OER in South African Institutions of Higher Education

I have attended a very interesting workshop on Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Course Ware (OCW) hosted by the UWC on Friday, the 12th of February 2010. Following a board meeting of the OCW Consortium with leaders in OCW such as the MIT and the UK Open University, a panel discussion was organised with international and local experts in the field. OER can provide interesting opportunities for institutions struggling with resources to develop or purchase expensive text books. CPUT, for example,  is mirroring the MIT OCW site, which offers free access to 1900 courses. Lecturers and students at CPUT can access these courses, either using them as is or adapting them for their local use for free. 

This event was followed by the launch of the UCT OpenContent portal, which currently hosts about 20 freely available courses, with topics ranging from “Facilitating online” to an “Ear, nose and throat” Video Tutorial. 

For more information on OER, with a special focus on Africa, have a look at the OER Africa website! We will also be hosting a workshop on OER facilitated by Prof. Cheryl Hodgkinson-William (UCT) on the 15th of April 2010. For booking a place contact Dr Eunice Ivala (ivalae@cput.ac.za) or Daniela Gachago (gachagod@cput.ac.za).