TESSA OER review
A free, curriculum-linked OER bank for teacher education and professional development.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
TESSA OER is a free teacher-education resource bank and collaborative network from The Open University, focused on sub-Saharan Africa. It is designed for teachers, teacher educators, student teachers, and education institutions working with primary and secondary education. The collection includes curriculum-linked materials, classroom activities, case studies, professional-development courses, handbooks, and educator toolkits. Its materials support active and participatory teaching across multiple language and country contexts, making it especially relevant to organisations developing or delivering teacher education and continuing professional development.
The main strength is the breadth of material within a focused educational purpose. Users can draw on curriculum-linked resources, practical activities, case studies, and professional-development content rather than relying on a single format. Multilingual and country-specific versions help align the collection with varied educational settings. Resources can be freely used, adapted, shared, and incorporated into courses under a Creative Commons licence, while the platform also supports sharing of user adaptations. Online and offline access makes the materials suitable for environments with different levels of connectivity.
TESSA OER is a strong choice for institutions and educators seeking free, reusable content for teacher education in sub-Saharan African contexts. Its narrow focus is also its clearest boundary: organisations looking for a general-purpose OER publishing system, broad integrations, or dedicated content-authoring tools should look elsewhere. The platform is web-based, with offline access to resources, and its value lies primarily in the educational collection, adaptation model, and collaborative network. For teacher educators and professional-development providers, that focus keeps the offering practical and relevant; for users outside teacher education, it may be less suitable.
TESSA OER pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Curriculum-linked materials for primary and secondary teacher education
- Multilingual, country-specific resources with offline access
- Free adaptation and sharing under a Creative Commons licence
- Where it doesn't
- Focused on teacher education rather than broad subject-area OER
- Web platform with no stated integrations
- Resource bank and network, not a dedicated authoring suite
TESSA OER fact sheet, pricing and score →
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