OER Highlights from Africa in 2024

Image courtesy of Iwaria (CC0)

As Open Educational Resources (OER) continue to gain traction around the world, Africa remains a region that is brimming with opportunities to harness their potential.

Below is a snapshot of just a few items of 2024's OER-related news from across Africa.

OER Africa’s CPD Frameworks

OER Africa published its Continuous Professional Development (CPD) framework webpage, which has 68 resources that have been curated to assist with CPD on effective OER use for academics.

We are currently curating and uploading resources for academic librarians in partnership with the African Librarians’ Association (AfLIA), which will be made available on our website in February 2025.

Using OER to Promote Inclusive Pre-service Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa 

The Commonwealth of Learning, in collaboration with five initial teacher training institutions from Botswana, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa, launched a research-based project to promote inclusive pre-service teacher education in sub-Saharan Africa through OER. See https://www.col.org/news/empowering-african-teachers-through-open-educational-resources/

AfLIA’s Openness Course for Librarians

This AfLIA course, which was created in partnership with OER Africa and is targeted at librarians, serves as a good introduction to the concept of openness. See https://www.oerafrica.org/resource/openness-course-librarians-2024

Research Studies on OER Implementation

Several studies explored OER adoption in African educational institutions, including:

• Management of Open Education Resources in Academic Libraries of Nigerian Public Universities: A study published in December 2024 examined the management practices of OER initiatives in Nigerian public university libraries. It revealed variability across institutions in the completeness of OER projects and identified key drivers and challenges in integrating OER. The study provided recommendations for librarians seeking to expand their role in OER adoption through strategic leadership, faculty partnerships, and advocacy. See https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/opis-2024-0009/html?
• Understanding Innovation Vectors in the Use of OER: A paper published in November 2024 presented a conceptual framework for evaluating innovative practices involving OER. The study analysed 44 cases within the ENCORE+ (European Network for Catalysing Open Resources in Education) project, which includes examples from countries such as Kenya, South Africa, and Zanzibar. The paper provides insights into how OER can catalyse innovation in educational settings, with the framework offering a structured approach to understanding the diverse applications of OER and their impact on educational practices. See https://openpraxis.org/articles/10.55982/openpraxis.16.4.702?
• Success Factors for Adopting Open Educational Resources in Blended Learning in University Libraries in Nairobi County, Kenya: Research published in September 2024 evaluated factors impacting the successful implementation of OER in blended learning within university libraries in Nairobi County, Kenya. The study aimed to understand the reasons promoting the use of OER in blended learning and provided insights into the challenges and opportunities in this context. See https://ijpp.kemu.ac.ke/index.php/ijpp/article/view/459?articlesBySameAuthorPage=4

If you have any news about OER implementation or adoption efforts in Africa, we’d love to hear from you! Please email us at infooerafrica [dot] org