Networking opportunities and discussions on lecturing and teaching

My experience of the IDS Learning Event which took place at Strathmore University in July 2016.

I am very thankful for having had the opportunity to be part of the IDS Learning Event that was held at the Strathmore Business School in July 2016. Through the workshop, I was able to network with lecturers from Kenyatta University (Kenya), Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) (Tanzania) and Jimma University (Ethiopia) as well as the facilitators from UK.

The workshop opened with an ice breaker introduction session where we all had to introduce ourselves and the institutions we had come from. The participation in the group was the most amazing part - I sat with the Strathmore team and had a discussion about ways lectures could be improved and the teaching methods in their classes so that students do not get bored, or left behind, and the reasons why students choose to come to Strathmore University, and the reasons why students do not attend class, and why students fail.

Before this discussion, I was thinking that teaching was an easy job where lecturers just come to class to give students the course outline and the contents. Then the lecturers discussed the approach they use to interact with the students in order to improve in the class. At Strathmore, IT is the most important aspect of teaching (e.g. the e-learning system and PowerPoint slides). I got a better understanding about the process it takes before we students receive this content.

Raj Patel is an ACCA student studying at Strathmore University

Education should focus on converting knowledge into life skills

It is the process and not a goal.

Pixabay. CC0 Public Domain

As defined in the Cambridge Dictionary, Knowledge looks at a practical or theoretical understanding of a specific subject. In this day and age, where technology has simplified information dissemination, the distance between ignorance and knowledge has radically been reduced. Students may not have to sit in a classroom to know when airplanes started flying. The Internet has got very comprehensive literature on this including videos, audio, images and text. And all this content is available at no cost.

In a second stage, little beyond a mere understanding of a specific subject, learning, is defined by Karban, R. (2015) as the act of acquiring new, or modifying and reinforcing existing, knowledge. At this stage the learner will need to convert acquired knowledge to fit into a context in the environment they live in. The learner will modify and reinforce existing, knowledge and see it adopted in his or her context. We probably all spend 70% of our driving lessons on a free and quiet road without any traffic or complex obstacles on our way, and 30% on a relatively jammed road. Yet, in reality, 70% of our rides will be in down-town on a jammed road, and only 30% in the countryside. From this illustration, knowledge in terms of understanding how a vehicle moves is not enough. The learner needs to adjust the leaning process to a new environment.

In the third and final stage, we talk about life skills. Howland, J.L. (2013), infers that given key resources like time, energy, or both; learning should lead to carrying out a task with pre-determined results. Along the same lines, in an education that aims at facilitating acquisition of values, well-being, and habits, life skills are the ultimate tools that learners should acquire. Although, the nature and definition of life skills may differ across cultures and beliefs, Weisen et al. (1997) provides a list of crucial skills:

• Problem Solving
• Decision making
• Creative thinking
• Critical thinking
• Effective communication
• Interpersonal relation skills
• Self-awareness
• Empathy

In summary, life skills are the abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life.

Conclusion

A quick analysis of the three stages infers that knowledge, unless applied in given skills, may not be of any significant value. A fundamental objective of our daily activities is to solve problems. Problems are at the heart of what many people do at work every day. Education today should focus on converting knowledge into life skills and so impact the learners’ day to day activity. And given that life circumstances are not always similar, this should be looked at as a process and not a goal.

Benjamin Mundama, Strathmore University, Kenya.

From marketing boredom to a marketing academic

How the IDS Learning Events’ training transformed teaching for me.

Picture credit: Geralt/Pixabay. CC0 Public Domain.

Introduction

Teaching was something that I got into accidentally. For very many years my major career goal was to be a high flying, marketing executive in a large multinational firm. I loved marketing, still do. In my opinion, it is the perfect blend of psychology and business strategy, two subject areas that I find fascinating.

The marketing executive

However, three months into my first employment (which was in a marketing firm) I realized that boredom had become my constant companion. Yes, I was pursuing my passion. And yes, every day was different from the next because of the different clients and projects we were handling. But I was quite simply bored. It took me awhile to place my finger on the reason for my boredom, but I eventually did. I was bored out of my mind because I was barely learning anything new at my place of employment.

The moment I came to that realization, I started actively looking for a masters’ degree programme and, approximately six months later, I got the opportunity to join one of the best Business Masters’ programmes in Africa with the opportunity to offer tutorials, and two years later, to lecture in a university. It has been four years of teaching, so far, and I have loved every single minute of it.

