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

Tue Nov 13 13:27:56 MST 2012

Hi 

I like the idea of a curricular map and that could be included in the database design, which could also include geocoding to locate the source of a resource.

I teach database design, and I would be willing to help design the database.

Cheers  

Rick

On Nov 13, 2012, at 3:05 PM, Fred M Beshears <fredbeshears at gmail.com> wrote:

> Saul,
> 
> It sounds like you believe the OER community would be better off if it
> developed a "curricular map" of
> 
>     "curricular units *and their relations*, relative to curricular pathways
>      and trajectories to completion of courses, degrees, certificates,
>      or other learning units."
> 
> To me this also sounds more useful than an OER geographic mapping initiative.
> 
> Do you have a standard in mind for creating the curricular map you speak of?
> 
> I'm aware of various standards and specifications that might apply, such as:
> 
>    - Topic Maps
>      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topic_maps
> 
>    - RDF/OWL/SPARQL
>      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_Description_Framework
>      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Ontology_Language
>      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPARQL
> 
>   - IEEE Learning Object Metadata
>     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_object_metadata
> 
> Fred
> 
> On Tue, Nov 13, 2012 at 8:45 AM, Saul Fisher <saul.fisher at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Friends,
>> 
>> As baptizer of the term "Open Educational Resources" (at the UNESCO meeting
>> ten years ago that Susan notes), I am pleased beyond my wildest hopes to see
>> progress in this domain over the last decade.
>> 
>> The idea of mapping OER is a great one, just in case it will facilitate
>> growth in competent and effective use of OER; that in turn entails promotion
>> of sharing, reuse, adaptation, localization, and translation of OER assets.
>> 
>> As some others have suggested, though, *geographic* mapping (i.e.,
>> representation in map/mash-up format) might not capture the most important
>> aggregation, representation, or search aid.
>> 
>> So what kind of mapping would be more important towards facilitating growth
>> in competent and effective use?  Some on this list have proposed various
>> kinds of meta-data to collect (especially important, for any international
>> efforts, as regards geographic and linguistic identity), and they are surely
>> correct to do so.  Towards that end, the best self-standing OER projects
>> already build meta-data into their architecture, some extensively so.
>> 
>> But let's look at this from a user's perspective.  If you are involved in
>> instruction or academic administration, you want to know *what* assets there
>> are (perhaps discoverable through currently available search tools),
>> *where* the assets are (again, currently available search tools might
>> suffice), and *how* they might fit into your curricular framework.  This
>> last piece is a great challenge, if only because everyone's curricular
>> framework differs from the next one, whether because of national,
>> institutional, disciplinary, or personal differences.  But as that is the
>> most difficult problem to tackle on a systematic basis (because it's
>> strongly dynamic and highly context sensitive), so too it must be the
>> problem (of these three) that is most valuable to solve.  And it is, after
>> all, a mapping problem--namely, a curricular mapping problem.
>> 
>> Many in this community are likely familiar with curricular mapping.  So,
>> briefly (or as a reminder), curricular mapping is a representation—often
>> visual—of curricular units *and their relations*, relative to curricular
>> pathways and trajectories to completion of courses, degrees, certificates,
>> or other learning units.  While such maps are often built to represent
>> actual pathways, they are also used to plan new ones or adjust old ones.  I
>> doubt we could expect to create such a map that shows how extant OER meet
>> all curricular needs; instead, we might hope to show what OER fit where for
>> a wide variety of curricular pathway-relative needs.  That, in turn, would
>> help identify where pressing gaps are, whether relative to general
>> curricular demands, or specific needs as indexed to local educational
>> parameters, linguistic gaps, and the like.
>> 
>> Curricular mapping in the OER space has been explored in a number of OER
>> projects, and hopefully our community can draw on those experiences and
>> knowledge, as well as the longer tradition of curricular mapping in the
>> academy.
>> 
>> All best wishes,
>> 
>> Saul Fisher
>> 
>> ---
>> Saul Fisher
>> Executive Director for Grants and Academic Initiatives
>> Visiting Associate Professor of Philosophy
>> Mercy College
>> 555 Broadway
>> Dobbs Ferry, NY  10522  USA
>> sfisher at mercy.edu
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Tue, Nov 13, 2012 at 4:25 AM, Zaid Alsagoff <zaid.alsagoff at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> 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:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> ----
>>> 
>>> 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
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Oer-community mailing list
>>> Oer-community at athabascau.ca
>>> https://deimos.cs.athabascau.ca/mailman/listinfo/oer-community
>>> 
>>> 
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>>> 
>> 
>> 
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