Introduction 0.5 - Further links to support and extend the programme
The OER4Schools Professional Learning Resource
Finding background information and extending the programme
One of the strengths of OER4Schools is that the programme is build in a participatory fashion. While there is enough scaffolding to just "run with it" as a test, over time you will find yourself considering adaptations. This section provides some ideas for finding further background information, which can also help you tailor the programme.
Related resources and programmes
The Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) programme provides OER classroom resources and guidance materials for use by teachers and teacher educators with the aim of improving the quality of teaching and learning at primary school level across Sub-Saharan Africa. Where appropriate we have drawn on these materials to enhance elements of this course e.g in Unit 2, questioning and concept mapping. As an extension of OER4Schools, you could integrate more TESSA materials, and even develop some new sessions that engage with TESSA materials.
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL), is helping developing nations improve access to quality education and training. The COL gender microsite contains useful information, in line with our values, to ensure women’s and men’s views, interests and needs shape its programmes. In particular there are resources to run a half-day gender training workshop addressing issues such as gender bias; gender equality and its importance; and gender mainstreaming and how it can be carried out. As an extension of OER4Schools, you could draw on that workshop, and develop a new session on that basis.
ASKAIDS, a research project in Sub-Saharan Africa, focused on understanding how primary age pupils acquire sexual knowledge, in what contexts and how this relates to the HIV education received in schools. In a second phase, toolkit was developed in dialogue with local stakeholders. You could use the ASKAIDS toolkit to develop further sessions, or incorporate materials from ASKAIDS into a session.
You may also be interested in exploring the resources of the ORBIT project, hosted on this wiki, as well as our resource on Interactive pedagogy in literacy teaching. Further links to OER sites and search engines can be found here: OER teacher education resources. As above, you could build some of these resources into OER4Schools sessions.
The OER4Schools programme draws on ideas from Leadership for Learning and the Index for Inclusion.
Further resources
The UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers is aimed at helping countries to develop comprehensive national teacher ICT competency policies and standards, and should be seen as an important component of an overall ICT in Education Master Plan. The OER4Schools programme has been mapped to this framework for your convenience here: OER4Schools mapped onto UNESCO CFT.
If you are a researchers, and you would like to evaluate OER4Schools, have a look at the Facilitator's Reference Manual for Qualitative Research Skills Workshop.
Key texts
There are a number of key texts, often given in references in the OER4Schools units. These include:
- Primarily about UK education, but inspiring in the global context none the less:
- Maddock, M., Peacock, A., Hart, S. & Drummond, M.-J. (2012).Creating Learning Without Limits. Maidenhead: Open UniversityPress.
- Alexander, R. (ed) (2010), Children, Their World, Their Education: Final Report and Recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review. London: Routledge.
- The CCE literature review on uses of ICT in primary and secondary schools and teacher education institutions in African Commonwealth countries, with a particular focus on East Africa, in order to inform our research and professional development work, available here [1]. The review is available in
- full version (121 pp): CCE_Report1_LitRevJune0210.pdf
- overview 2008-2009 (2 pp): Lit_review_overview_2008_09.pdf
- longer paper (10 pp): Lit_review_longer_paper.pdf
- The DfID ANTSIT project [2]. The project report is available here:
Using parts of OER4Schools
If you are not following the OER4Schools programme as a programme, but you prefer to use individual parts, you may find the following useful.
Many of our classroom activities and suggestions for workshopactivities, as well as other supporting materials are available here, such as
- OER4Schools lesson plan (blank)
- OER4Schools activity template (blank)
- OER4Schools/Netbook familiarisation
- OER4Schools/Collaborative writing with EtherPad
Much of our resource draws on video specifically produced for this programme, and video is embedded throughout our resource. However, you can also access the video clips directly, for instance:
- Video clips from a lesson on rectangles
- Video clips from a lesson on classifying vertebrates
- Video clips from a lesson on the power of two / Exponentials
- Video clips on 3D shapes
The videos often come with explanatory text, and questions for reflection. Our videos are also available from our YouTube site, see http://www.youtube.com/user/OER4Schools.
VIDEO
Introduction to Chalimbana Basic School
Introduction to Chalimbana Basic School
Video/Introduction to Chalimbana Basic School.m4v, https://oer.opendeved.net/wiki/Video/Introduction_to_Chalimbana_Basic_School.m4v,This video is available on your memory stick in the video/Talks folder. Duration: 1:57 (Series: Talks, episode 03)
Other materials
Taster sessions
- OER4Schools/ChaUni Effective use of ICT
- Taster activities for UNISA
- Resource for taster workshop at KCE
- Resource for taster workshop at NISTCOL
- Resource for taster workshop at UNZA
Conference presentations
Alternative page versions
