NOUN first to offer online courses in W/Africa – Commonwealth

The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is offering the first Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as a form of distance and online learning in West Africa, the President Commonwealth of Learning (COL), Professor Asha A. Kanwar has said. Prof Kanwar made the statement at the first NOUN distinguished lecture with the theme ‘can ODL […]

The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is offering the first Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as a form of distance and online learning in West Africa, the President Commonwealth of Learning (COL), Professor Asha A. Kanwar has said.
Prof Kanwar made the statement at the first NOUN distinguished lecture with the theme ‘can ODL reach the unreached? Lessons from the Commonwealth,’ in Abuja yesterday.  She said MOOCs were online courses designed for large numbers of participants that can be accessed by anyone, anywhere as long as they have internet adding “NOUN is offering the first MOOC in West Africa with the support of COL and Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K).”
She said with MOOCs, students had limited interactions with tutors in study centers and that “today there is greater emphasis on peer to peer interaction and the use of social media.”
The Vice Chancellor, Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu said countries were facing the triple challenge of expanding access, improving quality and ensuring equity especially in higher education. “Underpinning this challenge is the growing and urgent need to train and continuously refresh the knowledge and skills of each Open and Distance Learning (ODL) stakeholder,” he said.