Open Education Week - March 10-14

[Edtech Editor Hogan]

From: Karen Fasimpaur [mailto:ka...@k12opened.com]


I am writing to let everyone know about the third annual Open Education Week
<http://www.openeducationweek.org/>, which will happen March 10-14, 2014.


Open education is a thriving, worldwide movement that has grown over the
last ten years to allow learners of all ages, abilities, and means to
experience authentic learning in both traditional and nontraditional
settings.


Open education is, at its core, about free and open sharing. Free, meaning
no cost, and open, referring to the use of legal tools (open
licenses) that give everyone permission to reuse, modify, and share
educational resources. Free and open sharing increases access to education
and knowledge for anyone, anywhere, anytime.


According to Mary Lou Forward, Executive Director for the OpenCourseWare
Consortium, "Open education has opened amazing new learning opportunities
for learners of all ages around the world. We are constantly gratified by
the variety of impacts these resources are having on people's lives." Here
is a sampling of stories of those who have benefited from open education:


*

K-12 schools in Utah undertook a pilot program to use printed open
textbooks in their schools, cutting textbook costs by over 50%,
allowing teachers to tailor the curriculum, and permitting students
to interact more deeply with the content. The program has now been
expanded statewide.

*

Teachers in New York are using open resources provided by the state
to address the Common Core State Standards.

*

A California teacher of the year prepared for subject matter
certification using open resources, crediting them for his success
on the CSET exams

*

Founders of a Haitian solar energy company used open courseware to
develop increased knowledge in solar engineering that allowed them
to build their business serving needs of low income and rural people

*

A student in MIT Media's Lab's Creative Learning MOOC, Cecilia
Trevino, a participant from Italy asked her 12 year old daughter for
help using technology related to the course, showing that learning
communities were forming between participants of the course, and
also between participants and their local communities and families.

*

Ankit Kandelwhal, an engineer in India, was looking to develop his
management skills and international perspectives to advance his
career. Open courses have given him the access to high-quality
educational content from a variety of institutions around the world,
leading to a self-designed study plan that will help him meet his
goals.


Open Education Week (March 10-14, 2014) is a global event that seeks to
raise awareness of free and open sharing in education and the benefits they
bring to teachers and learners. Coordinated by the OpenCourseWare
Consortium, the event showcases projects, resources, and ideas from around
the world that demonstrate the work already underway in open education. The
open education movement seeks to reduce barriers, increase access and drive
improvements in education through open sharing and digital formats. Open
education includes free and open access to platforms, tools and resources in
education, including learning materials, course materials, videos,
assessment tools, research, study groups, and textbooks, all available under
an open license.


Website: http://www.openeducationweek.org/


Regards,

Karen Fasimpaur
ka...@k12opened.com
K12 Open Ed



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