The Cape Town Open Education Declaration

Abstract:

The Cape Town Open Education Declaration arises from a small but lively meeting convened in Cape Town in September 2007. The aim of this meeting was to accelerate efforts to promote open resources, technology and teaching practices in education.

The first concrete outcome of this meeting is the Cape Town Open Education Declaration. It is at once a statement of principle, a statement of strategy and a statement of commitment. It meant to spark dialogue, to inspire action and to help the open education movement grow.

Creativity for Edupunks (C4E)

Abstract:

This resource aims to provide a space for you to consider the potential impact of the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement on your approaches to teaching and learning. Its eleven different sections can accumulate into a 33 hour 'course'.

Each section will suggest a number of possible sources and we hope that you will take advantage of the comments feature at the bottom of each section's page. We believe that the sharing of thoughts, reactions and perspectives can lead to a rich and recursive experience that can benefit each user of the resource.

The eleven (approximately 3-hour long) activity-based sessions cover issues related to identifying, locating, releasing and putting OERs into your curricula; understanding the concept of “openness”; as well as pedagogical (or, within the remit of this course, "anarchogogical") issues around student engagement and in particular innovative assessment. In their broadest sense, the resources (and their resultant skills, ideas and activities) should also encourage 'reflection' on the research and practice of the working lives of teaching professionals. The course will pursue a reflexive approach to each of its sections and the subsequent feedback - via the comments feature on each page of the wiki - will provide powerful and dynamic interaction for the development of our 'teaching and learning' knowledge.

Subject:

Arts, Business, Humanities, Mathematics and Statistics, Science and Technology, Social Sciences

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Collection:

Individual Authors

Finding OER Materials You Can Start Using Now

Abstract:

The objective of this module is to show the many ways you can quickly and easily find OER materials in OER Commons. This module, “Finding OER Materials,” is activity-based; you'll be guided through the process of finding OER materials you can start using in your teaching and learning.

Subject:

Social Sciences

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Collection:

Connexions

Game Changers: Education and Information Technologies

Abstract:

How can we reach more learners, more effectively, and with greater impact? Education changes lives and societies, but can we sustain the current model? New models and new technologies allow us to rethink many of the premises of education—location and time, credits and credentials, knowledge creation and sharing.

Game Changers: Education and Information Technologies is a collection of chapters and case studies contributed by college and university presidents, provosts, faculty, and other stakeholders. Institutions are finding new ways of achieving higher education’s mission without being crippled by constraints or overpowered by greater expectations. Download entire book, individual chapters, case studies.

Subject:

Social Sciences

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Collection:

EDUCAUSE

The How-to's of OER Commons

Abstract:

Become a participant in the OER movement! Learn about open content and open education, licensing of open content, and the benefits of making and using OER. Using real-life examples from OER Commons, you'll learn about adapting and remixing content to meet your needs. By the end of this course, you will be able to locate materials you can use in your teaching and learning as well as share some of your own. The "How Tos" of OER Commons is a set of learning modules evolving out of the development of OER Commons, a teaching and learning network for free-to-use educational materials from around the world, created and licensed by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME).

Subject:

Social Sciences

Grade Level:

Primary, Secondary, Post-secondary

Collection:

Connexions

Introduction to Open Education

Abstract:

The goals of the course are (1) to give you a firm grounding in the current state of the field of open education, including related topics like copyright, licensing, and sustainability, (2) to help you locate open education in the context of mainstream instructional technologies like learning objects, and (3) to get you thinking, writing, and dialoguing creatively and critically about current practices and possible alternative practices in open education.

Subject:

Social Sciences

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Collection:

Utah State University OpenCourseWare

Learning Object Repositories: Problems and Promise

Abstract:

A group of twenty-two educators and representatives of the e-learning industry met on the campus of the University of California, Irvine, to consider the state of the reuse and sharing of learning-related Web-based material. Brought together with the notion that reuse and sharing of e-learning material had not met the expectations of higher education and the broader world of e-learning, the group discussed how this was becoming a crucial limitation on the growth and impact of education delivered over the Web. Avenues to promote the reuse and open sharing of Web-based materials were explored. This paper, written by Gary Matkin, dean of continuing education at UC Irvine, builds on and extends discussion of the participants.

Subject:

Arts, Business, Humanities, Science and Technology, Social Sciences

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

My OER Portfolio

Abstract:

This module covers how OER Commons' portfolio can assist you in getting quick access to your most important OER materials. Maximize the power of OER Commons by using the portfolio to personalize your experience.

Subject:

Social Sciences

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Collection:

Connexions

New FREE UNU Book: ‘The Why and How of Open Education - With lessons from the openSE and openED Projects’

Abstract:

This UNU Book on ‘The Why and How of Open Education’ is an introduction to Open Education (OE), giving practical guidance on the design and delivery of OE courses while wrestling with theoretical considerations of this new and emerging domain. Educators are the main targets, but it will also be relevant to policy makers, senior education managers and the learning industry as a whole.

The book draws from three sources: first from well-established online learning ecosystems, including Open Source Software communities; second from existing Open Courses in traditional formal education and related design models such as the Meta-design framework (Fischer, 2007); and third from EU funded research and pilot projects: FLOSSCom (2006-2008), openSE (2009-2011) and openED (2009-2012). This piloting work enabled a thorough analysis and modification of assumptions that emerged from sources one and two.

