The full size training programme of OceanTeacher really started in 2005 following the inauguration and opening of the IOC Project Office for IODE in Oostende, Kenya. Since then more than a thousand students from over a hundred countries attended courses in Oostende. While this formula has proved to very successful in terms of training efficiency and effectiveness it was noted that it was possible to train only a few students from each country. Normal staff mobility (including promotions) and unforseeable events made that in many cases the expertise gained would be lost again. In addition the sometimes long travel times (over 24 hours) made that students could not be at their best during the 5 day courses. For all these reasons it was decided to "Go Global": rather than having just one training centre in Oostende we will now develop a global network of Regional Training Centres (RTCs) spread around the different regions of the globe. Courses will thus be organized at the regional level but advanced video conferencing facility will make it possible also for students in one region to "Virtually" attend courses in another region while, in addition to local lecturers, also lecturers from other regions will be able to teach "virtually", thereby reducing the need for expensive and unecological travel.
This new concept is called the "OceanTeacher Global Academy" and it is expected to start in May 2014.
The success of the new concept will depend on a number of factors one of which being the reliability and capacity of internet connectivity in the various training centres.
It was decided to organize a first test of the remote lecturer concept during the OceanTeacher Training Course on Digital Asset Management, organized at the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Instititute (KMFRI) in Mombasa, Kenya. For the occasion KMFRI rented additional internet capacity of 4 Mbits/sec. For video conferencing Webex was used.
Below you will see some pictures of the training room, the sreen showing the lecturer's powerpoint presentation as well as the face of the lecturer giving a live presentation.
At the Mombasa site 13 students attended the course and 1 lecturer on site taught the course. In addition Anthony Smith taught by video conferencing from Alexandra, Virgina, USA. Local IT support was provided by Sam Ngete and Harrison Onganda. Management of the Webex sessions and recording was provided by Adi Kakodkar at the IOC project Office for IODE in Oostende, Belgium. Overall course coordination was provided by Dr Claudia Delgado, IODE Training Coordinator (on site in Mombasa).
The test demonstrated that multi-site teaching is possible. It is expected that up to 5 Regional Training Centres will be established in 2014-2015 after detailed assessment of the available facilities with, of course, special attention to internet bandwidth and quality.
For more information on OceanTeacher you can contact Claudia Delgado <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Peter Pissierssens (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
- Details
-
Created on: Wednesday, 02 October 2013 12:22
-
Last Updated on: Wednesday, 02 October 2013 15:07