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News from the community
From OER_Wiki
Calling all community members...
If you have information that you wish to share with the community, then this is the page for you. It could be:
- an upcoming conference
- new publication on Open Educational Resources
- news about an OER initiative or capacity development activity.
Add your news item to the list below. New items should be placed at the top of the list. Please keep your announcement reasonably brief and provide a link to more information. The most recent items will be featured in the "latest news" box on the main page, for maximum visibility.
This page will leave us with a record of the activities of community members, and it will be there for us to use when the discussion list is closed.
[edit] October 2009
[edit] Jetpack for Learning Design Challenge launches
The Jetpack for Learning Design Challenge (sponsored by the Mozilla Foundation with support from the MacArthur Foundation) was launched to turn the open Web into a rich learning environment. It's part competition, part online course, part face-to-face workshop and we will explore new possibilities for using Firefox add-ons to support learning online. Designers, educators and software developers who want to turn their innovative ideas into working prototypes will learn to use the new Jetpack technology from Mozilla Labs to create Firefox add-ons to support learning on the open Web, using standard web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The creators of the most promising add-ons will be invited to an intensive three-day Jetpack for Learning Design Camp (to be held in conjunction with SXSW Interactive in March 2010), where they'll further refine their work and the best add-ons will be publicly recognized.
- For more information see http://design-challenge.mozilla.org/jetpack-for-learning.
[edit] New community resources released
Two new resources have just been released to the community - the UNESCO OER Toolkit and the final report of the discussion on access to OER. The toolkit is a practical guide aimed at individual academics and decision-makers in higher education institutions that are interested in becoming active participants in the OER world. The access report synthesises one of the most active and engaging discussions ever held in the community.
Both resources were drafted on the wiki and revised with input from the community.
- Go to the UNESCO OER Toolkit
- Read Philipp Schmidt's toolkit release announcement
- Go to the final report of the discussion on access to OER - wiki version
- Go to the final report of the discussion on access to OER - PDF downloads page
[edit] September 2009
[edit] Invitation to an international conference on OER, São Paulo, Brazil, 29-30 October 2009
Registration is now open for Open Education and Open Educational Resources: Challenges and Perspectives, which will take place on 29-30 October at Fundação Getulio Vargas Law School in São Paulo, Brazil. It will bring together international and Brazilian OER projects and experiences, and set the debate on policies to foster OER.
From the invitation:
This conference will present results and discuss recommendations from the OER Brazil Project, funded by the Open Society Institute. The conference aims to open the door for a richer discussion focused on OER through sharing information on international and national OER projects. The idea is to transform the conference into a working group and draft recommendations for future public policy for OER in Brazil, in preparation for the 2010 National Conference on Education.
The conference is funded by the Open Society Institute and supported by Direito GV. It is open and free to anyone. Simultaneous translation will be provided.
- Read the invitation in Portuguese and register
- Read the invitation in English (PDF)
- OER Brazilin Projet
[edit] Job opportunity at the African Virtual University: coordinate the development and implementation of the AVU OER portal
The African Virtual University (AVU) is recruiting a consultant for an initial contract of four months to coordinate the development and implementation of an OER portal that will host the online interactive repository of 73 modules for teacher education. Other responsibilities include the hiring of additional staff to complete the work, training AVU staff and other users, and designing a sustainability plan for the portal.
To apply, send a detailed CV with a telephone number, email, residential address, and names and contact addresses of three professional references to Ms Catherine Wangeci at cwangeci(at)avu.org with a copy to bdiallo(at)avu.org. The closing date for this application is 25 September 2009.
[edit] August 2009
[edit] Call for chapters for collaborative book on emerging technologies for learning
Madhumita writes:
We would like to invite you to submit chapter proposals for the book "Emerging Technologies for Learning: Impact on Cognition and Culture". Please join us in this collaborative endeavour.
[edit] July 2009
[edit] OER at the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education - and news from the United States
Susan writes:
Last week UNESCO held the World Conference on Higher Education (WCHE) with over 1,200 participants from 150 countries. The topic was The New Dynamics of Higher Education and Research for Societal Change and Development.
There was a high level of engagement and exchange. You can find a succinct overview in the press release in English and French.
OER is surely a new dynamic in higher education, and we organized a session on OER. An excellent panel made stimulating presentations that were followed by a thought-provoking discussion.
