OER Africa Concept

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EXPERIENCES AND CHALLENGES OF OER AT UNIVERSITY
OF MALAWI KAMUZU COLLEGE OF NURSING
REBECCA NGALANDE - UNIMA KCN PRESENTED AT 2011
OER CONVENING CONFERENCE SAFARI PARK HOTEL -
NAIROBI KENYA 18TH MAY 2011
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Paper Guide

•  Is Kamuzu College of Nursing (KCN) prepared /
  ready to create relevant OER?
• What OER has been produced at KCN?
• Is institutional policy at KCN and at the
  University of Malawi as a whole amenable to OER?
     
• To what extent is KCN involved in an OER
  community of practice within which to share,
  adapt and re-sue relevant OER?

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Outline of the Presentation

• Background
• Significance of OER
• Lessons learnt
• Challenges
• Role of students in OER
• Future of OER at KCN

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BACKGROUND KCN

• University of Malawi (UNIMA) college
• Traced from 1965
• Has two campuses

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KCN MISSION
Provide quality, comprehensive and cost
effective nursing, Midwifery and other Health
related educational programmes in response to
societal provision to promote the health of the
people of Malawi, Africa and beyond.
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CURRENT INSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE

• Change of environment
• National needs
• Transition

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CURRENT INSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE

• Partial IT Dept
• Power supply
• UNIMA and government attitude towards tertiary
  education

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PURPOSE OF OER

• Improve access to learning opportunities by
  sharing knowledge and learning resources
• Save time, cut costs and contribute to improving
  the quality of teaching and learning quality
  graduates with required competencies
• Stimulates and facilitate s growth of a pool of
  learning resources
• With OER you are free to use, adapt, mix and
  share the resources, and become part of the
  growing community

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STRATEGY

• Formulation of OER champions
• Sensitize
• Lobby
• stable power
• Pilot project
• Technical support
• Funding

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OER TYPE

• Learning package for midwifery students clinical
  experience part one
• Uncomplicated prenatal care
• Uncomplicated labour
• Uncomplicated postpartum care
• Support IADP, and South African Institute for
  Distance Education (SAIDE)

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PILOT PROJECT OBJECTIVES

• Increase OER understanding
• Capacity building
• Develop /create OER

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OUTCOME

• Formulation of OER team
• Training of OER champions
• Production of the 1st OER resource
• Piloting of resource from July September 2010
  with 11 midwifery students

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LESSONS LEARNT OER
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LESSONS LEARNT The POWER Of OER

• Your contribution makes a difference worldwide in
  education like
• Students in USA Africa are able to collaborate
  on a specific area of interest
• An educator is able to find easily group
  exercises for her learning science class
• Your experience in using open and freely shared
  course-related materials is valuable in the reuse
  and evolution of the materials as it improves
  quality and confidence of the producer

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LESSONS LEARNT INSTITUTIONAL

• New movement in education
• An opportunity to market the institution

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LESSONS LEARNT FACULTY

• An opportunity to market self
• Try new ways of teaching
• Network and collaborate
• Share experiences

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LESSONS LEARNT STUDENTS

• Current information
• Collaborate and network with other colleges
• New methods of learning
• Flexibility materials can be adapted for
  specific students needs

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LESSONS LEARNT TEACHING RESOURCE

• Responsibilities
• Technical support and IT depts.
• Attitude of faculty
• Change of curriculum

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OER Production Challenges

• Strategy

• Challenges

• Processing purchase of generator
• Improved internet
• Recruitment stage
• Using off hours initially
• Good support from management but to source
  funding after launch of pilot
• Sensitization

• Unstable internet and power
• Material search
• No local technical support and IT depts.
• Time for the team
• Lack of funding project
• Attitude of faculty members

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OER WAY FORWARD

• Advance the OER movement ? Awareness
  ? Networking Creation and use ?
  Develop more capacity ? Quality
  assuranceIdentify facilitators and barriers
  ? Strong committed team
• ? Sustainability

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2ND PROJECTCounseling skills

• Complex -
• Involved large group
• Three colleges
• Faculty and technical teams
• Majority not committed
• Core resource and departmental

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KCN OER CHAMPIONS

• Rebecca C Ngalande MCH DDOF
• College OER Coordinator e-learning
  champion BT
• Elizabeth Chodzaza - MCH DHOD
• e- Learning Liason Officer OER Champion
  team member BT
• Chrissie Phiri - MCH
• OER Champion
  Team member LL
• Wynes Gondwe - Clinical DHOD
• OER
  Champion Team member BT
• Mary Kamphinda Banda - DHOD Med-Surg
• 
  OER Champion Team Member BT
• Emphraim Banda ICT Support Staff
• OER
  Champion Team member BT

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

• The Team is grateful to the following for both
  material, moral, time and physical assistance
• IADP for guidance and encouragement
• SAIDE and Christiane Randell for facillitation
  during the initial phase
• KCN former and current librarians
• KCN management for encouragement and financial
  and moral support throughout the process

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• THANK YOU
• from warm heart of Africa