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

[Zaid Alsagoff]

Dear Susan and Everyone,

Searchable/Indexable/Visuable OER maps of repositories, courses, initiatives, objects are useful. However, I would love to have a Global map of OER experts (or educators that conduct workshops, give talks and facilitate OER in all forms.)

Over the last year I have conducted several OER workshops and given OER talks in Universities in Malaysia to create awareness and encourage more participation: http://www.slideshare.net/zaid (slides to all of them).

Blog: http://zaidlearn.blogspot.com/

Next, year I will also be conducting OER workshops probably in several  other countries, starting with Saudi Arabia in February (ELI13 conference).

However, how many of you know that? Exactly :)

Wouldn't it be cool if we had news updates on what all of us are doing regarding OER...Maybe just a Twitter hashtag where all of us share our ongoing activities as we go along. Even a simple Facebook Page could do, too :)

Better yet a Global map of all OER trainers or experts, which we can find, contact and invite to various countries when needed.

If this has already been suggested...Amen to that :)

No doubt the best OER are the experts themselves, and they are often much more inspiring than the content :)

Have a great weekend!

Warm regards,

Zaid or ZaidLearn :)

Sent from my iPhone

On 12 Nov, 2012, at 23:40, Susan D'Antoni <susandantoni at gmail.com> wrote:

> 
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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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> Oer-community at athabascau.ca
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