Guides & Toolkits

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http://oasis.col.org/handle/11599/27

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Academic and Career Skills (Self-Assessment) Instrument (ACSI) Manual
(2024-09) Sharma, Chavi Bhargava
The development of the Academic and Career Skills (Self-Assessment) Instrument (ACSI) stems from a collaborative initiative between the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA). Recognising a critical gap in the availability of career and academic assessment tools for students in government schools in India, CBSE approached CEMCA with the idea to develop a comprehensive profiler. In India, students often face significant peer pressure when choosing their career paths, and vocational education subjects are frequently neglected or considered less important than traditional academic streams.
Gender Scorecard 3.0: Instructions & Templates
(2024) Alphonso, Mignon; Silas-Bossan, Bavoshia; Kanwar, Asha
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) developed the Gender Scorecard to aid institutions in advancing gender mainstreaming by analysing policies and practices across all levels of the organisation. This tool provides insights into the status of gender equality within the institution, helping to identify gaps and define actionable steps for promoting gender equality. Using surveys and questionnaires, the Scorecard engages all staff, ensuring gender considerations are integrated throughout organisational activities, challenging norms, and fostering equal opportunities. Ultimately, it enables organisations to create inclusive policies that reflect the diverse experiences of all genders in planning, implementation, and evaluation processes.
Community of Inquiry-based MOOC Facilitation Manual
(2024-09) Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
This manual was prepared in anticipation of the need to develop capacity for those who may be newer to facilitating discussion forums in an inquiry-based MOOC. It is based on preparing materials to train a team at the University of Abuja to deliver their first "Teaching Science with Technology" MOOC, with the support of the Commonwealth of Learning. The facilitators’ individual reflections from this course are included in the Annex and are a meaningful addition to this look at the facilitator’s role. The manual further includes the theoretical foundations for the community of inquiry (COI) concept, some insights into facilitation in a community of inquiry, and practical strategies and approaches that can be used to help facilitators as they consider their role in an inquiry-based MOOC. Naturally, different approaches can be taken, and in the end, facilitators need to find their own best approach that matches their strengths and the goals of the community of inquiry. However, this manual can provide an entry place into the role of facilitator and can provide a common language for the facilitation team to ensure they are working together cohesively.
Quality Assurance in Distance Education: The University Council of Jamaica’s Guides in Implementing the Distance Education Standards, 2022
(2024-07) Commonwealth of Learning (COL); University Council of Jamaica (UCJ)
To improve national capacity in implementing the Distance Education Standards (2022), COL supported the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) in developing a two-part training toolkit – a Facilitator’s Guide and a Learner’s Guide – for use by higher education institutions to explore problems and to find solutions to quality assurance issues when delivering distance education programmes.
Developing Policy Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence in Post-secondary Institutions
(2024-06) Ally, Mohamed; Mishra, Sanjaya
Based on a scoping review of the institutional policies and guidelines related to artificial intelligence in teaching and learning, this report presents a framework and guidelines on developing context-specific policies for using AI in teaching and learning. It identifies the key stakeholders, issues to be discussed and provided a competence framework for developing relevant policies for ethical use of AI in post-secondary institutions.
Institutional Learner Support Services Manual
(2024-05) Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
The Learning Support Services Manual offers comprehensive guidelines for managing learner support in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institutions. It covers planning, implementation, and provision of support through various subsystems to aid learners in their academic journey. The manual emphasizes three essential elements: learner support services, technologies facilitating support, and support facilities/resources. It advocates for continuous support across key stages of the learner journey, including enrolment, orientation, course delivery, guidance, and graduation. By drawing on research and best practices, it proposes diverse support services aimed at enhancing learning outcomes and addressing learners' diverse needs. Additionally, it includes self-assessment tasks for staff to identify gaps and improve support provision.
