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Publication The PCF9 Edinburgh Statement(2019-09-12)The Edinburgh Statement was presented on September 12, 2019 at the Closing Ceremony of the Ninth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning, BT Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.Publication "The Fifth Day" Asa Briggs Lecture(2019-09-09) Puttnam, DavidSlides and video of presentation at the Ninth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open and Distance Learning (PCF9), Edinburgh, UK, 9 September 2019. Presented by Lord Puttnam of Queensgate, CBE, British film producer, educator, environmentalist and member of the House of Lords.Publication Artificial Intelligence in Education: An Interview with Rose Luckin, Professor of Learner Centred Design, UCL Knowledge Lab(2019-09)This interview conducted by COL during PCF 9, explores how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is quickly moving into education, and not just in terms of technology that can support teaching and learning, but also in the way it is changing the nature of the world.Publication AI and Education: An Intelligence Infrastructure to Empower Self-efficacy(2019-09-11) Luckin, RoseA special address delivered by Dr Rose Luckin, Professor of Learner Centred Design, UCL Knowledge Lab, at the ninth Pan-Commonwealth Forum (PCF9).Publication The Future of Learning(2019-09-11) Mitra, SugataA keynote speech delivered by Professor Sugata Mitra, Professor Emeritus, Newcastle University, at the ninth Pan-Commonwealth Forum (PCF9).Publication What the World Needs from Education(2019-09-10) Prensky, MarcA keynote speech delivered by by Mr Marc Prensky, Founder and Executive Director, The Global Future Education Foundation and Institute, at the ninth Pan-Commonwealth Forum (PCF9).Publication Empowered Youth: our Common Wealth(2019-09-10) Faure, DannyA keynote speech delivered by His Excellency Danny Faure, President of the Republic of Seychelles, at the ninth Pan-Commonwealth Forum (PCF9).Publication COL Board Chair Remarks at the Opening Ceremony of PCF9(2019-09-09) Sissons, LindaRemarks at the Opening Ceremony of PCF9 delivered by Dr Linda Sissons, COL Board Chair.Publication Two Great Scots: Innovators of Principle and Practice in Open Learning(2019-09) Daniel, JohnInnovation for Quality Education and Lifelong Learning: Introductory remarks for the opening panel discussion by Sir John Daniel (Vice-Chancellor, UK Open University 1990-2001; President, Commonwealth of Learning 2004-12).Publication Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth: Pre-PCF9 Interlocutors’ Meeting(2019-09) Kanwar, Asha; Newman, MairetteThe turn of the century witnessed the dot.com boom. Ministers of education were worried about the rise of online universities and how this could negatively impact small states, which stood at a disadvantage compared to larger countries. The ministers from the small states were determined that their countries should engage with the online world and increase access to tertiary education in their countries but doubted that they had the critical mass, of either expertise or equipment, to engage with online learning on their own. They were concerned that their countries were on the wrong side of the digital divide, had inadequate access to tertiary education which resulted in brain drain and lacked the capacity to benefit from the developments in technology. The idea for VUSSC was proposed by Ministers of Education at the 14CCEM.The proposal for VUSSC was accepted by Ministers at the 15CCEM in Edinburgh and COL was assigned the responsibility of implementing this initiative. COL was instrumental in the development of the VUSSC proposal right from the start.Publication Innovations for Quality Education and Lifelong Learning(2019-09) Kanwar, AshaThe status of education in the Commonwealth is equally dire. We need to provide access to additional 17 million primary school children and 16 million youth who are out of secondary school. While more boys than girls are enrolled in primary schools, boys are underrepresented and under-performing at the secondary level in many Commonwealth countries. Which is why the theme of PCF 9 is ‘Innovations for Quality Education and Lifelong Learning’. Let us look briefly at the four sub-themes. The first is equity and inclusion. There is a great deal of disparity in the education of boys and girls. In several developing Commonwealth countries, girls in rural and resource-poor communities spend on an average only 1 or 2 years in school as compared to 9-12 years of schooling that urban and wealthy boys have in the same countries. Last year at their meeting, Commonwealth Heads of Government called for 12 years of quality education for each girl—how can we ensure that no girl is left behind?Publication PCF9: Tip of the Iceberg (Closing remarks by Asha Kanwar)(2019-09) Kanwar, AshaPCF9: Tip of the Iceberg -- Closing remarks by Professor Asha Kanwar, President and CEO, Commonwealth of Learning.Publication Connections PCF9 Edition – Day 3(2019-09-11) Commonwealth of LearningRelive the Day 3 highlights of the ninth Pan-Commonwealth Forum (PCF9) with this special edition of Connections.Publication MOOCs: The Consequences for Learning and Teaching in Credit Bearing Programmes(2019-09) Hatzipanagos; Tait, AlanThis paper reports on work undertaken in 2017 and 2018 for the Centre for Distance Education (CDE) of the University of London. We explored the impact on practice in learning and teaching for academic practitioners and other professionals in the University of London network who have been involved with Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Our findings indicate that there is an additional, ‘unintended’ gain of transferring good practice gained from participation in MOOCs to other aspects of one’s practice, career or professional role. This is not normally an explicit objective when MOOCs are designed and developed. The outcomes of our investigation throw light on the nature of innovation in institutions of Higher Education, and support the strategy of institutional investment in MOOCs in order to reform the broader practice of learning and teaching on and off campus. // Paper ID 191Publication Connections PCF9 Edition – Day 2(2019-09-10) Commonwealth of LearningRelive the Day 2 highlights of the ninth Pan-Commonwealth Forum (PCF9) with this special edition of Connections.Publication Connections PCF9 Edition – Day 1(2019-09-12) Commonwealth of LearningRelive the Day 1 highlights of the ninth Pan-Commonwealth Forum (PCF9) with this special edition of Connections.Publication