Teaching is the boiling down of hard concepts to small simple morsels of information that can easily be understood. This process provides a unique opportunity of perpetual learning, that I especially enjoy.

The IDS Learning Event

One of the things, however, that has become very apparent is that teaching is a science that also needs to be taught. I have a very robust academic background in Marketing and Business Science, but I am mostly self-taught in the art and science of teaching. So when the opportunity to attend the IDS Learning Event on teaching and assessment practices was presented, I latched on with both hands and I was not disappointed.

I learnt quite a lot on the various pedagogies that can be used to teach. The training also touched on how we can work Information Technology into learning and assessment to make it more interactive.

At the end of the training, two things became very clear to me. One, I needed to apply the pedagogies I had learnt as soon as possible. And two, there was still so much to learn concerning the science and art of teaching.

The step forward

Approximately three weeks after the training, I started teaching a new cohort of students.  I made a point of attempting to try out the new pedagogies of learning that I had learnt in the training. I also made a point of incorporating Information Technology (through our institutions e-learning) in learning and assessment. One of the continuous assessments that was given to this group of students was uploaded on a platform I created on e-learning. The students were then instructed to engage each other on this platform as they interrogated the work that each student uploaded and to provide constructive criticism. The exercise is still ongoing but is proving to be quite successful so far.

The classroom has become livelier with the use of the various pedagogies. Students are more participative and learning is spilling over and taking place even outside the classroom hours. All these changes were brought about by a two day training. I am excited, as I contemplate the magnitude of change that will take place once I become a highly trained educationist.

Lucy Nguti is a Doctoral Fellow at Strathmore School of Management and Commerce. She teaches marketing on the undergraduate program offered by university. 

Pedagogy before technology?

Introduction

Picture credit: Mr. Tadele Mulat/Jimma University, Ethiopia

To implement online learning, we need a technology platform. However, without the knowledge of pedagogy, implementing e-learning is like being on a ship on the ocean without a captain. Pedagogy is key for implementing all learning including online learning. Pedagogy is a profession, or science of teaching, that is concerned with the study of, and practice of, how best to teach. It is a tool for managing teaching content in a specific manner.

Technology plays an important and pervasive role in modern education, business and everyday living. It is associated with an efficient modern society and economic health. The use of digital technology for improving the delivery of education has enormous potential to raise standards and increase employability. It also requires a change in teaching style, a change in learning approaches, and a change in access to information.

Online learning is a way of teaching modalities to learners who do not need to physically attend classes on campus. As it is a system of learning using the internet, online learning means students can attend the classes without being limited by time, distance and geographical constraints. This is an opportunity to provide online learning to learners who may find it difficult to come to campus for a variety of reasons and so providing online learning can be a way to ensure your courses are more effectively designed and taken up by your target audience.

For this reason the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), drawing on the work of the African Universities’ Research Approaches (AURA) programme, coordinated  a two day workshop at Strathmore University, Kenya on “Developing a strategic plan to operationalize investments in strengthening research and teaching ” (July 27 & 28, 2016).  The workshop was attended by Jimma University, Ethiopia; Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), Tanzania; and Kenyatta University and Strathmore University, both in Kenya. An important aim of the workshop was to focus on strategies for implementing e-learning for research and teaching.

Producing an operational plan: a starting point for online learning

On the first day, our training focused on what the operational plan means and how it looks in terms of the main content that needs to be included. This topic was presented by Jagdeep Shokar, IDS.

The content that should be included in an operational plan include:

• An executive summary (what the plan aims to achieve, why this is important and how it will go about achieving this)
• The lead person (i.e. the individual who will lead the overall activities of the project)
• Background or content
• Outcome and output,
• Resources
• Risks and challenges. 

As, at Jimma, we have not had many opportunities to think about our operational plans in this way before, it was useful to go over these basic steps.  Since we are keen to address the challenges of developing e-learning at Jimma, writing an operational plan that will include strategies for implementing our e-learning was a useful starting point.  

Blended learning can be a useful approach (using a mix of online and face-to-face)

It was interesting to hear Professor Gilbert Kokwano, from Strathmore University Business School, highlight the importance of online access even if the connectivity is not perfect. He believes that using a blended learning approach is better than just face-to-face learning and would be a good approach for education, in particular in an African context. He also emphasized that multidisciplinary or geographical variations, of learners coming together in one place (online or face-to-face) enables individuals to learn through others’ experiences.  After the presentation we had the opportunity to reflect on how we relate to each institution on online learning. What was significant here was there were different experiences, and contexts, expressed in the group which allowed us to appreciate that we are not alone in the challenges we face at Jimma.