Supporting Learners Studying through ODFL: A Guide for Parents in the Pacific
(2023-12) Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
This guide is designed for parents and guardians of children living in Pacific Island countries who wish to support their children in Open, Distance and Flexible Learning (ODFL). It addresses the adaptive and supplemental support parents should offer their children who are engaging in forms of ODFL, either as part of their in-class learning or in a fully online medium of instruction, whether by choice or in response to school closures or emergency circumstances. This guide was developed as part of the Partnership for Open, Distance and Flexible Learning in the Pacific Project, supported by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand.
Guide to QA of ODFL Provision in the Pacific
(2023-08) Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
This guide to quality assurance of Open, Distance and Flexible Learning (ODFL) provision is intended to support Ministry of Education officials and teachers in the Pacific to roll out high quality distance education in their own contexts. Whilst expansion of ODFL has significantly increased participation in education, upholding the quality of provision cannot be overemphasised. The guide contains six units: (1) Understanding quality and quality assurance in ODFL; (2) Key components of quality in ODFL; (3) Implementing quality in ODFL; (4) Enhancing quality through policy; (5) ICT infrastructure and quality; and (6) optional readings. This guide was developed as part of the Partnership for Open, Distance and Flexible Learning in the Pacific Project, supported by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand.
Digital and Professional Teacher Competency Standards for Blended TVET
(2023-07) Smith, Clint; Waters, Melinda; Petterd, Robin; Okinda, Robert; Cameron, Lesley
The digital and professional teacher competency standards for blended TVET describe specifically the new and emerging skill development needs related to blended delivery. The standards are contextualised to take into account the technology and capability challenges common in TVET institutes in developing countries, the range of teaching methods needed in TVET and the challenges of practising and assessing practical skills in blended environments.
Teacher Skills Required for Blended TVET: Analysis and Guidelines
(2023) Smith, Clint; Waters, Melinda; Petterd, Robin; Okinda, Robert; Doree, Allan
This analysis and guidelines aim to establish the key issues and considerations in describing the new or modified digital and professional skills TVET teachers require for blended delivery. The accompanying Digital and Professional Teacher Competency Standards for Blended TVET presents the draft competency standards.
Understanding Massive Open Online Courses
(2013) Littlejohn, Allison
In a critique of online learning in 2008, Brown observed that the ‘Open Educational Resources (OER) movement’ – the network of people who support the development and embedding of a culture of open sourcing, open resources, open knowledge, free sharing and peer collaboration in society – have assembled building blocks that allow the emergence of ‘open participatory learning ecosystems’. // This assemblage includes different types of resources that are part of the effort to extend and eliminate barriers of entry into university-level education. The most visible manifestations of these building blocks are Open Educational Resources (OER), OpenCourseWare (OCW) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC)
Learning Analytics for Open and Distance Education
(2013) Ferguson, Rebecca
Learning analytics make use of large datasets in order to improve learning and the environments in which it takes place. Students and educators can use these analytics to review work that has been done in the past, to support current study and to access recommendations for future activities. In the context of open and distance education, analytics are able to draw on information about online learning activity in order to support teachers and to help guide learners. Many of the major learning management systems (LMSs) used to support education worldwide currently have basic-level learning analytics built into them, and new tools are currently under development that will expand the use of analytics within open and distance education.
OER Quality Tips
(2013) Kawachi, Paul
Around the world, teachers are busy trying to help their students as best they can, and many teachers now find that storing their own learning materials for re-using in later classes can save time and effort in the future. Each classroom is unique, and you can gradually build up your own collection of materials from which you can select the most suitable and appropriate resources for your students on the day. To help you prepare your materials for safely storing and re-using later on, we have compiled this pamphlet of ideas that you can look through for ways to develop your own materials so that you can be assured of good quality resources when you next need them.
Using Social Media in Higher Education
(2014) Rennie, Frank
Using Social Media in Higher Education, published by Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA), 2014.
