[OT] Thanks!
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Jim Tittsler
May 26, 2016, 12:37:04 AM5/26/16
to wikieducator-tech
Please forgive this personal off-topic digression...
It has been 10 years (!) since I convinced my wife to put our lives in
storage and move to New Zealand to enjoy a year (!) of a "working
holiday for old people" so I could participate in the Open Source
eXe[1] project, the e-Learning XHTML editor. After my "year off" (!)
it is an opportune time to move on to other projects.
On my rather roundabout way to NZ, I was fortunate to meet eXe's
founder, Wayne Mackintosh, who was then in his role at COL. I enjoyed
working on eXe at Tairāwhiti Polytechnic and later at CORE Education,
where I was able to expand into other technology projects for the
compulsory school sector. And I was really excited to become the
second full-time employee of the OER Foundation, which included
stewardship of WikiEducator as its flagship project. I've enjoyed
working with the community, but am deeply disappointed we've been
unable to come together to achieve our goal of a complete school
curriculum composed of open resources. As a technical outsider, I
continue to think schools could benefit more from what the software
industry has learned from Open Source.
I've particularly enjoyed trying to come up with templates and
scripts/widgets to make the WikiEducator wikis a flexible and
productive way to share. Mediawiki was an inspired platform choice by
Wayne for a largely non-technical audience, given its clear
attribution and version tracking, its open file format(s) that
simplify reuse, and its scalability for a small, not-for-profit with
tightly constrained finances. (And projects like Declan McCabe's
"Streams" and "Digital Coyote" stand out as clever uses of the
technology that I couldn't have imagined.)
I'm particularly proud of designing a system that allows an educator
to take a collection of WikiEducator pages and build them into a
"course," and then take personal control of delivering it either in
the wiki or using WordPress (all at no cost). I have tried very hard
to work within a minimal set of tools at a level that was sustainable
for a small foundation that was hoping to nurture additional
contributions from educators and their institutions.
There is so much more that could be done to extend WikiEducator and
similar authoring platforms through scripting and theming that I hope
to find time to pitch in occasionally in the future.
A special thanks to Wayne for his leadership, combined with his
flexibility and patience, to Dave Lane for working on behalf of the
OERu partners, and to WikiEducator community for sharing the gifts of
knowledge and friendship.
Thanks for all the fish,
Jim
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimtittsler
[1] http://eXeLearning.org/
It has been 10 years (!) since I convinced my wife to put our lives in
storage and move to New Zealand to enjoy a year (!) of a "working
holiday for old people" so I could participate in the Open Source
eXe[1] project, the e-Learning XHTML editor. After my "year off" (!)
it is an opportune time to move on to other projects.
On my rather roundabout way to NZ, I was fortunate to meet eXe's
founder, Wayne Mackintosh, who was then in his role at COL. I enjoyed
working on eXe at Tairāwhiti Polytechnic and later at CORE Education,
where I was able to expand into other technology projects for the
compulsory school sector. And I was really excited to become the
second full-time employee of the OER Foundation, which included
stewardship of WikiEducator as its flagship project. I've enjoyed
working with the community, but am deeply disappointed we've been
unable to come together to achieve our goal of a complete school
curriculum composed of open resources. As a technical outsider, I
continue to think schools could benefit more from what the software
industry has learned from Open Source.
I've particularly enjoyed trying to come up with templates and
scripts/widgets to make the WikiEducator wikis a flexible and
productive way to share. Mediawiki was an inspired platform choice by
Wayne for a largely non-technical audience, given its clear
attribution and version tracking, its open file format(s) that
simplify reuse, and its scalability for a small, not-for-profit with
tightly constrained finances. (And projects like Declan McCabe's
"Streams" and "Digital Coyote" stand out as clever uses of the
technology that I couldn't have imagined.)
I'm particularly proud of designing a system that allows an educator
to take a collection of WikiEducator pages and build them into a
"course," and then take personal control of delivering it either in
the wiki or using WordPress (all at no cost). I have tried very hard
to work within a minimal set of tools at a level that was sustainable
for a small foundation that was hoping to nurture additional
contributions from educators and their institutions.