The final communiqué of the conference is also available in English and French, and OER is referred to in point 13!
During the conference Dr. Jill Biden, wife of the Vice President of the United States, spoke about the importance of the community college model in a diversified higher education system. And yesterday many of us received a message from Cathy Casserly who was formerly the head of the Hewlett Foundation OER Program. She wrote:
Today at Macomb College, President Barack Obama announced a proposal to commit $50 million for the development of open online courses for community colleges as part of the American Graduation Initiative: Stronger American Skills through Community Colleges. As proposed, the courses will be freely available for use as is and for adaption as appropriate for targeted student populations. The materials will carry a Creative Commons license.All of us in the Open Educational Resources (OER) community should pause and take a moment (but just a moment ;-D) to reflect on the tremendous journey that has brought us to this announcement. Individually and collectively we have traveled this promising yet unchartered path to make high quality educational materials available to all. Our collective work has brought us to this point of inflection, where the potential to innovate and scale has become a reality. President Obama has taken a bold step and we hope that Congress will follow.
This is yet another initiative that will incorporate the OER goal of increasing access to knowledge.
- WCHE overview in English and French
- WCHE final communiqué in English and French
- Summary of the OER session at WCHE
- Dr. Jill Biden's speech to the World Conference on Higher Education
- More about the American Graduation Initiative from the White House blog
[edit] June 2009
[edit] International conference on open and distance learning produces statement on Open Educational Resources
M-2009, the 23rd ICDE World Conference on Open Learning and Distance Education and 2009 EADTU Annual Conference was held from 7-10 June 2009 in Maastricht, and hosted by the Open Universiteit Nederland.
The theme of the conference was Flexible Education for All: Open – Global – Innovative. One of the plenary sessions was on Open Educational Resources, as was one of the strands of parallel paper presentation sessions. Several OER Community members were present – and presented.
A statement on OER was prepared, which will be brought to the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education to be held from 5-8 July in Paris. OER was also referred to in the main conference statement - the Maastricht Message.
[edit] Report, speech and presentation from "Open Educational Resources in Poland", April 2009
In April 2009, Susan D'Antoni travelled to Warswaw, Poland, to speak at a one-day conference, "Open Educational Resources in Poland" at the Parliament of the Republic of Poland, organised by the Polish Coalition for Open Education (KOED). The final report of that conference has just been published and can be downloaded from the wiki. Susan's speech and accompanying presentation are also available.
In organising this conference, KOED aimed to present the open education movement and advocate the model of OER for all levels of education, to argue for the importance of open education in Poland, and to increase broad interest and involvement.
[edit] Report of the Global Teacher Network OER Workshop: "There are learning resources that travel well!", May 2009
During the community discussion on OER for teacher education Mutuzana Misheck shared his report on a recent workshop, organised by the Global Teacher Network - "There are learning resources that travel well!" The report has been copied to the wiki so that it may be shared more widely.
[edit] May 2009
[edit] Open Educational Resources: Conversations in Cyberspace - UNESCO's first openly licensed publication
UNESCO Publishing has just released its first openly licensed publication. Open Educational Resources: Conversations in Cyberspace brings together the background papers and reports from the first three years of community activities. In releasing this publication, UNESCO seeks to encourage a new audience to engage with the Open Educational Resources movement - its promise and its progress.
Help us promote the publication!
Download the announcement below, then forward it to your contacts and networks to help us spread the word:
[edit] New community discussion - OER for teacher education, 26 May - 5 June 2009
The UNESCO Open Educational Resources project and Section for Teacher Education are working together to create a resource to raise awareness of the concept of OER and its potential for teachers.
We invite all who are interested in OER and teacher education to join us in an informal discussion of the proposed outline of the resource. It is initially intended as a module on a CD for a number of teacher training institutes in sub-Saharan Africa.
The discussion will run from 26 May to 5 June on a separate discussion list "OER4teachers". It will be facilitated by Corinne Bossé, who has joined us until end June to work on this initiative. She is a staff member of Athabasca University – Canada’s open university – and is currently working on her PhD at the Institute of Education of the University of London. She brings both her expertise as an instructional designer as well as her experience as a teacher.
To take part in the discussion, send a message to mailto:oer@unesco.org.
