UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

06/10/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/10/2021 05:06

UNESCO’s rapid teacher training on open, distance and online learning reaches 1 400 teachers in Zimbabwe

As with many countries across the world, 2020 saw Zimbabwean schools abruptly closed as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. The closure of schools for almost a year seriously impacted school outcomes and reversed some important post-independence gains in areas such as literacy and numeracy, school infrastructure, and school attendance, among others.

Most public schools did not have the capacity to offer distance or online learning since, in addition to a lack of infrastructure and resources, teachers were neither equipped nor trained to offer this type of learning. While technology cannot and should not replace teachers, this crisis nevertheless demonstrated that technology plays a major role in complementing and improving the quality and access to education in the 21st century. In order for teachers to embrace and facilitate this process, however, they need to be equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to do so.

It is against this backdrop that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), working with Zimbabwe's Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE), developed a professional development programme for teachers to support the continuation of teaching and learning during - and beyond - the Covid-19 pandemic.

The overall aim of the Rapid Teacher Training on Open, Distance and Online Learning Programme is to provide support for teachers to deliver distance education and use information and communications technology (ICT) in education. The course introduces teachers to basic digital skills, remote learning methods, and pedagogical use of ICT for teaching to ensure the continuation of learning. The course also equips teachers with the skills and resources to deliver alternate and appropriate forms of remote learning using no-, low-, and high- tech digital tools.

The training is structured around three modules, which begin with introducing teachers to basic concepts in ICT, and takes them right through to digital literacy, planning and developing lessons and resources for remote learning, and even how to deliver distance learning through radio. Some of the skills teachers will learn include computer maintenance and troubleshooting, how to use the full Microsoft Office suite, and what tech tools are out there, from the internet, email, and WhatsApp, to high-tech learning management systems such as Google classrooms. The module explores successful strategies of how teachers plan lessons and develop engaging and interactive content for remote learning.

Training activities started in early 2021. Strategies of enhancing engagement and interactivity were explored creating opportunities and platforms for feedback and assessment. Further, the teachers were taught on the practical steps of designing an online lesson and teaching content using low tech-tools such as WhatsApp and high-tech tools such as learning management systems. Tools used to create online content such as Google classrooms and Moodle were explored including other Learning Management Systems with offline functionality.