Open Educational Resources (OERs) are teaching and learning materials that are freely available online for anyone to use. OERs support access to knowledge and are core to The Open University’s (OU) social mission. The OU is a world leader in the development of OERs which can include materials aimed at teachers, students, educators and healthcare professionals, materials available to print and digital resources, such as video and audio content.
As the largest and most diverse University in the UK we have throughout our 51-year history supported students from the widest range of backgrounds to develop their skills and further their life choices through high quality open and distance learning. We have increasingly shared our expertise and learning through a range of UK and international partnerships with governments, universities and NGOs to extend educational opportunity globally. This includes a dedicated International Development Office which has worked with a range of partners to support millions of teachers, educators, and health workers in the most challenging low resourced environments through open, distance, and practice-based learning.
The Open University publishes its international development OER projects under Creative Commons licences. Creative Commons is an organisation providing ready-made licensing agreements that are less restrictive than the "all rights reserved" terms of standard international copyright. Depending on the specific version of the licence (there are six in total) users can: remix, edit, extract and build upon the resources for both commercial and non-commercial activities usually as long as they credit The Open University and any third party providers for the original content.
Project: TESSA (Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa)
Description: A 24-hour on-line course focused on practical approaches to support teaching of early literacy.
Audience: Anyone with an interest in how children learn to read including Community Educators, Teachers, Student Teachers, Teaching Assistants and School Volunteers.
Click HERE to view the OLC Resources on Teaching Early reading with African Storybook. Further Resources can also be located on the TESSA webiste at www.tessafrica.net.
Project: IGATE - Zimbabwe (Improving Gender Attitudes, Transition and Education Outcomes)
Description: 7 modules of activities and resources to support the teaching of foundational numeracy and Literacy for learners for all ages, modules for primary and adapted for secondary schools. Modules adopt learner centered and participatory activities.
Audience: Teachers.
Project: SAGE - Zimbabwe (Supporting Adolescent Girls’ Education)
Description: 6 accelerated teaching and learning modules on literacy and numeracy activities for non-formal education. Includes short unit stories in three Zimbabwean languages.
Available Languages : Kalanga, Shona and Nebele.
Audience: Community Educators.
Project: TESSA (Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa)
Description: A 16-hour course to support teachers and teacher educators to develop leaner centered approaches to teaching through the use of ICT tools and open educational resources.
Audience: Anyone working with or that trains pre-service or in-service teachers in Africa, Teacher Educators, Headteachers, Education Officers, Lecturers, Tutors, and Teachers working together to provide peer-support.
Click HERE for access to OLC course resources.
Click HERE for access to FutureLearn content on Making Teacher Education in Africa Relevant in 21st Century.
Project: TESSA (Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa)
Description: A resource bank of teaching strategies and subject specific (life skills, numeracy, literacy, social studies and the arts, science) adapted for use in primary school and secondary schools across Africa.
Available Languages : English, French, Swahili and Arabic.
Audience: Teachers and Teacher Educators.
Click HERE to view the TESSA Teaching Strategies Resource Bank
Project: TESS-India (Teacher Education through School-based Support)
Description: A six-week, task-oriented MOOC that focuses on how to select, evaluate and use OER to help support quality in teacher education.
Audience: Teachers and Teacher Educators.
Click HERE to view MOOC course content.
Click HERE to view OER content on the Enhancing Teacher Education through OER MOOC.
Project: TESS-India (Teacher Education through School-based Support)
Description: A resource bank of teaching strategies and subject specific (life skills, numeracy, literacy, social studies and the arts, science) adapted for use in primary school and secondary schools in 5 Indian languages.
Available Languages : Hindi, Bengali, Assamese, Odia, Kannada and English.
Audience: Teachers and School Leadership.
Click HERE to view TESS-India Resource Bank of Teaching Strategies.
Project: TESS-India (Teacher Education through School-based Support)
Description: A practical toolkit introducing 10 key teaching strategies and associated subject Open Education Resources for use by Indian elementary school teachers.
Audience: Trainee Teachers, Teachers and Teacher Educators.
Click HERE to view TESS-India Compendium.
Project: MATS (Malawi Access to Teaching Scholarships)
Description: A resource bank of materials that can be freely downloaded, adapted and used in implementing a secondary scholarship, refresher or bridging study courses, and/or formative teaching assistant and school volunteer training programme consisting of:
Project: GATE - Sierra Leone (Gender Attitudes, Transition and Education Outcomes)
Description: Learning resources to support learning assistants working in primary schools with a practical and structured induction into the role of a teacher and to achieve entry into teaching training college.
Audience: Education manager and head teachers looking for innovative ways to increase the supply of trained teachers and Learning assistants working in schools.
Click HERE for OLC resources of the GATE Modules.
Project: OLC Projects (OpenLearn Create)
Description: Quick start guides located on the OpenLearn Create platform that help you to create free educational resources and courses for self-learners around the world.
Audience: Educators and Other Professionals.
Click HERE for access to OLC guides on how to create online courses.
Project: TIDE - Myanmar (Transformation by Innovation in Distance Education)
Description: This course looks at the availability of water resources in Myanmar and how those resources are managed.
Audience: Undergraduate students in Myanmar and Myanmar citizens and citizens of the ASEAN region.
Click HERE for access to TIDE OER on Water resource management in Myanmar.
Project: OpenWASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Ethiopia)
Description: The OpenWASH modules offer targeted learning to develop the expertise of WASH practitioners, and improve the effectiveness and sustainability of WASH projects.. Topics include:
Collection also includes a Trainers’ Handbook that provides guidance on how the modules can be used in a variety of teaching contexts.
Audience: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector professionals in Ethiopia.
Click HERE for OLC access to module content.
Project: Rethinking Rural Sanitation
Description: This course is about the design and development of rural sanitation programmes that are large-scale, areawide, equitable, inclusive, and sustainable. You will require some understanding of the main aspects of rural sanitation programming.
Available Languages: English and French.
Audience: Practitioners in the water, hygiene and sanitation sector.
Click HERE for access to OLC course content on OU/WaterAid /UNICEF/ Plan International Rethinking Rural Sanitation.
Project: HEAT (Health Education and Training)
Description: Blended learning guide and modules covering:
Available Languages: All modules are available in English and the three maternal health modules: Antenatal Care; Labour and Delivery Care; and Postnatal Care, are also available in Swahili.
Audience: Health Workers in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Click HERE for access to HEAT Resources - Click HERE for access to OER Health Education and Training Course content.
Project: Taking a pleasure-based approach to Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE)
Description: This course supports the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) CSE curriculum and is divided into two parts. Part 1 aims to help educators develop the confidence and ability to include discussion of sexual pleasure whilst Part 2 provides suggestions of activities that can be used within CSE sessions.
Audience: Health Educators and Peer support workers.
Click HERE for access to OLC course content on Taking a pleasure-based approach to Comprehensive Sexuality Education.
Project: Fleming Fund
Description: UK Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) launched the Fleming Fund (UK Aid) to support low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in developing AMR surveillance systems. These are two short-courses (24 hours each) on a) understanding microbial resistance and b) the power of data to tackle microbial resistance. Although this is an introductory course to antibiotic resistance, it assumes that you have a basic understanding of DNA and proteins.
Audience: Professionals working in Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR).
Click HERE for access to the OLC Fleming Fund and OU Course content.
Project: DIY Learn
Description: This online learning programme includes ten modules to help development practitioners understand and embed practical tools to support social innovation in their work.
Audience: Project workers within international NGOs, Individual social entrepreneurs and Development practitioners.
Click HERE to view OLC DIY Learn, Development Impact and You Courses.
Project: Save the Children - Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL)
Description: This course will introduce you the main MEAL concepts and practices. Although focused on Save the Children’s MEAL system this course will have broader applicability for others seeking to improve their MEAL skills and practice.
Audience: Programme Staff and Senior Management within NGOs.
Click HERE for access to OLC course content on Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL).
Project: Save the Children – Advocacy and Campaigning
Description: This course will introduce you to how Save the Children campaigns and advocates for breakthroughs in the way the world treats children.
Audience: All Programme Staff within NGOs.
Click HERE for access to OLC course content on Advocacy and Campaigning.
Project: CREATE (Child Rights Education in East Africa)
Description: The CREATE curriculum of 5 modules is designed to provide health workers in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda with a general introduction to children’s rights and their application to day to day work practice.
Audience: Health Workers.
Click HERE for access to OLC course content on Child Rights Education in East Africa.
If you would like to contact us about any of the resources or projects above please email us directly at: oudo-international-enquiries@open.ac.uk
In addition to the above there are thousands of other Open University’s freely available Open Courses available via OpenLearn and OpenLearn Create which you can access by clicking on the images below.