ODL training for teachers in Kenya, Zambia and Uganda
Häme University of Applied Sciences is providing an ODL training course for developing teachers’ competence in planning, preparing, and organising online and distance-based education. Over 100 teachers have registered for the course.
ODL is short for Open and Distance Learning or Online and Distance Learning. Promoting ODL increases the accessibility of education, and allows learning unbound by time and place. Continuous and lifelong learning requires flexible training arrangements, as participants often don’t have possibilities to travel and take time off from their main jobs for updating their knowledge and skills.
The training course has started in September and consists of 9 weekly online workshops. The topics cover competence-based education, facilitation of online learning and virtual PBL projects, among other pedagogical themes. The responsible teachers of the course are Mr. Tauno Tertsunen, a senior lecturer at Häme University of Applied Sciences, and Ms. Matleena Muhonen, Aalto University.
Tauno has worked for 34 years as a teacher trainer at HAMK. For the last 15 years, he has developed and implemented blended and online-based teacher training. Tauno has also developed ODL in multiple international projects in Vietnam, Nepal, Kazakstan, South Sudan, Tanzania and several European countries.
“We are very happy to share our experiences in developing and organising online education with our partner universities”, Dr. Tertsunen expresses.
The course is organised as part of the project PBL-BioAfrica, funded by the HEI ICI programme of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Finland.
