Saylor Academy vs TESSA OER

Saylor University offers self-paced online courses, skill development programs, and graduate degrees. Its catalog lists 164 free courses spanning professional skills and college-level subjects. Materials are curated from free and open online resources by expert educators, and learners can earn free digital certificates by passing course exams. Some courses have ACE credit recommendations, but earning credit requires a proctored credit exam; optional proctoring costs $5 USD per exam session. The organization serves people pursuing personal or professional development, college credit, and graduate degrees. Learners can access courses on the web or use the Saylor University or Moodle mobile app on iOS and Android. Some activities can be downloaded for offline use, though some site features and settings are unavailable in the apps. Sign-in supports Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Microsoft. Saylor says it collects account and usage information and does not sell personal information. Its privacy policy describes administrative, physical, and technical safeguards while noting that absolute security cannot be guaranteed. Saylor University is the primary initiative of the Constitution Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Michael J. Saylor.

TESSA OER is a free education research and development project founded in 2005 that works with partners to support primary and secondary teachers across sub-Saharan Africa. Its open educational resources are linked to national curricula and offered in multiple language and country versions. The collection contains 90 subject-based modules: 75 structured primary units and 15 secondary units. Modules provide practical activities, case examples, classroom materials, and guidance on teaching strategies for engaging learners. Handbooks and toolkits support teachers and teacher educators, while the materials cover professional learning from initial teacher education through continuing development. A shared space lets teachers and teacher educators exchange adaptations. Published under an open Creative Commons licence, the resources are free to use, adapt, and share. Materials are available online and offline in digital and printed formats. Teachers may use them independently or integrate them into pre-service and in-service training programmes.