There is so much more that could be done to extend WikiEducator and
similar authoring platforms through scripting and theming that I hope
to find time to pitch in occasionally in the future.
A special thanks to Wayne for his leadership, combined with his
flexibility and patience, to Dave Lane for working on behalf of the
OERu partners, and to WikiEducator community for sharing the gifts of
knowledge and friendship.
Thanks for all the fish,
Jim
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimtittsler
[1] http://eXeLearning.org/
Luis Miguel Morillas
May 26, 2016, 1:23:40 AM5/26/16
to wikieducator-tech
I have no words to thank your work and especially your closeness when
I had difficulties in my personal projects.
You know you have another house here if you want other "year off" ;-)
Thanks, Jim
Saludos,
-- luismiguel (@lmorillas)
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I had difficulties in my personal projects.
You know you have another house here if you want other "year off" ;-)
Thanks, Jim
Saludos,
-- luismiguel (@lmorillas)
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Wayne Mackintosh
May 26, 2016, 1:27:04 AM5/26/16
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Hi Jim
Your digressions are most welcome!
On behalf of the WikiEducator and OERu family we extend our sincere thanks for all your work, support and technical inspiration over the past seven years at the OERF and contributions to our fledgling community a few years before joining the OERF. What you have been able to achieve on a shoestring budget is nothing short of phenomenal.
It is your hacking that has enabled this community to establish a global cooperation that is open sourcing education. We are building the future of affordable education on your foundations for incremental design.
Thank you Jim!
(And you can be sure that we will pinging you for advice and counsel from time to time as we move forward on the next phase of our journey.)
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Wayne Mackintosh
Director OER Foundation and OERu facilitator
Director OER Foundation and OERu facilitator
UNESCO - ICDE Chair in OER
Skype: WGMNZ1
Twitter: Mackiwg
Twitter: Mackiwg
vtaylor
May 26, 2016, 8:28:24 AM5/26/16
to WikiEducator Technical Discussion, WikiEduc...@googlegroups.com, J...@tittsler.com
Jim
Thank you for everything. WE really appreciate all the work you have done over the years.
All the best
..Valerie
Thank you for everything. WE really appreciate all the work you have done over the years.
All the best
..Valerie
Declan McCabe
Nov 28, 2016, 12:24:47 AM11/28/16
to WikiEducator Technical Discussion, WikiEduc...@googlegroups.com, J...@tittsler.com
Thank you Jim!!
My little projects have really benefited from your help, encouragement, and expertise. While I'm not a technophobe, I am limited in my ability to make the wiki magic happen. Your generosity in devoting time to my projects really exemplifies what an OER community can accomplish. Just this evening I was in the history page of my skull project and noticed you had made improvements that I had missed.
The lack of a complete school curriculum seems minor to me. As I look over the page visit stats it is clear that what we have created is getting use. More than 50 pages with more than 100K page views. Personally the value I find in WE is in the idiosyncratic uses that can't be done in other ways. Your support of these quirky ideas has made them possible.
So thank you
Declan
My little projects have really benefited from your help, encouragement, and expertise. While I'm not a technophobe, I am limited in my ability to make the wiki magic happen. Your generosity in devoting time to my projects really exemplifies what an OER community can accomplish. Just this evening I was in the history page of my skull project and noticed you had made improvements that I had missed.
The lack of a complete school curriculum seems minor to me. As I look over the page visit stats it is clear that what we have created is getting use. More than 50 pages with more than 100K page views. Personally the value I find in WE is in the idiosyncratic uses that can't be done in other ways. Your support of these quirky ideas has made them possible.
So thank you
Declan
Kim Tucker
Dec 6, 2016, 4:47:57 AM12/6/16
to wikieducator-tech
Hi Jim,
Awesome work!
Thank you so much for your relentless and excellent support over the years.
Best wishes for the future in all respects.
Kim
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Dr. Nellie Muller Deutsch
Dec 6, 2016, 5:03:30 AM12/6/16
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Wow, Jim. Congratulations!!! You accomplished so much in 10 years.
I'm looking forward to the next 10.
Keep us posted.
Warm wishes,
Education Technology & Leadership Coach
Academic Mentorship Projects
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