E-learning course design in teacher design teams. Experiences in the Open University of Tanzania

Collaborative course design in teacher design teams (TDTs) has proved to be a promising professional development arrangement. This study explored the potential of TDTs in orienting teachers on course redesign for e-learning delivery at the context of Open University of Tanzania (OUT). Three teachers from the Institute of Continuing Education (ICE) at OUT worked in a design team and got supported on how to transform their traditional courses into e-learning courses. A sample of 67 Foundation course students from ICE was then invited to access the e-learning courses through offline Moodle Learning Management System (LMS) for a period of three months. Quantitative and qualitative data from teachers and students were collected. This contribution discusses experiences of teachers on collaborative course redesign and presents students experiences with the redesigned e-learning courses. Initial results show that both teachers were enthusiastic on working in the design team and students were satisfied with the e-learning courses. They encountered several challenges which require to be redressed accordingly. However, the findings show that despite its challenges, teacher design teams approach have enormous returns in terms of professional development of teachers and improvement of students support.