Report

As guest editors of this Special Issue of Distance Education, this issue harnesses the opportunity to profile African innovations in the areas of open and distance learning, and e-learning. The contributions assembled provide a balanced and engaging series of articles and reports on the kinds of empowerment and development that are extending and enhancing educational opportunity in African schools and universities. Importantly, they also demonstrate that African experiences – positive and negative – have global relevance.

The report provides an analysis of the project’s overall achievement in terms of the main objectives of the study. For the COL project team, the report provides an analysis of the project activities, achievement of high quality, relevant and effective materials and an analysis of the potential for increased quality of education in countries where OERs are used and where teachers’ professional capacity was extended to the use of technology.

The Global E-Schools and Communities Initiative (Gesci), in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and other partners, developed an African Leaders in ICT (ALICT) capacity-building programme. The first phase of the programme ran from 2012-2013, focusing on leadership capacitybuilding in twelve countries (Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia).

The Global E-Schools and Communities Initiative (Gesci), in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and other partners, developed an African Leaders in ICT (ALICT) capacity-building programme. The first phase of the programme ran from 2012-2013, focusing on leadership capacitybuilding in twelve countries (Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia).

The Impact of Open Licensing on the Early Reader Ecosystem examines how to use open licensing to promote quality learning resources for young children that are relevant and interesting. Research in early reading tends to focus on traditional publishing value and supply chains, without taking much consideration of new approaches and solutions emerging from the digitization of content and the impact of open licences. Production innovations considered include content creation models, storybook management and storage, and printing and distribution.

In 2012, the World OER Congress was held in Paris, featuring presentations from key supporters of OER worldwide. The congress, which attracted over 400 participants (governments and educational and OER experts) from 70 countries, emphasised using OER as a means of providing equal access to knowledge. It showcased innovative policies and initiatives that demonstrate the potential of OER to improve communities. The congress also featured various ways in which OER serve as tools for collaboration and the creation of learning resources.