Background

1. The Online Teacher Development Platform (OTDP) is a multi-phase initiative designed to coordinate integrated continuing professional teacher development (CPTD) activities and provide course management services for approved content providers. The platform addresses both systemic and individual professional development needs of educators across South Africa.


2. Phase One was developed in alignment with the Professional Development Framework for Digital Learning. Its focus was to offer online diagnostic questionnaires assessing teachers’ digital learning competencies and then recommend relevant professional development opportunities aligned with identified needs.


3. Phase Two evolved into a microlearning platform, shaped by the need to deliver easily accessible, on-the-go professional learning resources directly to teachers. This approach addressed the limited capacity of provincial and district offices to offer large-scale, individualized professional learning opportunities. It also aligns with global trends that promote short, focused learning experiences accessible anytime, anywhere, and on any device.
   Phase Two was completed in January 2022 and remains active as the basis for this report.


4. Phase Three was finalized with the integration of the SACE platform in July 2025. This enhancement enables teachers to automatically receive CPTD points immediately upon completing an online programme. Additional functionalities introduced include:
   • Event and facilitator management
   • Creation of professional learning pathways (PLCs)
   • Development and hosting of microlearning modules

Key Requirements and Capabilities:

• All teacher development activities initiated by a province, district, or circuit must be reported through the platform.
• Additional services are available to TPD providers, including full event management and Moodle course hosting.
• APIs can be developed for integration with other approved platforms.

Access the platform here: https://dbe-tpd.online

 

When creating an event or workshop, the provider has the flexibility to define its type and accessibility as follows:

1. Select the event type:
   • Public: Open to anyone to register and attend.
   • Private: Restricted to invited participants only.
   
   
   • Select the delivery mode:
     • Online (fully virtual sessions)
     • Blended (a combination of online and in-person sessions)
     • Face-to-face (conducted entirely in person)

This allows providers to structure professional development activities in a way that best suits the target audience, logistical setup, and training objectives.

 

The Online Teacher Development Platform is fully integrated with the SACE CPTD Management System. This ensures that any CPTD activity recorded on the platform is automatically reported to SACE, and that school-based educators receive their assigned CPTD points.

Activities automatically reported to SACE include:

• Completion of microlearning modules (Type 1 CPTD) by school-based educators
• Completion of SACE-endorsed courses hosted on the platform’s Moodle (Type 3 CPTD)
• Participation in scheduled training events by SACE-approved providers (Type 3 CPTD)
• Completion of SACE-endorsed training on external providers’ platforms integrated with the DBE platform (Type 3 CPTD)
• Completion of self-study courses on non-integrated platforms, where the provider is responsible for reporting (Type 3 CPTD)

Activities not reported automatically to SACE (educators must self-claim):

• Microlearning modules completed on the old platform
• Self-initiated professional learning not conducted via the platform (Type 1 CPTD)
• School-initiated teacher professional development activities (Type 2 CPTD)

 

SACE conducts oversight visits to training sessions.
Therefore, all training events (including date, time, and venue) must be scheduled on the DBE platform prior to implementation.

 

The DBE submits courses for SACE endorsement, which are then implemented by provinces and districts.
Some provinces also submit their own courses for endorsement.

Teacher training is primarily conducted at:

• Provincial Teacher Development Institutes (PTDIs)
• District Teacher Development Centres (DTDCs)

 

Responsibilities:

• When NGO providers conduct endorsed courses on behalf of a province, the provider must schedule and/or report the training event on the platform.
• When a PTDI delivers its own endorsed courses (including DBE-endorsed courses), it is responsible for reporting.
• When a district implements training of either provincial or DBE-endorsed courses, the district is responsible for reporting.

 

Each district will be allocated a provider number and must supply:

• A single official email address (for login and communication), and
• Contact details for administrative or support queries.

All CPTD points recorded by SACE will appear on the “My Status” page of the integrated platform.
A direct link to SACE is also provided for further queries.