Agree very much that locally produced materials meeting a specific learning community's present and future needs is the way to go. Textbooks developed in other countries, can at best, only provide examples and key ideas for different age groups. Wikieducator.org's role of providing a link between educators to discuss and exchange information on what has and has not worked is extremely important. It is amazing how local languages, economics and a society's expectations shape educational programs.This is especially true on the primary school level, where local languages and situational context are frequently used to explain subject matter (one can hope that some micro businesses, whose aim it is to provide locally developed and produced educational materials will become a reality).
Jim Kelly On Feb 26, 12:56 pm, Wayne Mackintosh <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Edward, > > COL has an excellent set of course materials. However many of these > courses carry licenses which do not meet the free cultural works > definition. This restricts remix and reuse scenarios :-(. For example > it wouldn't be appropriate, or ethical to remix NC materials with the > vast collection of resources available under free content licenses > (Wikipedia, WikiEducator, Wikiversity, Wikibooks, Connexions, P2P, > CK12 etc.) > > Very often these are licensing restrictions imposed by third party > copyright holders. One could take a pragmatic view and say OK -- we > are in education and are prepared to use non-free materials that's all > we have got and better to choose in Stallman's words (the lesser of > the two evils). The downside of this strategy is that we don't address > the core of the problem -- namely the inventory of course materials > which meet the essential freedoms available for remix and reuse. > > The first option is to approach the original copyright holder and > request release of the materials under a free cultural works approved > license. We've got nothing to loose all they can say is no. The next > step is to raise funds to buy out the copyright for release under a > free cultural works license. Finally we have the freedom as educators > to create alternatives to the closed resources. > > Hey -- it may take us a little longer in achieving the aim of OERs > (which meet the requirements of the free cultural works definition) in > support of all national curricula -- but I think this is a more > sustainable and better result for the free culture. > > WE have the autonomy and freedom to take these decisions and through > our collective actions make the changes WE want to see in the world. > > Cheers > Wayne > > On Feb 27, 5:42 am, Edward Cherlin <[email protected]> wrote: > > > There are other such resources, such as Commonwealth of Learning, with > > huge libraries of distance learning modules. > > > On Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 01:10, <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Can't speak for SUNY/Empire State, of course, since I am just a small > > > frog > > > in this pond :-) but I did send a memo to the new Center for Distance > > > Learning Dean and the former Dean, who is now a Vice-president to see if > > > there is some way students of efforts like peer to peer might be eligible > > > for credit through something like our current practice of awarding credit > > > by > > > evaluation through prior learning assessment. Our credit by evaluation > > > is > > > incredibly cheap so the process or the cost probably wouldn't be exactly > > > the > > > same but it is an intriguing thought. Problem, of course, is that since > > > the State of New York pays only a small portion of our budgetary costs we > > > are tuition driven...not as much as private schools but it is still a > > > consideration. I am kind of lost in all of the legalities of copyrights > > > etc. but partnership is fascinating. All the best. Joyce > > > > Wayne Mackintosh <[email protected]> > > > Sent by: [email protected] > > > 02/26/2010 06:02 PM ZE12Please respond [email protected] > > > > To [email protected] > > > cc Rebecca Kahn <[email protected]> > > > bcc Joyce McKnight/SUNY > > > Subject Re: [WikiEducator] new courses at peer 2 peer university > > > > Hi Philipp > > > > Congratulations on the the next round of courses @ P2P! The core mission > > > of > > > the OER Foundation and WikiEducator is to facilitate and nurture the > > > development of sustainable OER ecosystems. The real value of the free > > > culture lies in the remix and colloboration -- not where the content > > > resides > > > ;-) Apology for my long post -- but an indication of my excitement in > > > seeing the potential. Working together we achieve far more than working > > > alone. > > > > I must commend P2P in choosing a license which meets the requirements of > > > the > > > free cultural works definition. In this way we can realise the REAL > > > potential of digital and free knowledge a rare resource which grows in > > > value > > > by sharing. > > > > I visited your site -- there are a great list of courses @ P2P. Very COOL. > > > I also like the Dashboard layout of the courses -- and you've inspired me > > > to > > > hack a wiki equivalent of this course structure -- so we may be able to > > > help > > > you out on the authoring front for new courses. I'd love to see more > > > courses > > > from WikiEducator being taught @ P2P :-D. > > > > I suspect the OER Foundation may be able to help with exploring and > > > experimenting with a few of the credentialisation challenges facing > > > innovative projects like P2P and WikiEducator. I'm thinking about > > > developing > > > and remixing a range of course materials