Explore the dynamic world of Open Educational Resources and discover how OER Africa is driving the movement forward. This page is divided into two sections:
Articles: Our articles aim to deliver insights on OER-related themes that inform, spark conversation, and engage with the developing open education landscape, with a particular focus on Africa.
Updates: Below, the articles, you'll find updates on OER Africa’s latest initiatives, activities, and contributions to the OER community.
Articles
This section features targeted articles crafted specifically for educators, students, and the global Open Educational Resources (OER) community. The articles examine themes related to OER, offering insightful perspectives and information. The content seeks to inform, prompt discussion, and actively engage with the dynamic landscape of open education, particularly within the African context.
On the 12th August, we celebrate International Youth Day. This year’s theme is ‘Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a world for all ages’. The theme encourages people to think about how to harness the full potential of all generations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
What is personal information? What is a Cookie Consent popup on a web page? What are the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), the GDPR’s South African equivalent? This week’s post looks at recent legislation around personal information and how we need to consider protecting it when working with OER and open education practices.
This research report on Continuing Professional Development strategies in Higher Education Institutions was developed to provide a basis for the development of an online CPD course for senior managers in African universities. It comprises a review of global CPD initiatives; Learnings from the piloting of CPD learning pathways; A framework for CPD activities for higher education; and Preliminary guidelines for supporting Open Educational Resource practices through CPD.
What have been the experiences of African Open Educational Resources (OER) initiatives focussed on higher education? What can we learn from these experiences? Although the concept of OER initially gained publicity in the Global North, OER are gaining traction in Africa. OER Africa researched several African OER initiatives to assess their long-term contribution to establishing sustainable OER practices in African higher education.
Museums tell ancient and recent histories as they collect, safeguard, and make accessible artefacts and specimens that they hold in trust to inspire and enable people to explore, learn, and enjoy. They continue to evolve in their roles and contribution to education as they embrace open access and Open Educational Resource (OER) principles.
OER Africa coordinated a project with members of the Network of Open Orgs, a coalition of organizations that meets regularly on implementing and supporting the UNESCO OER Recommendation. The project involved a collaborative effort among several members of the Network to develop a set of seven research summaries that explore the success of OER.
Updates
This section provides updates on OER Africa’s initiatives and activities. Stay informed about our contributions to the OER community and how we are driving the open education movement forward.
This new publication has been put together by the OER Africa team in partnership with UNESCO IITE. The aim of the research was to shed light on economic and pedagogical value of investing in OER.
Simple, short tutorial to acquire the skills necessary to search for open content, decipher Creative Commons rights and permissions and evaluate the usefulness of OER for new purposes.
OER Africa would like to congratulate Associate Professor Cheryl Hodgkinson-Williams on her appointment as a UNESCO Chair in Open Education and Social Justice. The UNESCO Chairs Programme serves as a think tank and bridge-builder between academia, civil society and local communities, as well as researchers and policymakers.
This free online course on OER from the Commonwealth of Learning has recently been updated. It is interactive and on completion you can download a certificate of participation.
Participant Experiences and Financial Impacts: Findings from Year 2 of Achieving the Dream’s OER Degree Initiative.