PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
African Virtual University portal wins Best Emerging Initiative award
Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The interactive portal for the Open Educational Resources (OER) of the African Virtual University (AVU) has won first prize in the category of Best Emerging Initiative organized by the US-based site, Education-Portal.com.
A UVA statement sent to PANA said more than 4,000 people voted UVA's Open Educational Resources as the first prize in the category.
"The portal is available in 142 countries, well beyond Africa, with a majority of access from Brazil and the United States," the statement said, adding that the portal, based in Nairobi, Kenya and launched in January 2011, was designed to accommodate free content, developed in partnership with 10 African countries and adapted to the needs of African students.
According to the Rector of AVU, Bakary Diallo, the award shows that Africa is changing a development model that takes resources from the international community into a model that provides relevant and interesting content from the educational point of view, contributing to the international dialogue on education.
AVU's OER portal is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and hosts 219 free educational modules divided into several themes, including textbooks in mathematics and sciences, teacher training and basic skills in ICT.
Established in 1997, AVU is an institution of higher education that uses information technology and modern communications to bring educational resources of high quality from around the world to the African continent.
-0- PANA SIL/JSG/SOC/CEA/MA 3Sept2011
A UVA statement sent to PANA said more than 4,000 people voted UVA's Open Educational Resources as the first prize in the category.
"The portal is available in 142 countries, well beyond Africa, with a majority of access from Brazil and the United States," the statement said, adding that the portal, based in Nairobi, Kenya and launched in January 2011, was designed to accommodate free content, developed in partnership with 10 African countries and adapted to the needs of African students.
According to the Rector of AVU, Bakary Diallo, the award shows that Africa is changing a development model that takes resources from the international community into a model that provides relevant and interesting content from the educational point of view, contributing to the international dialogue on education.
AVU's OER portal is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and hosts 219 free educational modules divided into several themes, including textbooks in mathematics and sciences, teacher training and basic skills in ICT.
Established in 1997, AVU is an institution of higher education that uses information technology and modern communications to bring educational resources of high quality from around the world to the African continent.
-0- PANA SIL/JSG/SOC/CEA/MA 3Sept2011
