2. University of the South Pacific and Commonwealth of Learning, 2017.
Any part of this document may be reproduced without permission, but with attribution to the University of the
South Pacific, Commonwealth of Learning and the author.
CC-BY-SA (share alike with attribution) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
If you have any queries about this presentation, please contact:
Matai Tagicaki
Project Officer
PACFOLD
University of the South Pacific
Statham Campus
Laucala, Suva
FIJI.
Email: tagicaki_m@usp.ac.fj
3. What is Pacific Center for Flexile and Open
Learning for Development (PACFOLD)?
• PACFOLD is a virtual Centre hosted by The
University of the South Pacific (USP) in
partnership with Commonwealth of Learning
(COL).
• Establishing the Pacific Center for Open and
Flexible Learning.
4. Strategic Statement
Our Vision
A Centre which empowers Pacific communities through lifelong learning to
live Free and worthwhile lives.
Our Mission
To be a capacity building network of networks to facilitate flexible and open
learning for sustainable development in the Pacific through advocacy,
communication, innovation, and research.
5. Our Values
• Sustainability – ensure all activities meet national and local priorities and
will continue without external funding.
• Empowerment – build capacity and empower people to change their own
lives.
• Innovation – use technology in new ways to achieve development aims.
• Flexibility – promote flexibility to remove barriers to learning.
• Inclusiveness – ensure all citizens have a voice
6. Our Role
• Act as an advocate and emerge as a champion for FOL4D in the region.
• Establish/promote viable models of FOL4D in the region.
• Facilitate the success of FOL4D initiatives, including COL efforts,
through cooperation in capacity building and policy.
• Development & advocacy and networking.
• Research effective practice in FOL4D and share evidence.
• Support institutions and organizations interested in FOL4D.
• Strengthening the use of FOL4D.
7. Key Priority Areas
PRIORITY AREA 1:
Advocacy for Flexible and Open Learning for Development In the Pacific.
PRIORITY AREA 2:
Building capacity in the Pacific for Flexible and Open Learning for
Development.
PRIORITY AREA 3:
Regional and national policy on Open, Distance & Flexible Learning.
PRIORITY AREA 4:
Research in Flexible and Open Learning for Development
8.
9.
10.
11. Theory of Change
Relevant and appropriate skills and knowledge are critical for Pacific
Community citizens as economic participants to underpin economic growth
and sustainable development.
Community leaders and governance need to recognize and acknowledge
changes credited to the integration of ICT in all sectors of our community.
The region needs to pursue a flexible and open approach in education that is
affordable and accessible to all so the Pacific can manage change, thus the
need to collaborate on strategically designed documents that will underpin
positive social and economic change.
12. Regional Collaboration on ODFL
Framework
PACFOLD regional collaboration task 1 is the establishment of a regional
Policy on ODFL. The development has been endorsed by PHES – Sub-
committee and has been made as an agenda for FEDMM.
The purpose of the framework is to standardize ODFL policy amongst Pacific
nations, encourage national policy development and provide globally
recognised legitimacy on ODFL program implementations and practices.
This is an important development we intend to persistently pursue this year.
development.
13. HR Capacity Building
PACFOLD recognizes that need to transform, simplify and streamline engagement
with national stakeholders.
The need to understand respective Governments commitments to the development
of national ODFL through their respective Ministry of Education Strategic
Documents, and work very closely with them in developing ODFL as maybe
reflected in their National Development and Strategic Plans. Capacity building in
ODFL4D for teachers and trainers must also be given priority.
PACFOLD looks at Capacity building in ODFL skills as an immediate area for
development in the Pacific. Addressing this need, USP working in partnership with
COL, have offered Flexible Skills Development course through COL Moodle
platform.
14. The course was designed for teachers and managers from TVET
institutions and Ministries from South Pacific countries who were
nominated to learn about introducing flexible approaches into
programme design and delivery.
In its first offering last year (2016), a total of 82 individuals
registered for the course with the following gender and group
representations, respectively: Males (52), Females (30); Teachers
(39) - 29 M and 10 F, Managers (43) – 23 M and 20 F. We are
looking to offer the same course, free of charge, this year to
include workplace training for industries by way of invitation.
15. Research
There has been quiet a number of research done in the recent past on
ODFL and its practices in the Pacific. Recently the COL Knowledge
Management team shared with PACFOLD a repository of papers presented
in PCF5 (https://wikieducator.org/PCF5/Cross-Cutting_Themes). The
information is still relevant today because of the slow development in ODFL
within the Pacific Region.
Priority area 4 addresses an area that will support sustainability and will
ensure the continuity of developing flexible and open learning for our
Pacific community.
16. Planned Outcomes
Strengthened Pacific region partnership in learning for sustainable development through
ODFL capacity building and policy implementation. The outcomes we are seeking:
-Developed ODFL Regional Framework
-Developed ODFL Regional Quality Assurance Framework – a framework for National Policy
on ODFL and a National template framework
-Expansion of PACFOLD Learn – online platform that discusses Pacific and global issues
relating to flexible and open learning for development.
-Build capacity of practitioners on ODFL in the Pacific – online courses.
-Increase participation in Pacific based research into case studies and stories – Issues
discussed within the community may encourage researches.
-A platform for excellence – Excellence through quality ODFL QA framework
18. As a young regional body, we are confident
that our strategic objectives will be achieved
given time and support for a cause that is
relevant and important for all Pacific
Community.
June of 2013, 17 representatives participated in a consultation meeting to deliberate on the establishment of the Centre. The participants came from 6 Pacific countries – Vanuatu, Tonga, Tuvalu, Samoa, New Zealand, and Fiji – as well as Pan Pacific organizations – PACMAS (Pacific Media Assistance Scheme), Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) and femLINK – and development partners NZAID and AusAID. Different units of USP were also represented.
