AgriOERA collaboration to achieve change in

African agriculture education

Dr. Christine GeithAssistant Provost, Michigan State University

March 31, 2009

FLOSS4Edu

Strategic ThemesAfrican MSc Challenges

MSc graduates do not understand farmer issues

Gaps between MSc curriculum,

research impact and improvement of farmer livelihood

Need for relevant knowledge by all stakeholders in the value chain

AgriOER Key Components

Online and Distance Learning

Open Educational Resources

Community Knowledge Creation & Sharing

Students as Agents of Change

African Grass Roots Demand Driven

Open Educational Resources

OER business models

dual licensing:creative commons & commercial

value-added services:teachers & credit

student support cc licensed flickr photo by notme2000

C. Geith UCEA Summer Workshop 2007

Mass collaboration and sharing models

community created

cc licensed flickr photo by notme2000

C. Geith UCEA Summer Workshop 2007

New distribution models

unlimited variety

targeted searching

cc licensed flickr photo by notme2000

C. Geith UCEA Summer Workshop 2007

OER Universities

OER Production and Distribution in Africa

AgriOER Solution

To strengthen MSc agriculture curriculum, resources, teaching methods and impact on farmers

To use online open methods and templates that enable customization and scalability, starting with the RUFORUM MSc Research Methods

To grow communities of teachers, students, researchers, experts, practitioners and farmers to provide input into university curriculum and to create and use Open Educational Resources

To empower students as agents of change

To improve the livelihood of farmers in Africa, through sustainably empowering MSc students & graduates of African institutions to achieve change in agriculture,by leveraging farmer input and African knowledge using OER in universities and the global knowledge pool

Strategic ThemesAgriOER Collaboration

AgriOER Goals

Farmer Livelihood

Value Chain Knowledge

Wide Adoption of

MSc RM

SustainableScalable Teaching/ Learning

Improve Student Outcomes

FLOSS4EDU X X X XRUFORUM MSc RM

X X X X X

MSU/MAK/ TNAUVAS

X X X X

WOUGNET X X X

OER Creators and Users

RUFORUM MSc Research Methods Modules

FLOSS4EDU Demand-Driven MSc-Level Modules

MAK/MSU/TNAUVAS FactSheets

MAK/MSU/TNAUVAS Training Materials (video, audio, print)

MAK/MSU/TNAUVAS Research Data Sets

WOUGNET Q/A database of local farmer knowledge

Students Use Use Create/Use Create/Use Create/Use Create/Use

Faculty Create/Use Create/Use Use Use Use Use

Experts Create/Use Create/Use Use Use Use Use

Learners Use Use Use Use Use Use

Farmers Use Use Create/Use

Others Create/Use Create/Use Create/Use Create/Use Create/Use Create/Use

AgriOER Results

4+ communities

3 years

$3 million

=

Successful Template

Building a system for curriculum impactExperiential student research

Demand-driven mass collaboration

Open and scalable curriculum modules

AgriOER