[Oer-community] Forwarded message on behalf of Kathy Nicholson

[Susan D'Antoni]

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Dear OER Colleagues, ****


 In October of 2005 I spent some time volunteering in tsunami-stricken Sri
Lanka.  It was a life-changing experience.  In the mornings we helped with
home reconstruction, beachfront preservation efforts, or assisting with the
turtle hatcheries that had been wiped out by the tsunami.  In the
afternoons, we taught English and math at the tsunami camp in Kosgoda.  Of
course, we weren’t trained teachers, and had very few resources.  At that
time, I wished for an online resource that I could use to help teach our
thatched hut classroom of 30 kids, ranging in ages from 6 to 19.  Shouldn’t
it be possible, I thought, to find resources that could be translated into
Sinhalese (the local language)?  How could I find a range of resources
appropriate for the children who were just learning English, and for the
one young math whiz who was fascinated with simultaneous equations?****


Back then, I didn’t know about OER.  But I intuitively knew that something
like OER could be transformative in so many places around the world in need
of high quality, customizable, educational resources. ****

 As I’ve had the opportunity to participate in the OER movement over the
past 4.5 years, I’ve been tremendously impressed by how many resources
actually are available.  So many people -teachers, professors, students,
educators, volunteers, and lifelong learners- have spent time, energy, and
their own resources to contribute to the educational commons, to share
resources freely and openly.  We have seen how OER has become a global
movement and become part of policy conversations and classroom activities
alike.  As these projects have proliferated, so too has the need to see
what activities are going on in various places and in different languages,
and to see how these contributions are interconnected.****


Our conversation this week will explore the idea of a global OER map as a
possible answer to these needs.  Could such a map help determine which OER
resources are available in Arabic or Kiswahili?  Could one look up the
pipeline of OER activities – from the classroom implementation to the
national policy level – that are taking place in a particular country?  And
how do we make such a resource easy to find and use not just for our own
OER community, but for anyone interested in OER?****


I’m going back to Sri Lanka next month for a short vacation.  In the
planning process, I can’t help but think about that classroom, and how
helpful those resources would have been.  That particular classroom isn’t
there anymore, but we all know of a classroom somewhere where OER could be
helpful.****

I look forward to our conversation and sincerely hope that many will
participate.  Many thanks to Susan D’Antoni for leading this effort – this
will be an exciting and engaging three weeks!****


All the best,****

Kathy****


Kathy A. Nicholson****

Associate Program Officer, Education****

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
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