To meet the growing demand for continuing professional development of practising teachers, the integrated in-service teacher training (INSET) programme aims at making permanent improvements on the quality of teaching and learning for Junior Secondary School (JSS) Teachers in Sierra Leone. Within this context, a toolkit for School-Based Teacher Development was created and microlearning identified as an ideal mode to deliver the toolkit content. In this paper, we present the design considerations that informed this decision as well as challenges and lessons learned from the first implementation of the INSET project for junior secondary school teachers in Sierra Leone. A multimodal approach was considered and implemented to mitigate Internet access challenges and to expand learning opportunities. These include a mobile app version of the Toolkit, offline access to microlearning resources on the TeacherFutures platform via the Moodle mobile app, a mobile app version of one INSET module, an e-portfolio to be used by participants in sharing their learnings as demonstrated and practised during a face-to-face  roll-out seminar, and finally, WhatsApp groups in which different schools engaged in discussions based on the questions on the Toolkit. Preliminary findings indicate a strong preference among participants for the use of WhatsApp as the main channel of communication within the communities of practice; and very limited use of the main e-learning Moodle platform and e-Portfolio. This necessitates a need to critically evaluate the effectiveness of the design of a multimodal approach for delivering microlearning content. From this, we seek to establish a set of design considerations, capacity building and technical support issues derived from analysis of data emerging from the ongoing project rollout. This will inform future integration of Microlearning resources in the teacher training project.

Small and Medium sized Businesses (SMBs) make up majority of employment in Africa (around 80%). Understanding the digital transformation that SMBs in Africa went through during the pandemic can play an important role in uncovering how to build solutions that better support the African business and African worker. In this paper we report on findings from a qualitative study with 40 SMBs in Kenya. The study aimed to understand the lived experience of digital transformation, the impacts of COVID-19 on their businesses, and how they responded to such impacts using technology. We found that COVID-prompted digital transformation was reactive and opportunistic, plus social and collective. Moreover, the socialness of business goes way beyond digital transformation, and influences how SMBs in Kenya start, develop and are sustained. In illustrating this, we offer a lens to understanding work and workers of SMBs in Kenya and similar contexts across the globe.

School closures and limited in-person learning as efforts to curb the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the regular delivery of education across all levels. This prompted learning institutions worldwide to embrace varied online and/or distance learning tools to facilitate the continuation of teaching and learning. To keep the doors of learning open during this period of uncertainty, two of several MOOCs developed with support from COL included the Mobile Learning with Multimedia course and Advanced Mobile Learning with Multimedia course. These two MOOCs were created against a backdrop of an acknowledged need for the increased participation of educators in the Global South to contribute to the creation and availability of OER resources. The courses thus sought to contribute to the capacity building of educators who can author or adapt OER multimedia resources. Post-pandemic, it is anticipated that technology-mediated learning/teaching will become entrenched as part of regular learning. Thus, the need for proficiency in the digital skills required to develop and facilitate such instruction becomes even more critical. This paper collates data from the two courses to share findings that can inform future implementations of similar remote capacity building efforts as a strategy for strengthening resilience in both teacher training.

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