Open Access

Professor Martin Weller’s film on “Digital scholarship and openness in Higher Education” made us excited. Weller explores how digital network technology and open access movements are very vital for sharing resources. In terms of promoting your research to a wider audience, open access can be more vital for reaching out than academic publishing channels as open access are available to the public and academic journals can be costly.

Weller adds that the quality of online learning can be as good as face-to-face learning, provided that it is designed appropriately for an online environment. In sharing his insights - like the impact of new technologies, open education and learning environments - Weller has given us some ideas and approaches that we can take back and apply within our institutions.   For me these are inspiring ideas because one of the areas we want to develop at Jimma is our online learning.  The concept of applying a pedagogical approach to enriching our e-learning strategy and plans for the future is a good place to start.

Getting support is key to developing online learning

Irene Maweu, e/merge Africa, talked about “E/merge Africa: unleashing the power of networks in Africa”.  E/merge Africa is a free membership group created in Africa in order to share online support, IT support, course delivery, facilitating webinar etc.  Since she is an expert in human capacity development and communication, especially in e-learning, course design and content development, she had some valuable information for us (e/merge Africa could be a way that we can get some support for our plans to develop our online learning).

Esther Gacicio, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), specializes in instructional designer and content development as well as e-learning facilitation has talked about “Moving teachers competencies in curriculum delivery to the 21 first century”.  KICD’s objective is to give training for the Kenyan elementary and high school teachers on how they can develop curriculum and implement on their activities of teaching and learning processes in the entire nation (Kenya). Ethiopia does not yet have an institution like KICD looking at this area – there is a clear need for an institution like this in my country – although the Ministry of Education has played such roles at different times for different universities, high schools and for elementary teachers.

Luis Arnoldo Ordonez Vela spoke about “building collaboration interdisciplinary groups with the support of technology tools and social media”. His current research interests focus on the determinants of participation in society and the impact of digital technologies, specifically, the role of information in decision-making mechanisms in the Latin American environment and mobilization of knowledge between universities and Latin American society. His presentation was more on how we can share and transfer knowledge through social media, libraries, culture, ICCT etc. He also shares how collaborative research is very important for the development of any country. This is an interesting perspective for me because in Ethiopia, there is a need for a more inclusive, interdisciplinary approach and developing our technology tools, and fostering usage, would be a valuable step in progressing our country to being an efficient modern society enjoying better economic health. In Jimma, we have started working with an interdisciplinary approach and can really see the benefits; however, good access to the internet remains a serious challenge which, until it is overcome, prevents us from being in a position to take up the challenge of sharing and transferring knowledge in this way.

Preparing our operational plans

We also had the opportunity, during the two-day workshop, to prepare operational plans for each institution which we did in groups with support from the presenters and facilitators. Through the process, our guide reiterated that pedagogy, ICT and content experts are very vital in order to implement successful online learning. After the discussion, and once work on operational plans had concluded, one presenter selected from each group presented the plan that had been worked on. At the end of each group presentation there was several questions and discussions in order to shape the operational plan of each institution.  I found it a useful process to work on an operational plan for Jimma as a group as it allowed our group to discuss our context in detail, in particular the challenges we face in delivering online learning, and to work through our concerns with support from the facilitators and experts.  

Exploring teaching styles

On the second day, we looked different teaching styles which was facilitated by Siobhan Duvigneau, IDS, and utilized a number of quizzes on teaching styles which are available online (through Google). We have got a lot of experiences from the sites that we visited, and we tried to answer the quizzes to the best of our knowledge.  The focus of Siobhan’s agenda was: exploring how to improve teaching and learning experiences, behaviours and skills. She is passionate about approaches that foster critical thinkers, independent and self-directed learners who are confident networks, problem-solvers and knowledge co-creators. 

Teaching methods are general principles, or pedagogy, used for classroom instruction. There are different teaching styles in the world. Each country or university has its own teaching styles depending on the curriculum they have. For me, a student-centered approach is very important. It is a teaching method that focuses on student investigation and hands-on learning. In this method the instructor role is facilitating, providing guidance and supporting of students through the learning process, so that students play an active and participatory role in their own learning process. So, this is very important for Ethiopia/Jimma University in order to create skillful students to have their own jobs than seeking from the government.

