[Oer-community] Mapping projects

Tue Nov 20 17:22:26 MST 2012

Yes, collaborative strategies would be great.  However, I'm not seeing how the geography of these projects would be all that helpful.  Surely, what we want is to find ways to create collaborations based on what is being done and by whom.  I think that one of the most promising things about this initiative is that it creates a community based on what we do, not where we are.  

-----Original Message-----
From: Susan D'Antoni <susandantoni at gmail.com>
To: oer-community <oer-community at athabascau.ca>
Sent: Tue, Nov 20, 2012 3:58 pm
Subject: Re: [Oer-community] Mapping projects

Dear Paul,

Thank you for your thoughtful message about the importance of an OER map to enable collaboration and networking.  This is an excellent point, and it also picks up the desire for finding contacts that has been expressed several times in the discussion.

Best,

Susan

On Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 12:26 PM, Paul Stacey <pstacey at creativecommons.org> wrote:

Susan:

I sense within this discussion that there is a need to clarify the purpose of an OER World Map. 

Much of the discussion so far has focused on a map that depicts OER initiatives around the world and provides progressively deeper levels of data and information about each initiative. I thought Sara Frank Bistrow's Week 1 summary log did a good job of defining the data and information on each OER initiative that such a map would present.

A map that depicts OER initiatives around the world will improve the findability of OER. There definitely is a need to make OER more discoverable. The purpose of such a map is to connect students and teachers to resources.

However, I sense that for some participants the value proposition this provides is limited. There are already many efforts to catalog and expedite searching for OER. The OER World Map, as conceived of so far, will be yet another one - albeit perhaps a better and more comprehensive one.

I wonder if it might not be worth thinking of a different purpose for an OER World Map. Rather than a map that emphasizes connecting people to OER content I think there is a real need to generate an OER World Map that is more of a social network rather than a content network. As Mary Lou Forward says "a map can help foster new collaborations between projects around the world". Building off Mary Lou's comment I see a stronger value proposition for an OER World Map that focuses on connecting what currently are isolated OER initiatives into collaborative networks. It would pool the requirements and needs OER are intended to fulfill and distribute the development/reuse effort more effectively across those engaged in OER development and use. An OER World Map of this type shifts the focus from connecting people to OER content to connecting OER users and developers into networks of collaborative effort. 

Given the limited time and resources you hint at it may be more fruitful to focus on an OER World Map that enables OER collaborative networks.

-- 
Paul Stacey
Creative Commons
(e) pstacey at creativecommons.org
(w) http://creativecommons.org
(me) http://creativecommons.org/staff#paulstacey
(blog) http://edtechfrontier.com

On Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 8:21 AM, Susan D'Antoni <susandantoni at gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Colleagues,

As our reflection has progressed, there appears to be discussion about both OER initiatives - and OER (the resources themselves).

We started out with reference to a world map of OER initiatives/projects. Mary Lou Forward articulated the focus in her early message:

********************
"As the movement is maturing, more and more people are interested in what OER is, what projects are underway, who is participating and how the movement is growing and changing. A global OER map will provide a snapshot to this information - a gateway to understanding the worldwide dimensions of OER. ...

In service to the OER community, a map can help foster new collaborations between projects around the world by allowing us to quickly identify projects we may not otherwise know about that could complement and strengthen our own work. As a living example of OER, this map may spur new cooperative efforts between those already engaged in OER and those interested in it."
********************

There are numerous OER repositories to help people find specific resources, as well as projects working on how to improve finding resources. A number of you have been talking about some of this work.  Information about how to find could eventually be linked to a world map as a separate layer of information.  With time and energy and perhaps some resources, it could be possible to add more layers to a world map of initiatives later.  

But we might have a better chance of success in building a comprehensive world map of initiatives or projects if we started with a relatively limited amount of information on each initiative.  

Start big - the world, but small - the amount of information on each project ...

Thoughts?

Best,

Susan

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-- 
Paul Stacey
Creative Commons
(e) pstacey at creativecommons.org
(w) http://creativecommons.org
(me) http://creativecommons.org/staff#paulstacey
(blog) http://edtechfrontier.com

_______________________________________________
Oer-community mailing list
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-- 

Susan D'Antoni

Advisor to the President
International OER Initiatives
Athabasca University
Canada
tel 613 232 6496
skype iiepsusan

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