Preparing the public sector professional for the age of e-governance: issues of course design and delivery and andragogy

Olabisi Kuboni
The University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago

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     Last modified: November 1, 2006
     Presentation date: 11/01/2006 10:00 AM in NT Trelawny
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Abstract
During the period April to July, 2006, the University of the West Indies Distance Education Centre (UWIDEC) mounted its second offering of the online course, Local E-governance in the Caribbean. The course is being offered as a joint venture between UWIDEC and UNESCO, with UNESCO being responsible for the overall concept and for initial course design and development. UWIDEC has adapted the original course materials. The thirty (30) students who participated in the second offering are from countries throughout the English-speaking Caribbean. This presentation will seek to address issues related on the one hand, to the design and delivery of the course and on the other, to the learning skills required for participation in the course. With regard to the first area, it will provide reflections on the treatment of the knowledge base as well as strategies employed for course delivery. With regard to the second, it will attempt to assess the learning skills that student-participants brought to the teaching-learning experience.

The presentation is based on an understanding that the aim of the course is to assist public sector professionals to assume leadership roles in a sector that is evolving and placing emphasis on good governance and the use of electronic tools for the delivery of government services and for increased interaction between people and government agencies. The presentation will reflect the collective discourse of the course delivery team, namely the course coordinator (academic leader), the tutor, the course manager and the programme coordinator.