The next presenter was Dr. Philipp Grunewald. He asked us to reflect on yesterday’s work (operational planning) on how was that useful to me and to my university? According to Philipp, when we are involved in teaching and research, we can contribute knowledge to the community and to the entire nation. This indicates that better teaching, and better teachers, will be created. He gave a strong emphasis on knowledge and skill. As a teacher we have to teach students to gain more skill than knowledge. To increase employability, we need to focus on active learning rather than passive learning; train students to be job makers rather than job seekers. In that context, Dr Grunewald is inquiring how creative commons and open source software can support social systems (organizations, corporations, enterprises, social movements, etc.)

In order to alleviate problems in Ethiopia, students who have graduated from the universities should become involved in the private sector and look at creating jobs for themselves rather than seeking work from the government. So, the universities strategy, when they teach students, should focus on skill rather than knowledge. If students are mature in skill, they might have a possibility to create jobs rather than seeking them from the government. I think this is the good idea that I got from the workshop.

Conclusion

Do you believe that pedagogy comes before technology?  I am still reflecting on this question as a result of all that I experienced in the two day workshop and it seems to me that pedagogy is quite key for designing online courses, and that e-learning (or a blend of face-to-face and e-learning) could provide opportunities in an African context which will really progress our education and research agendas.  However, it was also beneficial to look in detail at developing an operational plan that includes strategies for online learning as this is what an institution really needs in order to support teaching and research. 

Last, but not least, I would like to thank the host organizer (Strathmore University, Kenya) and also the sponsor organization IDS and the AURA project team members.

Mr. Tadele Mulat, ICT Team Leader, Jimma University Library System 

Fostering competencies in interactive online teaching and learning assessment

About seven faculty members from the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), attended a two day workshop on teaching and learning assessment at Strathmore University from 25th to 26th July 2016. This workshop was immediately followed by another workshop on strategic planning from 27th to 28th July, 2016. The workshops were organized by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and drew on the work of the African Universities' Research Approaches (AURA) programme.

Both workshops were very useful to participants because participants were exposed to various issues related to e-learning, including: learning assessment approaches, how to use technology for assessment, technology based learning and pedagogical theories that could be applied in a technology-based environment. Furthermore, participants were taught about how to operationalize what they learnt when they go back to their institutions by developing Operational Strategic Plans.

The teaching modality throughout the two workshops was participatory, and focused on peer to peer learning and assessment as well as on learning from instructors.  Participants appreciated the fact that they were able to learn from their colleagues and to share what they knew regarding the topic that they were working on. They were enabled to expand their network of researchers to work with, due to the task that they were given to write up in groups. 

Most of the topics were completely new to participants (i.e. learning analytics, learning theories. Given their medical science background, MUHAS faculty members were therefore able to learn and appreciate many of the topics taught and of which they had not had opportunities to explore prior to the workshop.  They also learnt, and appreciated, the technology-based assessment methods which were completely new to them. This kind of training was very important, and timely, given the fact that MUHAS is implementing competency based curricular by using blended learning approaches.

Participants were also able to develop operational plans which they will be able to implement when they go back to their institutions with what they had learnt throughout the workshop. Through the development of operational plans, participants expect that they should be able to cascade what they have learnt back into their institutions. Despite the fact that a learning management system (LMS) has been implemented at MUHAS for over four years now, its' uptake has been very low. Through developing an operational plan, it is expected that academic staff at MUHAS will be able to adopt interactive teaching methods and engage students in the e-learning platform more readily.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the teaching and learning assessment workshop enabled participants to acquire skills on learning assessment approaches, how to use technology for assessment, technology based learning and pedagogical theories that could be applied in a technology-based environment. Participants also learnt about how to strategically operationalize technology-based learning in their institutions. Participants appreciated the teaching methodology and it is expected that they will adopt this modality into their teaching, especially the use of blended learning approaches.  

Professor Lwoga holds a PhD in information studies from the University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. She teaches and supervises both undergraduate and postgraduate students. She has facilitated a number of workshops and short courses.  She has published widely and has presented over 30 research papers in both international and local conferences.  Professor Lwoga currently coordinates the African Universities' Research Approaches (AURA) programme at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), Tanzania, together with an additional four projects working with international partners in Sweden, South Africa and USA.

Dr. Doreen Mloka is a Medical Microbiologist/Molecular biologist. She is a Medical Education Fellow and the Director of Continuing Education and Professional Development at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), Tanzania. She currently coordinates two medical education projects and several microbiology projects.

The Impact of Stepping Up the Quantity and Quality of E-learning to Address Challenges of Human Resources for Health (HRH) in Kenya

Human Resources for Health (HRH): Can technology be the magic bullet in LMIC?