Pedagogical Podcasting for Learning
(2014) Edirisingha, Palitha
Podcasting originated as a technology to create and distribute personal “radio shows” via the internet. It is now becoming a technology used to support learning in many educational contexts, at least in more economically developed countries. A 2008 survey of learning technologies used in higher education institutions in the UK (Browne et al. 2008) showed that podcasting is a tool that has “increased significantly in prominence” in UK universities (p. 2). Increasing numbers of research papers published on podcasting indicate a growing interest from teachers, technologists and researchers in this field.
Experience API (xAPI): Potential for Open Educational Resources
(2015) Chuang, Jessie
In the past, Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) had been the most successful learning standard in recording learning activities within web-based training systems, but it was created prior to widespread use of other types of delivery platforms and learning environments such as mobile devices, intelligent tutors, virtual worlds, games, wearables, and social networking tools. For example, mobile learning is now a ubiquitous educational technology; it can accommodate both formal and informal learning, in collaborative or individual learning modes. These capabilities can augment the performance of today’s learners, but the process cannot be tracked by SCORM. It is restricted to tracking specific course oriented things such as lesson pages viewed, test scores, and module completions; the content must be managed through a Learning Management System (LMS).
Student Support Services for Success in Open and Distance Learning
(2015) Simpson, Ormond
Open and distance learning has been a great success in the latter half of the twentieth century. However there is what Woodley et al (2013) call ‘an elephant in the room of distance education’ - its dropout rate. Figure 1 shows the graduation rates for a number of distance institutions compared with the UK full-time rate. It can be seen that distance institutions tend to have much lower graduation rates than the UK full time average - the so-called ‘distance education deficit’. The London University International Programme is a particularly good example of this deficit as its degrees are presented in two different modes, one reinforced by face-to face support at local institutions, the other entirely at a distance. The course content and examinations are identical in both modes, but the supported option is better by around 61% to 16%.
An Off-the-Shelf Mobile App Portfolio for Distance Education
(2015) Abeywardena, Ishan
Mobile technology has become a near-necessity in our modern lives, be it professional, personal and social. It is then not surprising to see mobile technology play a key role in how we are educated as well. To this extent, Mobile Learning (mLearning) has gained much significance over the past few years. With the design of new pedagogies and paradigm shifts, mLearning has become a new academic discipline on its own with a focus on the use of bespoke mobile technologies such as purpose built mobile apps to achieve the set learning outcomes. However, the design, development and implementation of such bespoke technologies require a substantial investmentboth monetarily and time wise. Many Distance Education (DE) practitioners would not have this privilege in terms of delivering their courses. In contrast, there are thousands of mobile applications available for free which can be leveraged to deliver a DE course more effectively and efficiently. In this light, this brief paper introduces how these off-the-shelf applications can be systematically incorporated into each stage of the learning process. // The remaining sections of this paper will explore how DE has evolved from paper based, to plastic to virtual; the divide between digital natives and immigrants; the current mobile application landscape; and 95 free off-the-shelf mobile apps for the Android platform which could form a rich portfolio for teaching and learning in DE.
Multidisciplinary Approach in Higher Education: An Action in relation to India’s National Education Policy 2020
(2021) Bhushan, Sudhanshu
Disciplinary knowledge was the basis of 19th and 20th century university. In the 21st century there is real need to understand the advances in knowledge through the lens of disciplines as well as the dynamic interactions of disciplines in order to find solutions to the problems of society. The perspective on interdisciplinarity is related to a postmodern approach of learning for a fluctuating market conditions and transferrable job skills. Interdisciplinarity is lauded as the gold standard of the progressive modern university Angelique Chettiparamb (2007) presents an overview of literature on multidisciplinary education. A seminar on interdisciplinarity was convened in 1970 and based on the deliberations the report was prepared in 1972. OECD (1972) presents the following definitions of discipline and multidisciplinary education and related terms.
Workshop on Open Educational Resources: WikiEducator Users' Manual for Beginners
(2008) Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA)
Workshop on Open Educational Resources: WikiEducator Users' Manual for Beginners, published by Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA).

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