for a graduate (postgrad) level > > > elective in OER. The idea is to have a set of high quality materials on > > > OER > > > as OER for an elective, in for example an Masters in Educational > > > Technology > > > or Postgraduate certificate. The idea is that individual institutions > > > would > > > credentialise - -but the P2P community could certainly assist with > > > teaching > > > services hey? > > > > I was particularly interested in the Copyright for Educators Course > > > (http://p2pu.org/copyright-educators-cycle-2-mar-2010) -- the WIkiEducator > > > community has a need to extend our teaching materials on this topic. I > > > have > > > a little funding (not much :-( ) which I'd like to invest in adding value > > > to > > > training support in Copyright for Educators. Lets talk. > > > > I'm in discussion with a number of Univeristies about the postgrad > > > elective > > > on OER and I'll certainly add P2P to list. > > > > Lets make free culture futures happen. > > > > Wayne > > > > On 26 February 2010 18:28, Philipp Schmidt <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Dear WE community: > > > > I'd like to beat the drums a little bit for the new round of courses > > > at P2PU. Sign-up is still open for a few days and it would be great if > > > some of you were interested in participating. See below for a list of > > > all new courses. We'd also love to find ways to work closer with WE > > > (maybe future course content could be developed and hosted on WE and > > > run on P2PU?). > > > > For those of you, who need a "certificate" for the informal learning, > > > the Mashing up the Open Web course is the first in a series of courses > > > that will eventually lead to an open degree backed by the Mozilla > > > Foundation. Hacking eduction, one day at a time. > > > > Best - P > > > > ANNOUNCEMENT > > > > The Peer 2 Peer University announced its second round of free and open > > > online courses earlier this month opening sign-ups for 14 courses. > > > Some of the courses were offered in the first phase of the pilot which > > > launched last September, but seven are brand new, including the first > > > Portuguese language courses organized by Brasil’s Casa de Cultura > > > Digital. The P2PU community has grown and is excited to have these new > > > courses and their organizers on board. > > > > The P2PU community consists of a diverse group of people. They are > > > writers, teachers, designers, doctoral and alternative grad students, > > > artists, copyright specialists, scientists, and blues guitar players. > > > Above all, they are learners–peers working together to learn from each > > > other. > > > > Sign-ups for all courses are available athttp://www.p2pu.org/course/list. > > > > The following courses are on offer this cycle at P2PU (unless > > > otherwise noted, the course language is English): > > > > Introduction to Economics and Finance - A basic introduction to the > > > role that Economics plays in business. > > > > Cidadania e Redes Digitais (in Portuguese) - This course will discuss > > > the concepts of Citizenship and Digital Networks in the online space. > > > > Civic Hacking (in Portuguese) - An examination of new means of action > > > in the networked Public Sphere > > > > Climate Resilient Cities - This course will investigate how to build > > > sustainable climate resilient cities by addressing the underlying > > > causes of vulnerability, understanding the link between poverty and > > > climate vulnerability, through urban analysis, integrated research and > > > practice, to incorporate a range of strategies. > > > > Copyright for Educators Cycle 2 - This is the second cycle of the > > > very-popular course for educators who want to learn about copyright, > > > open content material and licensing. It is open to all educators > > > around the world. > > > > Creative Nonfiction Writing V2.0: Exploring Conflict through Open > > > Writing - The goal is to cover the conflict perspectivally, not > > > comprehensively. (This is not a course in journalism.) One might also > > > uncover something new about the self in this process of open writing. > > > > Green Action: Creating Sustainable Communities - This course has two > > > main objectives: 1) To examine and understand sustainability as a > > > visioning and organizing principle for communities. 2) To apply this > > > knowledge toward developing the beginnings of a sustainability plan > > > for our own communities > > > > Intro ao Pensamento de Paulo Freire (in Portuguese) - An introduction > > > to the thinking of educational theorist Paulo Freire (author of > > > Pedagogy of the Oppressed) > > > > Intro to Concepts in Behavioural Economics and Decision Making - Have > > > you ever wondered if people are really rational? We will explore > > > concepts from the field of behavioural economics and apply what we > > > learn in areas related to our personal interests. > > > > Introduction to Cyberpunk Literature - The course aim to illustrate > > > the contrast between "space opera"/pulp science fiction and cyberpunk > > > > Kitchen Science - This course is designed to be an experimental and > > > hands-on approach to applied chemistry as seen in cooking. > > > > Managing Election Campaigns - This course covers the mechanics of > > > managing election campaigns, including campaign organization, campaign > > > finance, analyzing and using voter data, managing volunteers, and > > > understanding the legal environment. > > > > Mashing Up The Open Web - An introduction to open web > > ... > > read more » -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "WikiEducator" group. 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