With an increasing number of states, provinces and even whole countries closing institutions of learning as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, over 80% of the world’s students are not attending school (UNESCO, 2020). COL stands ready to share its expertise and resources to enable stakeholders to keep the doors of learning open for all.

See COL’s statement on COVID-19. 

Since its establishment in 1987, COL has supported governments and educational institutions in the Commonwealth to establish robust distance teaching institutions and build competencies for quality online learning practices. Over the years, it has created many resources, including courses, policy briefs, how-to toolkits, as well as guidelines on online learning and related areas that are downloadable for use by policymakers, teachers and researchers around the globe.

In these unprecedented times, ODL can support learning in the non-formal and informal sectors, as well as the formal education sector. Below is a curated list of resources for policymakers, school and college administrators, teachers, parents and learners that will assist with student learning during the closure of educational institutions. Most of these are available as open educational resources with different licenses. The specific license conditions for reuse and remix are contained in the links.

Learning Resources
A. School level
B. TVET Institute/College/university level
C. COL resources

COL resources on online learning
A. Policy Briefs and Guides for policy-makers
B. Basic guides on online learning, blended learning, open textbooks
C. OER and MOOCs
D. Quality Assurance
E. Technology and Tools

Links and Resources from Other Organisations
 

Learning Resources

A. School level

1. African Storybook: thousands of picture storybooks in African languages to improve literacy and imagination of children.
2. CK-12 (Elementary and Secondary): learning resources in a variety of formats for K-12 grades.
3. COL Resources (Secondary): 17 secondary school courses, at grade 10-12, specially designed for independent study.
4. Khan Academy: materials from Grade 9 upwards to the first year in a college.
5. MIT BLOSSOMS (Videos): Blended Learning Open Source Science or Math Studies (BLOSSOMS) is a series of interactive lessons presented in a widely accessible video format.
6. OER Commons: a wide range of learning materials for different levels, including professional development resources for teachers and an authoring environment.
7. OpenStax: a good starting point to avail quality textbooks. A printable version of textbooks can be accessed at OpenStax textbooks.
8. PhET (Simulations for Science and Math): interactive simulations in science and mathematics from University of Colorado.
9. Siyavula (Elementary and Secondary): learner book(s) and teacher’s guide(s) in English and Afrikaans.
10. Storyweaver: over 19,000 stories to promote reading amongst kids available in 230 languages.

B. TVET Institute/College/university level

1. BC Open Textbooks: over 300 textbooks on different subjects available in different formats.
2. eCampus Ontario: a large number of learning resources from educational institutions in Ontario, Canada.
3. LabXchange: an online community for learning, sharing, and collaboration.
4. Lumen Courses (Tertiary): a range of courses in different disciplines, including from Carnegie Mellon University.
5. MERLOT: a high-quality sharable online learning resources repository contributed by member institutions from around the world.
6. MIT OpenCourseWare: OER repository from MIT on science, engineering and technology subjects. Started in 2001.
7. National Open University of Nigeria, OpenCourseWare: e-courseware from the National Open University of Nigeria on many university-level courses.
8. NPTEL, India: an initiative of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, this platform provides resources on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
9. OER Africa: learning materials on Agriculture, Foundation Skills, Health and Teacher Education developed for the African context.
10. OERu Courses: a range of courses are available form accredited institutions for free.
11. Open Course Library: a collection of sharable course materials at college level.
12. OpenLearn: a free learning platform delivered by The Open University as part of its Royal Charter commitment to support the wellbeing of the community.
13. Saylor Academy: over 100 full-length courses at college and professional levels.
14. Skills Commons: supported by the US Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT), this platform provides learning resources for job-driven workforce development. 
15. SWAYAM, India: an initiative of Government of India, the platform offers university and school-level courses on a range of subjects.
16. Virtual University of Pakistan, OpenCourseWare: 2012 award winning outstanding site by OE Global, provides opencourseware from Virtual University of Pakistan in a range of university-level subjects.

C. COL Resources

1. COL Virtual Event Environment has over 100 courses on a range of subjects in technology, vocational education and higher education.
2. OER for Open Schooling has grade 10-12 textbooks in various subjects.
3. Directory of Open Educational Resources has over 7000 resources on higher education, open schooling, teacher education and technical and vocational skills development.
4. Open Resources for English Language Teaching for classroom activities for teachers.
5. COL’s Institutional Repository provides access to a large number of resources on online learning along with guides to help teachers plan, design, develop and offer quality online learning.

COL Resources on Online Learning

A. Policy Briefs and Guides for policy-makers

1. A Guide to Virtual Universities for Policy-Makers
2. Policy Brief: Doctoral Study and Research Degrees: Online and Distance Programmes
3. Policy Brief: Engineering Education: Online and Distance Programmes
4. A Policy Brief on MOOCs
5. Making Sense of MOOCs: A Guide for Policy-Makers in Developing Countries
6. Guidelines on the Development of Open Educational Resources Policies

B. Basic guides on online learning, blended learning, open textbooks

1. Designing Online Learning
2. E-Learning: A Guidebook of Principles, Procedures and Practices
3. Education for a Digital World: Advice, Guidelines and Effective Practice from Around Globe
4. Guide to Blended Learning
5. Guide to Developing Open Textbooks
6. Guidelines for Online Assessment for Educators
7. Pedagogical Innovations for Technology-Enabled Learning
8. Increasing Access to Education for All Through Mobile Learning
9. Designing and Implementing Micro-Credentials: A Guide for Practitioners
10. Commonwealth Certificate for Teacher ICT Integration (CCTI) Course Modules

C. OER and MOOCs

1. A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER)
2. Understanding Open Educational Resources
3. OER for Open Schooling Teachers Guide
4. Case Studies on OER-based eLearning
5. Guidelines for Open Educational Resources (OER) in Higher Education

D. Quality Assurance

1. Blended Course Learnability Evaluation Checklist
2. Quality in MOOCs: Surveying the Terrain
3. Guidelines for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of MOOCs
4. Quality Assurance Guidelines for Open Educational Resources: TIPS Framework

E. Technology and Tools

1. Creating and Repurposing OER Using FOSS: A How-To Guide for Teachers and Learners
2. Creating, Using and Sharing Open Educational Resources
3. Designing Learning Objects for Online Learning
4. Interactive Learning Objects: Toolkit for Teachers and Learners
5. A report on the Re-use and Adaptation of Open Educational Resources (OER): An Exploration of Technologies Available

Links and Resources from Other Organisations

1. CONTACT NORTH: Online Learning is a Way of Constraining the Spread of COVID19
2. Coronavirus Tech Handbook: Tools for Universities and Schools: A community work in progress
3. EDUCAUSE: Online Teaching Strategies
4. Higher Ed Guidance During COVID-19: Teaching, Learning & Student Support: A community created hub
5. ICDE Page on Coronavirus
6. MIT Teaching and Learning Lab: How to teach remotely
7. National Institute for Digital Learning, DCU: Swiftly Moving to Teaching Online – Resource Bank
8. The Ed Techie Blog: The online pivot – student perspective
9. Tony Bates Blog: Advice to those about to teach online because of the corona-virus
10. UNESCO: Distance Learning Solutions
11. University of Cape Town: CILT Teaching Online Portal
12. UNESCO-UNEVOC: OER in TVET Resources