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This paper shares analytical insights on the position, challenges and potential for promoting Open Educational Resources (OER) in African Open Distance and eLearning (ODeL) institutions. The researchers sought to use a participatory research approach as described by Krishnaswamy (2004), in convening a sequence of two workshops at the Open University of Tanzania (OUT) as a strategy for collecting data to obtain the aforementioned insight. The principal workshop objectives were to analyse the existing status of OER at the OUT and subsequently to share lessons learned in OER creation and production, integration and use, and hosting and dissemination. Other objectives were to discuss the rationale for an institutional OER policy and identify a suitable work-flow process for developing OER at the OUT. The workshop participants were purposively selected for their experience in co-developing OER materials with various outside organisations. The study included 28 representatives of the OUT academic units, and one facilitator from OER Africa. Research techniques used to collect data included a questionnaire, focused group discussions, presentations, and panel discussions. Results indicated that OUT staff were willing to engage with OER but had limited awareness, skills and competencies in the creation, integration and use of OER. The outcome of the study was the development of nine draft OER resolutions expressing needs that include the development of a comprehensive institutional OER policy related to existing institutional policies in order to guide, support and promote research and sustainable OER practice via holistic participation. Enabling strategies included capacity building, increased internal and external collaboration, and enhanced access to and visibility of OER via the institutional repository.

This paper describes the authors' experience of remixing two existing OER courses to provide an OER course for a particular purpose and context. The developing country target environment is stated as well as the original resources' provenance. The motivation for remixing these OER is explored, and the design of the adapted resource is described followed by notes on the implementation and evaluation of the remixed "Facilitating Online Learning" pilot course. Lessons learned include that remixing existing OER courses with similar licenses is an achievable undertaking, and OER will be reused if they are deemed to be contextually relevant. It follows that the content, nature, and deployment environment of the OER is important as is its licensing for reuse. The practical illustration of a simple remix experience is significant, as there is little literature available on remixing OER. Sharing this experience is intended to encourage and inform other such remix projects.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in Africa face the challenge of responding to the expanding demand for tertiary education while maintaining or enhancing the quality of their course offerings. This demand has led to some HEIs introducing the use of interactive web technologies to support their distance teaching and learning practices. However, academic staff at these institutions may struggle to provide sufficient support to online learners in part due to inadequate staff capacity in terms of familiarity with and use of online communication tools and virtual learning environments. This paper reports the design and development of an openly licensed capacity-building intervention and the piloting thereof with academic staff at three southern Africa educational institutions. The aim of the capacity-building intervention is to initiate skill development and introduce foundational concepts in support of engaging online learners. The design and development of the course material is discussed, and the experiences of the pilot delivery are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]