Collaborative Approach to OER Policy and Guidelines Development in the Commonwealth: The Case of Botswana, Cameroon and Sri Lanka

Abstract

Presented by Dr Ishan Abeywardena, Adviser: Open Educational Resources, Commonwealth of Learning, at the Festival of Learning 2018, Vancouver, Canada, 30 May 2018. // Access to relevant learning resources is an important aspect in ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all as outlined in SDG4. The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) has identified the development of OER as a potential answer to these challenges. A total of 29 provincial OER policies and guidelines were drafted in Sri Lanka, Botswana and Cameroon closely involving the provincial policy makers for school education. This session aims to share how this bottom-up approach was used to ensure wider advocacy for OER and the increased uptake/ownership from a larger number of policy makers/implementers spread throughout these developing countries.