[edit] April 2009
[edit] Participate in the 2nd Pan-African Forum on Open Educational Resources and Open Access, Dakar, Senegal, 27 May 2009
Please join the MERLOT Africa Network (MAN) and the African Virtual University (AVU) in Dakar, Senegal, for a unique journey dedicated to OER and eLearning featuring:
- Best OER practices and technologies to bridge the digital divide
- WO-MAN experts panel: celebrating the role of women in OER and ICT for development
- The International MAN@eLA Awards for Exemplary OER Practices for Development
- Unique workshops to prepare the future OER and elearning practitioners and leaders
This event is sponsored by the University Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), Senegal, and takes place in conjunction with eLearning Africa 2009.
[edit] Call for nominations: 2nd International MAN@eLA Awards for Examplary OER Practices for Development
The MERLOT Africa Network (MAN) and its network of partners announce the Call-for-Nomination for the 2nd International MAN@eLA Awards for Exemplary Open Education Resources (OER) Practices for Development.
These prestigious awards are presented annually to organizations, individuals, online educational resources and authoring software tools dedicated to advancing development in Africa. They recognize three categories of excellence:
- Leadership Award to an individual or group that has made significant advances in the understanding of the issues or innovations surrounding OER and the OER movement.
- In 2008, this award was presented to the UNESCO OER Community.
- Virtual Laboratory Award to exemplary teaching and learning resources that promote inquiry-based/discovery learning, internationalization (such as multi-lingual accessibility) and usability.
- Software for OER Content Authoring Award (this may be a free or lower cost/affordable proprietary software).
Nominations must be received by Thursday, April 30, 2009.
- Visit the MAN@eLA website to see the award criteria, application information and online nomination forms, and a list of past recipients.
[edit] Register for M-2009: the 23rd ICDE World Conference on Open and Distance Education, 7-10 June 2009, Maastricht, Netherlands
Flexible Education for All: Open Global - Innovative
A prevailing theme, fascinating speakers, excellent networking opportunities, and a beautiful location: these are the key ingredients of M-2009, the 23rd ICDE World Conference on Open and Distance Education, including the EADTU Annual Conference 2009.
From 7 to 10 June, the Open Universiteit Nederland (OUNL), the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE), and the European Association of Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU) will bundle their energies and networks to host the M-2009 conference in Maastricht.
Open Educational Resources, Quality Assurance, Technology Enhanced Learning, Employability and Cultural Diversity are only some of the hot topics in open and flexible learning that will be covered during the event. An impressive list of high-level keynotes has been confirmed and top quality presentations from participants around the globe will be made.
The programme will be framed by a conference dinner in the beautiful Caverne de Geulhem, a Dine-Around in Maastricht and musical entertainment.
- Visit the M-2009 website for more information about this very special event, a full list of keynotes, the programme, registration and all other relevant issues.
- Watch the video for more information about the conference venue.
[edit] March 2009
[edit] Déclaration de Dakar sur les Ressources Educatives Libres/Dakar Open Educational Resources Declaration
A l’initiative du Bureau Régional pour l’Education en Afrique de UNESCO (BREDA), de l’Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), et de l’Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), le premier séminaire francophone portant sur les Ressources Educatives Libres, s’est tenu du 3 au 5 mars 2009 au Campus numérique francophone de Dakar.
Suite au séminaire, les participants et partenaires ont rédigé une déclaration finale afin de mutualiser leurs ressources et démarches de production. La déclaration éxiste en version wiki, PDF et OpenOffice.
The first francophone Open Educational Resources seminar took place on the 3 to 5 March 2009. It was hosted by the Dakar Francophone Digital Campus and organised by UNESCO's Regional Bureau for Education in Dakar (BREDA), the International Francophone Organisation (OIF), and the Agency of Universities of the French-speaking World (AUF).
In their final declaration participants affirmed their commitment to OER, the sharing of their resources and the means of production. The declaration can be accessed in wiki version or downloaded as a PDF or in OpenOffice.
An English translation of the declaration will be avaialable soon.
[edit] Just released: special issue of Open University’s Open Learning on Open Educational Resources
The Open University’s peer reviewed Journal of Open and Distance Learning, Open Learning, has devoted its first issue of 2009 to the theme of Open Educational Resources (OER). This special issue has been guest edited by Susan D’Antoni, who is responsible for the UNESCO OER Community.