Photo credit: Titus Muhu Kahiga, Kenyatta University, 2016.

The Human Resources for Health (HRH) challenges continue to pose a major headache to governments in many LMIC (lower middle-income countries) in Africa. Many traditional models (like increasing the number of medical schools) have been tested but face serious quality of training gaps. Some successes have been recorded with a symbiotic relationship of north and south, and south and south, collaborations but this has not gone far enough. The WHO recommended ratios of doctor to patients continue to be unachievable in spite of deadlines by many governments in sub-Saharan Africa making periodic commitments. This is aggravated by emigration of health workers to developed countries where conditions of work and remunerations are superior. Within country, the distribution of available health workers is uneven and is not based on specific local health needs but on economic and social considerations. The ultimate consequence of this are poor health indicators. Can there be a solution to this state of affairs?

The IDS Learning Event at Strathmore University (25th to 28th July 2016)

The African Universities’ Research Approaches (AURA) Programme was mooted on the premise of bringing expertise and experience from around the globe to co-create a context specific educational framework and support locally generated research knowledge and its dissemination. In view of human resources for health challenges, approaches to mitigate this based on innovation then becomes a relevant area that demands deep reflection and concern. We can only thereafter ‘talk research’ once we have personnel with basic knowledge who then can be taught to become skilled researchers.

Many universities in Kenya have e-learning programmes mainly in liberal arts and basic sciences. In health professional education there has been a palpable resistance to e-learning by traditionalists (although some acceptance of it has occurred partly by nursing professionals). This is not unexpected given that most of the trainers are products of old systems and practices. A strong legal and policy infrastructure to support e-learning is also lacking. However, where e-learning has been accepted, it has basically been interpreted as loading PowerPoint presentations on the institutional LMIS (Learning Management Information System).The interactivity aspect, the objective assessment need and the need for an examination to be a benchmark of evidence of learning, are clear gaps. We have had lots of conversations about the use of technology and many faculty members accept that it can make teaching an easier experience. Of course, instructional strategies differ from one institution to another one but all have one convergence: that ultimately, individuals will need to be fully trained to manage patients.

Drawing on the work of the AURA Programme, the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) convened a learning event at Strathmore University in July 2016. This provided an opportunity to start questioning the quality of material, and the e-support, being given to the students taking these modules. The need for training the trainer on e-support facilitation became apparent. While the need to have many health workers is welcome, we also need to start a robust system of increasing the capacity of quality facilitators skilled in delivering e-learning. I was certainly encouraged by the sensitization given by the two consultants at the learning event.  It made me wonder if big funders who are interested in health professional education would be interested in the approaches.

A critical mass of facilitators skilled in delivering e-learning would then need to be trained and appropriately exposed so that they can train other health workers. I propose that this be piloted in one university and be done as a collaborative effort with regulatory bodies, in order to have their buy-in. Many curriculums in health disciplines have pre-clinical phases where subjects like physiology, biochemistry, and anatomy can be taught very effectively on an e-platform. These subjects do not have our trendy language (like ‘evidence base’) and are basically static. They can be taught in one ‘command zone’, as it were, and broadcast to thousands of medical, nursing, pharmacy and other allied health professionals, in one go. This can create a lot of time that can be utilised for face-to-face interactions. Certainly technology would not train, or assess, the psychomotor aspects of health professional learning, however it can have a valuable place in other areas.

The learning event at Strathmore University also reflected on the difficult terrain of assessment. As we increase numbers it becomes a necessity to devise objective methods of confirming that learning has taken place. It is now accepted that competency based learning is the future of learning, and how to best use technologies to assess the same, needs serious interrogation.

Conclusion

Investments in infrastructure to support e- learning are already going on in many LMIC,and are being supported by funders. The investment in e-support capacity development, and the need to build a cohort of expert facilitators on e-learning, is of utmost need and urgency. This could well be the answer to addressing the human resource capacity needs in health in sub-Saharan Africa. I urge the funding community to consider paying attention to this gap, much as they continue to give infrastructural support. The learning event at Strathmore University was an ‘eye opener’ in terms of exploring and exposing this need. This will be of particular use in health related disciplines where the numbers and the quality of health workers fall far short of global recommendations.

Dr Kahiga is a pharmacologist currently working as member of faculty at Kenyatta University, a public funded university in Kenya. He also serves as principle investigator (PI) in many donor funded projects including NIH and USAID. He has a special interest in health professional education and in the past has served as master trainer in a CDC/PEPFAR funded project called PACE. At Kenyatta University, he is currently the Head of the Ethics Review Board.  In the past, Dr Kahiga has served in the National Drug Regulatory Board and in the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya, rising to the position of National Vice President. In his free time he serves as a volunteer pharmacist in a community based setting in the central part of Kenya.

