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OER Community
From OER_Wiki
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[edit] The story so far...
The UNESCO Community of Interest on Open Educational Resources was formed in 2005 at the end of a formal Internet discussion forum on Open Educational Resources: open content for higher education. This forum was the third of a series organised by the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) to examine key issues related to the use of Information and Communication Technologies in higher education. The forum series and subsequent work on OER took place in the context of IIEP's "observation" function to explore new trends in education.
At the end of the forum, participants were asked to identify the three most important issues to enable and promote OER. Their responses set the agenda for the ongoing community interaction. During 2006 discussions took place on:
- building an OER research agenda;
- exploring the idea of an OER "Do-It-Yourself" development resource, and
- identifying lessons of the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) movement for the OER movement, and FOSS tools for OER.
- write my essay
A second, formal discussion forum took place in November 2006, focussing on the findings and conclusions of an OECD study on OER.
In the first half of 2007, the main activity was a second poll of community members to determine the most important issues to advance the OER movement. The result of this polling was a document outlining the Way Forward for the OER movement. Awareness raising emerged as the top priority issue, so the community turned its attention to identifying resources needed for awareness raising activities. The OER stories that are being developed on the wiki are a result of this discussion.
NEW! The background papers and reports from this first phase of the project have been collected together and released in one volume. Open Educational Resources: Conversations in Cyberspace is UNESCO's first openly licensed publication.
In October 2007 the work on OER (including support to the community) was transferred to the UNESCO Education Sector. The Education Sector has a broader mandate - that of supporting the goal of quality Education for All - and is committed to actions and activities related to ICT in education.
[edit] The wiki and the mailing list
This wiki was set up in March 2006 at the request of the community for a collaborative online work space. The main discussions take place through the community mailing list. The list archives are open to for anyone to view, whether a member of the community or not.
The main discussions take place in English, to allow a maximum number of people take part. We have a new page on Multilingualism and the OER Community with information and links to online translation tools, as well as discussions and activities in other languages that have developed out of the main global community.
To join the community, subscribe directly or send a request to mailto:oer@unesco.org.
[edit] Community members
There is an optional listing of OER community members on the wiki. If you are a member of the community, please add your details!
The community currently has over 950 members from 110 countries, of which 74 are developing countries.
The following pie charts[1] give an impression of where our community members come from - and what they do.
Many members are actively involved in creating and using OER. Some of them have contributed their stories on the wiki to help inspire others to become involved.
[edit] Notes
- ↑ Figures taken from OER: the Way Forward.
[edit] More information...
To access documentation from the 2005 and 2006 discussions go to the OER section of the IIEP project web site.
More information about IIEP and the UNESCO Education Sector, can be found on their respective web sites:
