Web 2.0 Training for Electronic Content Development for RUFORUM Supported Regional Postgraduate Programmes

CTA (Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation) has once again funded RUFORUM to run a second web 2.0 training that will focus on the development of e-content for RUFORUM Supported Regional Postgraduate Programmes.
















The training began today at the Imperial Botanical Beach Hotel in Entebbe Uganda. A total of twenty participants converged from Eastern and Southern Africa. They represent the following RUFORUM Universities:

1. Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe
2. Bunda College of Agriculture, Malawi
3. Egerton University in Njoro, Kenya
4. Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda
5. University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
6. University of Zambia

The workshop is facilitated by the following:

• Dr Washington Ochola, Lead Facilitator
• Ms Nodumo Dhlamini, Resource Person
• Mr Nicholas Kimolo, Resource Person
• Dr Joseph Oonyu, Pedagogical Issues

The workshop was officially opened by Dr Wellington N. Ekaya, the RUFORUM Training and Quality Assurance Manager, on behalf of Professor Adipala Ekwamu the RUFORUM Regional Coordinator. He began by thanking CTA, RUFORUM and the participants for working hard to make sure that this training took place. He also apologized for the postponement of the course that had resulted in other participants being unable to attend. He reiterated that all the participants were a key success factor for RUFORUM's capacity building strategy. He emphasized that the participants were at the center of that capacity building.

Dr Ekaya went on to say: "Web 2.0 training is stategic in that it aims to fulfill RUFORUM's objective of capacity building, by helping to bring the world to the RUFORUM supported courses. It is critical that the world accesses the RUFORUM Regional Programmes. The format of the programmes is also important to ensure their accessibility. Accessibility also means that the quality would improve through peer review. As RUFORUM it is important that we have strong networks and partnerships. This Web 2.0 Training is not a one off event but it is part of a larger agenda. Each participant as a champion from their institution must be clear about what is it that they can contribute to the vision. The participants must remember that they are attending this course for a purpose and that RUFORUM counts on each participant's individual commitment and that of their institution's".


The training is promising to be very interactive, informative and productive in terms of delivery of e-content for the RUFORUM Regional Programmes.


CTA Welcome Addresss

Please see the CTA speech for the opening ceremony that has been sent by Dr Rodger Obubo, who was unable to be with us during the official opening ceremony. We thank CTA through Dr Obubo for the support towards the funding of this training.

Welcome Address on behalf of the Director of CTA at the opening of the CTA/RUFORUM Training Course on Web 2.0 tools for Research Collaboration and Networking organized at Entebbe, Uganda, 22 – 26 June 2009

The Minister of Agriculture,
The Coordinator of RUFORUM
Distinguished Invited Guests and Resource Persons
Course Participants,
Ladies & Gentlemen

CTA (the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation) was established within the framework of a co-operation agreement between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (known collectively as the ACP states) and the European Union. This agreement referred to as the Lomé Convention, was put in place in order to improve the management of agricultural information in ACP countries. In June 2000, the ACP and EU States agreed on a new framework known as the Cotonou Agreement as the new basis for continued ACP-EU co-operation. CTA shares the stage with many other institutions in being called upon to support the ACP States. In response, it has defined its niche – those areas in which it has some comparative advantage and in which it can make a special contribution. The Centre acts as a broker between organisations and professionals in ACP and EU States. It seeks to establish fora for promoting dialogue and the exchange of information between organisations and professionals in ACP States in order to enhance their technical capacity and skills in information and communication management for agricultural development.

Based on its new mandate, CTA has two operational objectives. Firstly, it aims to improve the availability of, and access to, relevant, adequate, accurate, timely and well-adapted information on priority information topics for ACP agricultural and rural development. Secondly, it seeks to improve the communication management capacity of ACP agricultural and rural development organizations. Information and communication management training programmes are a key component of these operational objectives.

The general objective of this course is to equip academic staff in universities with the requisite tools to conduct collaborative content development in a variety of scenarios with the explicit aim of improving educational content creation, teaching, learning and research efficiency. The difference between this course and last year’s pilot workshop is that there will be more time allocated to actual e-content development. An additional resource person has been engaged to provide guidance on the necessary skills on pedagogy for effective e-content development.

It is our sincere hope that this training workshop will produce concrete results in the form of materials developed for collegiate use among members of RUFORUM universities. Capacity in the use of web 2.0 tools for the creation of electronic content for use in teaching of regional postgraduate programmes will be greatly enhanced.

You will be working in disciplinary clusters across universities to develop content in the priority areas identified. Through such collaboration, institutional partnerships will be strengthened so that viable networks will be created for sustained collaboration in RUFORUM universities. Such networks will serve as the hub to promote the development of open educational resources in the area of agricultural training and research.

The work that will be accomplished this week is only the beginning as the final product will only come through hard work and dedication in the coming weeks and months to meet our ultimate target. The challenge to all of us is to create the type and quality of materials that we desire to have in our universities. When this is done, a common platform will be provided for sharing these resources across all RUFORUM universities.

CTA wishes to thank RUFORUM, for the warm spirit of collaboration manifested in the organisation of this course. We wish to thank the RUFORUM Coordinator Professor Adipala for his close involvement in events leading to the implementation of this course. In RUFORUM, CTA has found a partner in the East and Southern African region on whom we can count for such joint activities. It is our desire that this spirit lives on so that we can achieve even more through the years.

CTA also wishes to thank particularly, the resource persons, course director Dr. Washington Ocholla, Ms Nodumo Dhlamini and Nicholas Kimolo for once more making themselves available to share their experiences and to guide the participants towards the achievement of the workshop objectives.

We warmly welcome our friends who have come from other countries in the region. Coming from various backgrounds, we believe that you possess a rich variety of experiences which we implore you to share generously with each other, to make this course a big success.

We wish you all a happy stay in Entebbe and hope that the experience gained will be of lasting benefit to your professional careers and to the development of capacities in producing top quality teaching materials in your various institutions.
Thank you.

Rodger Obubo
Training Programmes Coordinator
CTA

OBJECTIVES FOR DAY ONE

After successfully and actively participating in the days activities, we shall be able to:

1. Identify with and describe all participants
2. Outline and articulate the workshop and day’s objectives and outputs
3. Reflect on and prepare for commitments for e-content development during and after the meeting
4. Describe the emerging Web 2.0 Tools and use some of them to create accounts and design simple e-content
5. Apply pedagogical principles in designing modules for e-content development
6. Evaluate the day’s achievement