed findings emerged from comparing the students’ grades in blended and non blended learning courses. Learners’ opinions of the blended learning environment were generally favourable, because the blended learning experience gave students the freedom to learn when, where and at a speed that worked for them.
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PublicationBoys' Underperformance in Education: Revisiting the Issue in the Commonwealth( 2017-11)Every child, regardless of gender, has the right to an education that offers not only academic learning but also training in the skills they will need to be successful in their particular environment. However, as recent statistics indicate, a significant percentage of children are still unable to access good quality education and so are denied its associated benefits. While a majority of these children are girls, concerns about boys’ underperformance in schools have also been raised. This report follows up on a 2006 report that addressed the factors that are crucial to understanding boys’ underperformance in Commonwealth countries (Jha & Kelleher, 2006), and aims to: document the changes in participation and performance of boys in Commonwealth countries since 2006, examine factors that continue to contribute to boys’ underperformance, and summarise lessons learned from various interventions in different countries during the past ten years.