Authors: Beat Odermatt, Miriam Odermatt
Institution: U-Can International School
Country: Uganda
Topic: Connecting Open Education to Primary and Secondary (K-12) Education
Sector: K-12
UNESCO Area of Focus: Sustainable OER
Session Format: Presentation
Abstract
Open Education Resources (OER) have a lot to offer in terms of making a good learning environment for K-12 students in Uganda. OER can be a powerful tool in creating a great learning experience for children in Uganda and eventually other developing nations. The challenge is to find a viable and sustaining model that can be used in integrating OER into the local curriculum. Uganda could be a case study in how to improve K-12 educational standards in many developing countries. The following activities would need to be implemented in order to have a successful and sustainable outcome.-
Training for teachers and administrators. The key to successfully integrating OER materials is to ensure that the teachers and administrators are invested in the learning experience of the students and understand the methodology being used. Many initiatives have failed in the past because the teachers and administrators didn’t share the vision of those who initiated the program.
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Working with the Ministry of Education (MoE) to integrate OER into the curriculum. Any program offered should work within the framework already established by the government while implementing more effective educational methodologies such as those used by U-Can International School.
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Developing hands-on teaching materials, manipulatives and games that make learning an enjoyable and interactive experience. At the moment learning is primarily an exercise of memorization to pass an examination.
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Determining appropriate computer, audio-visual and internet resources for a classroom to take advantage of OER. It is important to come up with hardware and software that is affordable, rugged and fairly easy to maintain.
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Developing OER teaching resources that can function at download speeds of around 2 mbps. If fast internet connections are required many locations will be excluded as the internet infrastructure is not that well developed in many parts of the country.
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Establishing a Development Centre that directs and oversees OER implementation in the K-12 schools. The Centre would train and mentor teachers & administrators, carry out curriculum integration and oversee local resource development.
7.Seeking financial input from interested parties in order to implement this initiative. It is envisioned that 5 pilot schools would be set up in order to show proof of concept and to ascertain the effectiveness of the strategies employed.
There are many unique challenges facing developing nations that must be addressed in how to use technology in the classroom. When using OER in a K-12 setting, competent in person classroom facilitators as well as hands-on materials are essential.
Keywords
K-12 students, Teacher development, OER implementation in local curriculum, hands-on resources, competent classroom facilitators, audio visual resources, internet infrastructure, Ministry of Education in Uganda, Case study, great learning experience, Development Centre, Financial input, expert advice, U-Can International School
