National Workshop on Open Learning for Schools of Education

The three-day workshop held from 24-26 March included expert presentations on open learning, institutional readiness, open pedagogy, blended learning, OER adaptation and development, quality assurance, and responsible AI use.

Participants represented 23 higher education institutions, enabling valuable cross-institutional dialogue, shared learning and collaboration.

The workshop addressed the six OER domains by strengthening participants’ capacity to find, adapt, localise, create and quality-assure resources; examining enabling policy, governance, licensing and institutional readiness; promoting inclusive, equitable access and multilingual contextualisation; exploring sustainable implementation models; and fostering interinstitutional collaboration through communities of practice, shared development and ongoing monitoring.

The workshop was necessary because South African teacher education institutions face pressure to expand access, improve quality and support students while managing financial, technological and pedagogical constraints. Although open learning principles are embedded in national policy, institutions differ in their readiness, capacity and implementation practices. The workshop addressed the need for a shared understanding of open learning and guidance on integrating OER, open pedagogy, blended learning and responsible AI into MRTEQ-aligned programmes.

The workshop also created space for institutions to examine infrastructure, learner support, quality assurance and governance, develop implementation strategies, and strengthen collaboration toward sustainable, equitable teacher education.

During the discussions, institutions reported several challenges. These included uneven institutional readiness, limited ICT infrastructure and affordable connectivity, low digital literacy, inadequate policy guidance, funding constraints, weak learner-support systems, and inconsistent follow-up on quality assurance. Participants also raised concerns about limited OER awareness and uptake, resource trustworthiness, academic integrity, responsible AI use, staff capacity, and insufficient cross-institutional collaboration.

ADVICE FOR TEACHER EDUCATORS

Start small: Select one existing OER from a reputable repository and adapt it to your learners’ curriculum, language, culture and access needs.
Check before using: Verify the Creative Commons licence, accuracy, relevance, accessibility and quality of the resource, and acknowledge the original creator.
Share and collaborate: Test the adapted resource with learners, gather feedback, improve it, and share it with colleagues or through an institutional or regional repository.

IMPACT BEYOND THE ACTIVITY

Beyond the three-day activity, the workshop strengthened institutional capacity, encouraged the development of implementation strategies and fostered collaboration among 23 institutions.

KEY LESSONS

Sustainable open learning requires more than access to technology and OER. It depends on supportive policies, institutional readiness, staff capacity, learner support, quality assurance and ongoing collaboration.
Meaningful progress occurs when institutions translate their principles into contextually relevant and practical actions.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Sustainable OER practices are based on specific needs and require institutional readiness, supportive policies and educator capacity.
Contextualisation and localisation make OER relevant, inclusive and responsive to learners’ needs.
Collaboration transforms individual OER activities into sustainable institutional and national practice.

It laid the foundation for a national community of practice, ongoing OER development and localisation, policy dialogue, professional development, and research and monitoring—supporting more equitable, flexible and sustainable teacher education.