The first chapter provides a brief introduction to the OE field, addressing the question: ‘Why Open Education?’. The second chapter presents cases from the openSE and openED projects on how OE might look in practice. Sustainability is as important for OE as for traditional formal education, so before joining any kind of OE venture it is important to have a clear understanding of how such a venture might be sustained, as discussed in chapter three. Theoretical considerations and practical guidance for the design and delivery of OE are presented in chapter four, ahead of concluding remarks and future prospects in the fifth and final chapter.

This ‘Version 1.0’ of the book is released together with the start of the openED course on ‘Business and Management Competencies in a Web 2.0 world’, whose second edition begins on 26 April 2011. It is also published in parallel with the re-launch of the openSE website, which is an OE framework for computer science software engineering.

A ‘Version 2.0’, with more in-depth findings from the openSE and openED projects and general improvements, is tentatively scheduled for summer 2012. Anyone interested in co-authoring this ‘Version 2.0’, be it with minor improvements or major extensions, are invited to read the editable version of this book at the following link and to correct minor mistakes ‘on the fly’!

Download or read the Book in Version 1.0 online at:

* http://www.scribd.com/doc/53332611/The-Why-And-How-Of-Open-Education-v-1-0

Co-Author the Version 2.0 of the book and read the editable Version 1.0 at the link below:

* www.openEdWorld.net

--
With kind regards,
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Com os melhores cumprimentos

Andreas··Meiszner, PhD
____________________________
United Nations University
UNU-MERIT
Senior Researcher / Project Manager
Collaborative Creativity Group

Keizer-Karelplein 19
6211 TC Maastricht
The Netherlands
T +351 960 148400 (mobile)
Skype: andreasmeiszner
I www.merit.unu.edu

Subject:

Arts, Business, Humanities, Mathematics and Statistics, Science and Technology, Social Sciences

Grade Level:

Primary, Secondary, Post-secondary

OER Glossary

Abstract:

A list of the terms and their definitions used in the course: The "How-tos" of OER Commons.

Subject:

Social Sciences

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Collection:

Connexions

OER Licensing and Conditions of Use

Abstract:

This module covers what authors need to know about licensing and conditions of use and the licensing options in OER Commons.

Subject:

Social Sciences

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Collection:

Connexions

OpenContentWiki

Abstract:

A place for collaborating on, scheming about, planning for, and developing open educational resources.

Open Course: Social Media & Open Education

Abstract:

This is an open access graduate course from the Faculty of Education, University of Regina. This course is available for-credit and non-credit participants. It features openly available, live, and recorded presentations from notable educators & theorists. In the last few years, the world of educational technology has changed significantly. Course participants will: better understand the historical role technology and media have played in educational & social change; become knowledgeable of social learning tools & FLOSS (Free/Libre and Open Source Software) as tools for teaching, facilitating learning, & designing educational environments; become familiar with the wealth of open educational resources (OERs), learning-related content, & media available for teaching & learning; become knowledgeable of relevant social learning theories and philosophies that respond to learning in the digital age; better understand the many social, educational, political, cultural, and administrative issues often associated with technology & media in education and society; become critical consumers and producers of digital media and information; and, build sustainable, personal learning environments and networks.

Course participation will include synchronous sessions, asynchronous activities and one-to-one communication with your instructor. This blog will be the central hub in the communication of the course activities, but in general, communication will be distributed across a number of tools and services across the Internet.

Subject:

Science and Technology

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Collection:

Alec Couros, Ph.D.

Open Educational Resources Infokit

Abstract:

Open Educational Resources (OER) are increasingly available for further education and higher education use. OER are licensed in a way that allows for their use, reuse, repurposing, remixing, and redistribution. There are a number of considerations to take into account when dealing with OER, ranging from specific technical issues to barriers and enablers to institutional adoption. This InfoKit explains OER and the issues surrounding their use for managers, academics and those in learning support. It is aimed at senior managers, learning technologists, technical staff and educators with an interest in releasing OER to the educational community.

Subject:

Social Sciences

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Collection:

JISC

Opening Scholarship

Abstract:

Publication output from the 2007/2008 OpeningScholarship project which ran in the Centre for Educational Technology (CET) at the University of Cape Town.

The main aim of this project was to explore the opportunities that information communication technologies and open dissemination models could offer for enhanced communication and more effective knowledge dissemination at UCT.

Subject:

Science and Technology

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Collection:

University of Cape Town

The Promise of Open Educational Resources

Abstract:

The authors, working in the area of OER at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, describe the promise of Open Education Resources in this 2006 article.

Subject:

Arts, Business, Humanities, Science and Technology, Social Sciences

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Sharing Knowledge and Building Communities: A Narrative of the Formation, Development and Sustainability of OOPS (Opensource Opencourseware Prototype System)

Abstract:

This dissertation examines how the voluntary OOPS community was formed, how it has evolved, and how it has created a dynamic knowledge learning community.

Subject:

Business, Humanities, Science and Technology, Social Sciences

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Students and OER

Abstract:

This module provides ideas for how you can work with your students using OER.

Subject:

Arts, Business, Humanities, Mathematics and Statistics, Science and Technology, Social Sciences

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Collection:

Connexions

Submitting Materials to OER Commons

Abstract:

This module covers how to submit your own content items or links to items about the field of open education to OER Commons.

Subject:

Social Sciences

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Collection:

Connexions