Summary of the PCF9 Online Forum(2019-09) Commonwealth of LearningFollowing the success of the PCF8 online forum, the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and the Open University (OU) implemented a similar online discussion space for PCF9 from 17 June to 12 July 2019. The online forum was designed to allow participants to share experiences, engage in lively discussions with preeminent experts, explore emerging issues and help guide discussion topics for the in-person PCF9 taking place in September 2019. The online forum aimed to prepare conference delegates for PCF9 and allow those unable to attend the conference to participate in some way. This document is the summary of the PCF9 online forum.Publication Key Factors in the Employability of Education Graduates in an Open and Distance Institution(2019-09) Molapo, Matseliso; Archer, ElizabethBeyond producing academically qualified graduates, higher education serves a broader purpose of producing well-rounded citizens and graduates. Meeting the demands of the labour market and contribution towards the socio-economic development of a country (Unisa, 2010; Chetty, 2012; Sawahel, 2014; Department of Education, 1995). As a comprehensive and mega open and distance learning institution in Africa, the University of South Africa (Unisa) enrols more than 350 000 students per year and in 2017 contributed more than 45 000 graduates. Nationally, Unisa delivers some 40% of all Education graduates, by far the most substantial contribution in the country. This paper is to presents the results of the Employer Survey conducted in 2017/18 among the employers of Unisa graduates from the College of Education. The survey examined the perceptions of employers about the skills and competence of Unisa Education graduates. This included basic skills and understanding; knowledge and intellectual ability; workplace skills and applied knowledge; and interactive and interpersonal skills. The conceptualisation of the study is based on Unisia’s Student Success and Support Framework, which argues that increased knowledge and consideration of students’ life circumstances are essential to inform efforts towards student success and satisfaction. The survey, therefore, included academic and non-academic variables, agency and fit within the broader student success and learner support framework. A census approach was employed, including all school authorities in both public and independent schools through an online survey instrument. In this study, employer refers to authorities governing at the school level, including school principals, deputy principals, curriculum specialists and heads of phases in rural, semi-rural and urban schools in South Africa. The analysis included descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of open-ended questions. The study illustrates the dichotomous relationship between hard skills and soft skills, the ranking of Unisa, and the implications of distance education on education graduates. // Paper ID 197Publication Resources for the Implementation of Green Teacher Nigeria Project (GTN): Environmental Education (EE)(2019-09) Ndem, Ndem Y; Shuaibu, Zainab MThe Green Teacher Nigeria (GTN) Project is a 12-month Advanced Diploma programme in Environmental Education run by the National Teachers’ Institute, Kaduna, Nigeria in partnership with the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) Vancouver, Canada. This paper is an overview of the rationale, preparation and implementation strategies of the Environmental Education programme in Nigeria. In doing this, the availability and utilization of resources for the implementation was examined bearing in mind the demand of global best practices in innovative instructional delivery. Also, the paper X-rays the challenges encountered in the implementation, which include but not limited to, inadequate advocacy that can engender greater participation in the programme which is worsened by lack of a clear career progression for teachers and other prospective enrollees into the Green Teacher programme. The study is a descriptive survey targeting 300 students and 15 facilitators from the 5 purposively sampled study centres in Kaduna state. A validated questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.078 tagged “Resources for Green Teacher Implementation” (RGTI) was used for data collection. Five research questions were raised and answered using descriptive statistics. Results obtained show that the objectives of the Green Teacher Nigeria will be achieved readily if there is more intense advocacy and its contents are infused into the Institute’s already existing programmes such as the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE), Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) and Bachelors’ Degree programmes. These certificate courses are already instant employment requirements into the teaching profession in Nigeria. It is recommended that the Advanced Diploma programme should be run as a preparatory programme for direct admission into the Bachelors’ degree programme of the institute and other institutions running similar programme. // Paper ID 115Publication The Struggle for Adult Learning and Education Policy: A Ugandan Experience(2019-09) Bananuka, Twine H; Katahoire, Anne RHistorically Adult Learning and Education (ALE) has been marginalised, relative to other forms of education provision like schooling and tertiary education. This is more so in developing countries like Uganda. Given the development challenges in these countries and their commitments to SDGs, the neglect of ALE becomes a problem of equity and social exclusion. One of the key indicators of this neglect in Uganda is the absence of policy for ALE. In this paper, we discuss struggles for ALE policy over time and what all that means for the discipline of ALE and national development agendas. The discussion and analysis is informed by experiences from other African countries. The emergent themes that define the current debate of ALE revolve around the recently enacted Uganda National Adult Literacy Policy. In spite of the noted achievements, there is still vacuum for ALE policy. All of this leads to social exclusion and marginalisation. While findings further show a mixture of hope and resignation, there was also much shifting of blame by different actors. The paper concludes by recommending strong coordination between stakeholders in ALE, informative research and policy briefs by academia and consistent engagement with civil society and government bureaucrats to push through the policy on ALE. // Paper ID 231