Report on the training models of support sponsored by the OUUK and co-ordinated by the ACDE for educators to move their teaching online in the covid-19 pandemic era
1.0 Introduction
The African Council for Distance Education (ACDE) in collaboration with the Open University of United Kingdom (OUUK), Institute of Educational Technology (IET) and Teacher Education for the Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) collaborated and embarked on the project of training Teachers with the brand: Pathways for Teachers moving on line which consisted of two major programmes; Teacher Educator and Tertiary Educator. The project was actively sponsored by the Open University of United Kingdom.
2.0 The purpose for the training
2.1 Following the close down of schools because of covid-19 pandemic, Teachers and Education Administrators globally were eager to start the online teaching and learning but apparently without proper preparation. This development was considered a serious shock in the education industry because teaching and learning online were to commence without clear knowledge of how to do it professionally. Thus the African Council for Distance Education in Collaboration with the Open University of United Kingdom, Institute of Educational Technology and the Teacher Education in the Sub-Saharan Africa graciously teamed up to address the situation with the purpose of helping to bring teachers together to be trained on how to acquire the knowledge and identify the relevant tools that were needed to be able to move teaching online. It was therefore set out that at the end of the training, the participants were expected to be able to do the following:
a) Explain and demonstrate the values and practices that support learner-centered education
b) Develop a plan to incorporate ICT tools and OER into professional practice
c) Explain (with examples) how ICT tools could enhance teaching/learning and promote active learning in school
d) Collaborate with colleagues to review practices
e) Explore the potential of OER (particularly TESSA resources) to enhance teaching and learning.
3.0 Participants
The participants were Teachers in high school and Lecturers in the Universities from the Anglophone, Arabophone, Luzophone, Francophone and Portuguese speaking countries (23) across the five major geo-political regions in Africa . All together, there were 1770 participants from Africa including from Canada, France and the United States of America who took part in the training.
4.0 Methodology
A whatsApp platform was created for the participants in the two training programmes (Teacher Educator &Tertiary Educator). Similarly, Telegram discussion forum was created for the participants in Tertiary Educator while facilitation for Teacher Educator was accommodated on the OUUK website link. Participants in the two programmes were then carefully guided to access the courses on the OUUK website. Those who took part in the Tertiary Educator programme were exposed to group facilitation on the Telegram while those in the Teacher Educator programme accessed facilitation on the OUUK website. As progress was made in the training, there was a section on the website where participants were reminded on the percentage of their course progress. Learning also continued until each participant reached 100% course progress with attendant rewards such as a badge and a statement of participation. The training which commenced with a webinar on 12th July, 2020 ended with the concluding webinar on 20th August, 2020. The participants were however allowed to continue with their training till end of the month of August, 2020.The recorded webinars from the beginning to the end can be accessed through the link: http://acde-afri.org/news-and-highlights/
5.0 The Learning outcomes
Through the learning activities such as course work and participation in the webinars (link to the concluding webinar is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrlOn8ry8aQ), the professional teachers so trained were able to demonstrate the following:
1. Understanding how teaching online is different to teaching in a face – face environment with benefits and challenges
2. Choose suitable pedagogies, tools and resources as part of the instructional design of the participants’ course
3. Use online platforms to promote active learning and engagement along the student journey
4. Understand approaches to assessment that work online and at a distance
5. Assess the quality of different online learning options
6. Evaluate and reflect upon the success of different approaches
6.0 Awards
Each participant who was able to complete the course was awarded the following:
A. Badge
B. Certificate of participation
7.0 Conclusion
The learning activities were effectively helpful in assisting the participants to acquire relevant knowledge and skills with which they would be able to move their teaching online particularly to meet the needs of the 21st century and be capable of producing and putting online, learning materials that would promote effective teaching and learning. A great deal of appreciation goes to Olivier Biard of the Teacher Education in the Su- Saharan Africa who worked relentlessly with Professor Rotimi Ogidan to secure support from the Open University of the United Kingdom which was given to the African Council for Distance Education to train the teachers from across Africa .