The issue provides an introduction to the emerging OER movement and its implications for education systems and institutions, educators and learners. The articles describe a range of initiatives and issues, and articulate the vision of some of the most committed and passionate champions of Open Educational Resources. Together they communicate the energy and dynamism associated with this new movement, and its potential to extend learning opportunities worldwide.
We are delighted to announce that Routledge, Open Learning’s publisher, has agreed to make this particular issue of the journal freely accessible to all online, in recognition of its open theme and the importance of the issues involved.
Papers and contributors
- A decade of development... (David Wiley and Seth Gurrell)
- The unwalled garden: growth of the OpenCourseWare Consortium, 2001-2008 (Steve Carson)
- Challenges in the adoption and use of OpenCourseWare: experience of the United Nations University (Brendan F.D. Barrett, Velma I. Grover, Tomasz Janowski, Hanneke van Lavieren, Adegboyega Ojo and Philipp Schmidt)
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health OpenCourseWare (Sukon Kanchanaraksa, Ira Gooding, Brian Klaas and James D. Yager)
- The road to Free and Opne Educational Resources at the University of the Western Cape: a personal and institutional journey (Derek Keats)
- Re-invigorating openness at The Open University: the role of Open Eductional Resources (Brenda Gourley and Andy Lane)
- OpenER, a Dutch initiative in Open Educational Resources (Robert Schuwer and Fred Mulder)
- Open Educational Resources in India’s national development (M.S. Vijay Kumar)
- The Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (Paul West and John Daniel)
- Permission granted: open licensing for educational resources (Ahrash N. Bissell)
[edit] February 2009
[edit] The OpenCourseWare Consortium (OCWC) invites nominations and applications for the role of Executive Director
A message from the Anka Mulder of the OCWC Search Committee...
As the OCWC Interim Executive Director, Terri Bays, prepares to depart for Divinity School, the Executive Director Search Committee has started the process of finding a new Executive Director with the help of Opus Partners, Inc. Our latest efforts have gone into crafting the job advertisement, which is posted on the OCWC website.
We are inviting our colleagues to help us find the best candidate for this job. So please post this ad to any relevant venues with which you are familiar and forward it to any likely candidates so that our posting reflects the international character of the OCWC itself.
Applications and formal inquiries should be sent directly to Opus Partners, but please be assured that the Board of Directors, the Search Committee and Terri are all happy to discuss the nature of this position with you on an informal basis.
[edit] January 2009
[edit] New community discussion - Access to OER, 9-27 February 2009
The UNESCO OER Community is launching a new three-week discussion on the subject of access issues. The discussion will take place from 9 to 27 February 2009 and is open to all.
During the first week the community will focus on identifying - and attempting to classify - the main problems in accessing OER. The theme of the second and third weeks will be "tried and tested solutions", as community members are invited to share their experiences in working around such problems.
The discussion will be facilitated by Bjoern Hassler.
If you are not yet a member of the community and wish to take part in this discussion, send a message to mailto:oer@unesco.org.
[edit] Have your say: OpenCourseWare Consortium seeks input to a survey on organizational effectiveness
The OpenCourseWare Consortium is appealing for input to an organizational effectiveness review from members of the OER community.
The Consortium's goal is to develop an organization that best serves the needs of current and potential members and most effectively furthers its mission to improve education and empower people worldwide through OpenCourseWare.
The Consortium has created four versions of a short survey: for current members (both educational institutions and affiliates), as well as for OER community members who are not currently members of the Consortium (again, one for educational institutions and one for other types of organizations). Whether or not you are interested in participating in Consortium activities, your input will help the Consortium better understand its role within the OER movement and will further the cause of widening educational opportunity around the world.
Please take a few minutes to complete the survey by following the link below and selecting the most appropriate survey option. The survey deadline is 18 January 2009.
[edit] UK report on the benefits of sharing learning materials published
A report funded by the UK Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) has been published examining the evidence base in support of sharing learning materials. The report, Good intentions: improving the evidence base in support of sharing learning materials, sets out the benefits of sharing for key stakeholder groups, from the global community to individual teachers and learners. The report draws on discussions on the OER community mailing list and information on the wiki, particularly the OER stories, to inform the section on OER.
[edit] News archives
News items from previous years have been archived on the following pages:
