In response to the current challenges of the massive disruption of education due to the Covid-19 pandemic affecting 1.57 billion learners in 191 countries, UNESCO’s International Institute for Technologies in Education (IITE) in Moscow and the UNESCO Category 2 Centre , the International Research and Training Centre for Rural Education (INRULED), launched the publication ‘ Guidance on Open Educational Practices during COVID-19 pandemic’
This publication is motivated and inspired by UNESCO OER Recommendations and aims to show the implications of using Open Educational Practices (OEP) and Open Educational Resources (OER) on learning outcomes. Particularly, it describes, through illustrative examples, innovative approaches to using OEP and OER worldwide during COVID-19 outbreak. These experiences are in line with five areas of the UNESCO OER recommendation, namely: (i) Building capacity of stakeholders to create access, use, adapt and redistribute OER; (ii) Developing supportive policy; (iii) Encouraging inclusive and equitable quality OER; (iv) Nurturing the creation of sustainability models for OER; and (v) Facilitating international cooperation.
Furthermore, this publication supports the Joint Call for Action Supporting Learning and Knowledge Sharing through OER. co-signed by Moez Chakchouk and Stefania Giannini, respectively Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, and for Education at UNESCO. This Call highlights that joint action is needed to manage the challenges of this and future pandemic crisis’ for learners, as well as to laying the foundation for integrating systematically best practices to increase the sharing of knowledge for the post-Covid-19 future of learning to build inclusive, sustainable and resilient Knowledge Societies.
For more information please contact T.Zhan, Director IITE (t.zhan@unesco.org).