CONCEPT NOTE

Background

The course material is a crucial aspect of any successful open and distance learning program. As such, its design and development must be given the utmost attention. The primary goal is to create or adapt content that is educationally sound and leads to the acquisition of demonstrable skills.

To commence operations, a distance learning centre in a traditional university must meet the National Universities  omission’s (NUC) requirements. One of these requirements is that more than 70% of the course materials must be developed in a mixed-media format.

To achieve this objective, the Regional Training and Research Institute for Distance and Open Learning (RETRIDOL) is organising a workshop to train staff of the Bowen University in the essential principles of course material development and adaptation.

Workshop Objectives

The overarching objective of the workshop is to develop participants’ knowledge and skills to design, develop and adapt content for distance and blended learning modes. More specifically, the workshop is designed to:

• Equip participants with the basic principles of course material development, structuring the course, using access devices and adding assessments;
• Strengthen the capacity of participants to write acceptable learning outcomes and course units;
• Acquaint participants with the process of adaptation of course materials for distance and blended learning;
• Enable participants to identify and integrate Open Educational Resources (OERs) into the course content; and
• Introduce participants to design strategies for blended learning and flipped classrooms.

Participants

Content Writers, Content Developers, Content Editors, and Instructional Designers for Distance Learning Courses.

Methodology

Initial presentations by resource person, followed by discussions and practical activities. At the end of the workshop, each participant is expected to develop content for a unit, add in-text questions, self-assessment questions and end-of-unit activities as appropriate, and incorporate relevant OER.