Explore the dynamic world of Open Educational Resources and discover how OER Africa is driving the movement forward. This page is divided into two sections:
Articles: Our articles aim to deliver insights on OER-related themes that inform, spark conversation, and engage with the developing open education landscape, with a particular focus on Africa.
Updates: Below, the articles, you'll find updates on OER Africa’s latest initiatives, activities, and contributions to the OER community.
Articles
This section features targeted articles crafted specifically for educators, students, and the global Open Educational Resources (OER) community. The articles examine themes related to OER, offering insightful perspectives and information. The content seeks to inform, prompt discussion, and actively engage with the dynamic landscape of open education, particularly within the African context.
20 June 2025
The Botswana Open University (BOU) wanted to give lecturers and tutors at BOU an opportunity to gain skills for facilitating online learning. OER Africa adapted the OER Africa online tutorial for Facilitating Online Learning (FOL) for the context of staff development at BOU. When students arrive in a face to face class, when a lecturer or tutor arrives to teach them, there is an immediate connection, a presence. Online, we can lose the connections that allow us to learn with and from each other. The art of online facilitation helps to re-create those connections, to create a presence.
06 May 2025
Are you in search of podcasts that discuss or relate to open education (OE)? The podcasts in this list engage with themes closely aligned to OE, including how to apply OE practices, enabling equitable access to knowledge, and promoting the use of personalized learning. While not always explicitly framed within the OE movement, they offer valuable perspectives that challenge traditional models and broaden our understanding of openness in educational contexts.
02 March 2025
With the focus on open education and open technologies during Open Education Week, which runs from 3 to 7 March 2025, let’s explore some ways in which open content is being harnessed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) models to deliver quality education to some of Africa’s youth.
08 December 2024
In a world filled with competing distractions, apps, and social media, students' attention is constantly being pulled in different directions. The adaptability and flexibility of Open Educational Resources allow educators to create engaging lessons. Encouraging students to use and modify these resources can enhance their knowledge retention and encourage social interactions among the peers.
08 October 2024
As we get older, we often develop the misconception that learning has to be serious and that we must be disciplined in our studies. As a result, we might take ourselves as educators too seriously. Discipline has become a synonym for teaching. We forget that, as children, where our most fundamental learning takes place, we learn through play.
27 May 2024
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has assumed a leadership role in discussions about education. Neil Butcher’s blog on AI’s false promises in education lays out major issues and pinpoints the easy assumptions on AI’s importance to educational systems.[1]
Updates
This section provides updates on OER Africa’s initiatives and activities. Stay informed about our contributions to the OER community and how we are driving the open education movement forward.
16 October 2019
The guidelines describe the whole process for designing and implementing OER policy in seven chapters, each representing a clear phase in the whole process. The chapters introduce the purpose of the phase and provide background information and references with practical examples for illustration.
23 August 2019
The UNESCO Chair on Open and Distance Learning (ODL) at UNISA organised a seminar on Open Education Resources for staff in the university, held on 12th June, 2019. Ephraim Mhlanga and Kirsty von Gogh from Saide and Neil Butcher & Associates respectively facilitated the workshop, which was attended by about 25 participants.
23 August 2019
This study by John Hilton III synthesizes results from sixteen efficacy and twenty perceptions studies involving 121,168 students or faculty that examine either (1) OER and student efficacy in higher education settings or (2) the perceptions of college students and/or instructors who have used OER.
05 August 2019
COL President and CEO Professor Asha Kanwar delivered a keynote at the eighth Distance Education and Teachers’ Training in Africa (DETA) Conference at the University of Lagos, Nigeria on 24 July 2019.
29 April 2019
On Wednesday 3 April, 2019, Neil Butcher of OER Africa conducted a webinar for librarians, hosted by the African Library & Information Associations & Institutions (AfLIA). The webinar was the first in a series of three on open education resources (OER) for librarians.