TESSA MOOC: a great experience

Baron Mwangwe Lukwesa, TESSA Ambassador, Province Resource Centre Coordinator, Copperbelt Teachers’ Provincial Resource Center, Ndola, Zambia

Participating in the TESSA MOOC has been one of the greatest things to have happened in my life this year and in my entire 14 years of work as a teacher educator. For the first time to do an online course, I had an opportunity to interact with fellow teacher educators and teachers across the Sub Saharan African region and beyond. It would not have been possible to do the course on my own without the help of TESSA. Thank you TESSA team for the opportunity. What I learnt in the four weeks has a lot of bearing on my work as well as my life. The course has given me impetus to continue doing online courses, especially those that will be spearheaded by TESSA. My mission next year is to market the TESSA OER in the schools in my province so that every teacher should be should be given an opportunity to use TEESA OER.

From the lens of Victor King Anyanful, Tessa Ambassador, Ghana

TESSA MOOC has come to stay and it will help spread the objectives of TESSA to the length and breadth of Africa and beyond. My experiences from the just ended first phase of TESSA MOOC will be captured in three folds, thus knowledge acquisition, skills acquisition and also to improve teaching as well as enhance learning. I have now acquired much knowledge on the following: the meaning of Leaner Centered Education (LCE), the OER cycle, criteria for selecting OER, making the most of ICT, crafting Personal Action Plan, which will make me a better reflective practitioner.  The skills acquired, as I interacted with my participants , are the following: internet skills: thus to enter URLs correctly, navigate hyperlinks, download files, participates in Internet Relay Chats (Chats), post and reply to comments, use bookmarks, computer skills, keyboard short cuts, and then communication skills (and as such conscious efforts were made always to ensure that the kind of language used on the platform was of an appreciable standard, unlike the use of informal language in the case of personal chats). Concluding, participants are now making the efforts to practice some of the knowledge acquired during this course. TESSA MOOC is now a household name at OLA College of Education, Ghana. Kudos to the Team that put together such a wonderful idea as well as the activities week by week , The Open University, UK , and then all participants, not forgetting facilitators. I wish all of us well in the quest to making teacher education relevant in the 21^st century Africa.

TESSA MOOC at Kyambogo University, Uganda

Doris Kaije

TESSA MOOC at Kyambogo University was organized by George, David and Doris, as the three TESSA Ambassadors. The team were joined by Dr Jane Cullen from Open University UK, as the chief facilitator on 23^rd October 2017.

With her good facilitation skills, she was able to interest staff members the more to participate in the MOOC. Her coming changed some members’ perception; those who thought TESSA MOOC was a myth not a reality. In addition, Kyambogo University TESSA Team is indebted to Jane for her lucid sharing about what the TESSA MOOC is all about, as well as giving useful tips for successful registration and completion of the MOOC.

By the start of FutureLearn, registered members of the university and outside the university were quite expectant.

From the comments forwarded by the FutureLearn participants, there are members who have keenly continued with the MOOC, an indication of the interest sparked-off by the workshop of 23^rd October. Those that registered and dropped off along the course due to unavoidable circumstances reiterate to join the course again, next time it is offered. We remain hopeful and encouraging.

Bravo Jane, Kris, Oli and the entire team supporting TESSA MOOC.