The National Teachers’ Colleges are among the tertiary education institutions in Uganda that have been at the forefront of the new distance learning system since the outbreak of COVID-19. The Colleges with support from Enabel have taken the necessary steps to ensure that there is a continuity of learning by focusing on equipping its teachers with 21st-century skills. These skills ensure that teachers are able to familiarize themselves with new education technology such as google drive, podcasts, padlet and so much more before gradually introducing it into their teaching practice to both create and deliver learning content.

The introduction to EdTech has been a gradual process and one that has gained a lot of popularity in the colleges with a growing number of lecturers participating in innovations derived from the TTE Sandbox. Most notable are the Community of Practice Sessions (CoPs) that brought together over 225 lecturers from all the five NTCs and surrounding partner secondary schools into a virtual community to learn the new ways of teaching using ICT.

While equipping lecturers with ICT skills is quite critical to successfully implementing the new distance learning strategy, it is not the only necessary phase. Enabel through the Teacher Training Education project has introduced ICT Masterclasses for the students. This means that students have started the journey of acquiring knowledge about ICT in teaching and learning, which gives them the advantage of following online classes with ease and the capacity to implement distance learning when they graduate as certified teachers.

Throughout November and December, each college has used its ICT champions to facilitate the Masterclasses. From these classes, students have learned how to create Google Accounts, how to make presentations using Google Slides, how to store content and collaborate with Google Drive and other essential tools such as Anchor for podcasts, One-Stop Portal for free access to online education resources, and a free online General Teaching Methods Course.

According to a tracer study on e-learning readiness conducted within the colleges, students have a high positive attitude towards e-learning and 62% have actively participated in distance learning.

To further facilitate e-learning, the colleges have received a generous donation of IT equipment from Enabel’s Junior Programme. The consignment consists of 24 laptops, 35 adapters, 5 external hard drives, 19 external DVD players, and 15 4GB memory drives. This equipment intends to support the student hubs in each of the colleges, providing students the opportunity to project the ICT Masterclasses within their classrooms and carry out assignments.

Enabel remains committed to collaborating with the National Teachers’ Colleges to respond to the education crisis by adopting the use of ICT.

Click this link to access the booklet on how to use ICT tools in Teaching and Learning:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BO6VHjnFwVTI8Vco5n6jOgUjwoerg-RR?usp=sharing