Applying learning theories to online learning: Reflections on the T3 intervention at Jimma University, March 2016

Through the African Universities’ Research Approaches (AURA) programme, Jimma University (JU) recently offered the T3 intervention, one of a series of interventions designed to build the capacity of universities in Sub-Saharan Africa.

T3, which took place at JU from 21st to 22nd March 2016, is a practical course focusing on how learning theories can be applied to an online learning environment. The training was designed to enable instructors from the various colleges of JU to:

•     plan and organize online learning effectively on Moodle – JU’s existing platform;

•     apply pedagogical implementations to learning technologies such as Moodle;

•     assess learners using learning technologies.

Generally, T3 introduced a growing world of technology that may help to facilitate learning and teaching by making learning and teaching easier and more engaging, as well as cost-effective. Information technologies are one of a number of revolutions which are transforming lives in the 21st century and having an impact on countries like Ethiopia. Consequently, education and training needs to be reinforced with technology if we are to benefit from the opportunities offered through the digital revolution.  If the instructors at JU are committed to applying T3, then the training will impact positively on the teaching and learning process in Jimma University.

Online learning: technologies, pedagogical processes, and benefits

The mentors of T3 covered a range of technologies applicable to online learning, including Moodle, which was discussed and demonstrated extensively. According to the demonstrations and theoretical discussions on pedagogical processes, Moodle can be used to create courses for online learning with the use of various kinds of teaching methods and theories. It is possible to apply social constructive, and any other theories suitable for the course content, to online learning as well as face to face learning.  Moreover, various learning materials (such as videos, podcasts, texts, documents, portable document formats, PowerPoints etc.) can be easily embedded in the course page created in the Moodle. It is also possible to incorporate chat and discussion forums in the learning page we create in Moodle – these can also help us to apply social constructive theories (encouraging the trainees to be more independent in the learning process, to share the knowledge they have gained, and to benefit from opportunities for greater online socialization with each other around their learning). Moodle also enables us to assess the trainees online.

The task set by the training facilitators at the end of the training, (to create a technology oriented course on Moodle), and feedback after rating this, made us competent enough to translate the skills developed by the intervention into concrete action because the task was designed so that we would have to apply what we had just learnt by putting it into practice on JU’s Moodle platform.

In addition, other learning technologies (such as Google Hangouts, Google Plus, Skype for Business, Second life, Facebook, Twitter, email threads etc.) were discussed and demonstrated in terms of how these could be used for online learning by facilitators.

The T3 training was facilitated by educators from various universities in Africa and highly skilled pedagogy experts from UK. Their experience on online learning was another highlight of the T3 intervention - in addition to delivering the training, they also shared their experiences on online learning in the context of their institutions. Hearing about their experiences was an additional motivation for the trainees to use technology for learning. The facilitators also promised to continue to provide support remotely.

T3 key points of learning:

The training intervention has yielded two key changes to my ways of teaching and learning:

1.    First, I had not believed that you could use social constructive theory for teaching online as online learning has little space for interaction between the educator and trainees – or so I perceived before T3. After the training, I could see that interaction between the educator and the trainees online is definitely possible. Therefore, I learned that we can make online teaching and learning interactive and share our knowledge among trainees online as well as offline. According to the new skills I have gained, the educator not only transfers knowledge but also learns from the learners too because, when online learning is created with the application of social constructive theory, the learners are encouraged to be more independent in the learning process and to share what they have acquired with both their fellow learners and also with the educator.

2.    Second, what I learnt from T3 is that pedagogy matters more than technology in online learning. Before we start designing online learning we have to select appropriate pedagogical theories to deliver the course effectively. Then, we can develop an appropriate online learning page. “Pedagogy before technology” was the interesting motto of our mentor – to remind us what is important.

Now capacitated by T1 (the precursor to T3 – T1 focused more on the pedagogical theories and T3 on applying these to online learning), T3 and the remote assistance of our mentors, I am getting ready to revolutionize my way of teaching and learning in a way which benefits both the trainees and the institution I am working for. Furthermore, some of the departments in our college have also created opportunities to apply T3 so there is more to come from Jimma University.

Melaku Haile Likka, Department of Health Economics, Management and Policy at the College of Health Sciences, Jimma University in Ethiopia.