The first PACFOLD Strategic Plan, 2014 to 2015 was launched and positioned the building blocks foundation for a regional ODFL center.
PACFOLD lead by a Board – Professor Rajesh Chandra (USP VC and President), Ms Cristelle Pratt (Deputy Secretary General PIFS), Mr. Hasmukh Lal (Director Pacific TAFE), Professor Robyn McGuiggan (Pro VC JCU), Mr Mike Field (Manager Ginigoada foundation), Ms Faiesea Matafeo (CEO PACMS).
PACFOLDs vision and mission are focused on creating worth while lives for all pacific communities.
Because of the global shift in knowledge creation, teaching and learning approaches accredited to the integration of technology, it is more relevant to day than before for the Pacific community to embrace, adopt and adapt to these global changes.
As a regional center we see our role as a provide support, initiator, facilitator, mediator for flexible open learning for development in the Pacific.
Advocacy
Capacity building
Regional policy framework development
Research
In addressing challenges faced in the Pacific which we believe to be a result of lack of ODFL knowledge have contributed towards, PACFOLD has developed a problem tree model that identifies a generalized core problem statement which addresses challenges within the Pacific which can also be remedied with the proper application of ODFL, as such we have identified a relation in three areas:
Immediate Causes –
i. Lack of training opportunities in ODFL.
ii. Lack of awareness and advocacy.
iii. Belief that face to face is the best.
Nonexistence of a regional policy framework.
2. Core Problem - Lack of knowledge and skills for ODFL to increase access and improved quality of education and learning for skills development to improve sustainable in economic participation and quality of life.
3.Immediate Effect –
a. Economic-
i. Illiteracy
ii. Poverty
iii. Under employment
iv. Under development
Lack of access to quality education
b. Social –
i. Increase in social problems
ii. Increase in crime
iii. Loss of values and virtues
iv. Loss of traditional knowledge and culture
This framework has been adopted from the Commonwealth of Learning to assist PACFOLD in streamlining its goals and planned achievements.
Our RBM framework is provide us with a clear operational pathway towards developments.
The Logic Model is also adopted from COL to help PACFOLD to evaluate the effectiveness of the project. Complimenting this is a PACFOLD theory of change.
Logic Model outlines our theory of change pathway.
PARAGRAPH 3 – the need to pursue ODFL because the 21st century teaching and learning approach is tailor made for communities around the world which are geographically challenged. ODFL integrates in very well by allowing a more flexible and accessible approach to quality education.
PACFOLD has a high profile committee that will be convening on Wednesday 5th April to begin discussions on developing a regional policy framework. The Committee will be chaired by the Deputy Vice Chancellor LTSS of the University of the South Pacific.
PACFOLD recognizes that need to transform, simplify and streamline engagement with national stakeholders. The need to understand respective Governments commitments to the development of national ODFL through their respective Ministry of Education Strategic Documents, and work very closely with them in developing ODFL as maybe reflected in their National Development and Strategic Plans. Capacity building in ODFL4D for teachers and trainers must also be given priority.
The course, which was free, featured the following modules:
1. Introduction and Orientation Module
2. Flexible and Skills Development
3. ICT in Education - Understanding Open Educational Resources (OER)
4. Talking Strategy
5. Recognition for Teachers and Institutions (for Teachers)
6. Change Management (for Managers)
7. Plenary - Final thoughts
PACFOLD has sent invitation to all campuses and other pacific tertiary education institutions to participate in collaboration through research groups on the PACFOLD virtual center.
Since the establishment of delivering courses through ODFL in the Pacific through the University of the South Pacific in 1974, we can state that the ODFL mode have successfully educated a large number of Pacific students that may have gone to have achieved their life goals and much more, based on its existence and evolution through 3 centuries. These may be students who have completed full courses or those that have partly done their course work through ODFL mode. Their stories need to be told to show how powerful and advantageous ODFL is to our Pacific Community.
PACFOLD is also inviting colleagues and partners who are interested in working collaboratively on work woven into how ODFL has positively changed the lives of people in the Pacific and will continue to do so in view of the current Pacific agenda’s we are addressing today, such as migration due to global warming and sea level rising.
These real life stories will motivate our Pacific community to take up the initiative and educate themselves despite the geographical challenges. This knowledge will provide governance with the support through research and information that could motivate and initiate policy change to suite the 21st century skills and knowledge approach, discover solutions to economic and social disparities and also considering investing in ODFL National Projects.
Our Virtual center is called PACFOLD learn. As a young virtual center in the Pacific, PACFOLD has established an online community to engage with people of the Pacific and friends of the Pacific as well.
The highlights of the virtual center are, groups, forums, networks, events and a link to FSD offered in the Pacific by COL TVSD Moodle.
In trying to encourage healthy discourse, knowledge creation and online collaboration, PACFOLD has 9 virtual groups –
Pasifika FIRST (TVET)
Gender
Open Schooling
ODFL research
Open Education Resources (OER)
Sustainable development
COL focal points
mLearning
PACFOLD Advisory
What is unique about this Virtual Center is that we discuss issues contextualized to the Pacific needs only. If there are possibilities that Samoa has knowledge that could benefit PNG or all Pacific Community supporting the migration of the People affected by climate change, this is your virtual center, this is how the future will be like.
The proliferation of ICT in education throughout the Pacific with digital education programs such as Moodle, OER, mLearning have overwhelmed our Pacific community, specifically the knowledge management aspect. The Pacific community needs to work together and consolidate our efforts of accessing quality and affordable education, PACFOLD is ready to work together with Pacific Education.