My Open Education Initiation

Hallo Everyone! My name is Woldekidan Amde (a.k.a. Woldsha), and I have joined this project to play a part in the observatory and analytical tasks with respect to OER and the Cape Town Open Education Declaration. I am from Ethiopia and I am pursuing my postgraduate study at the University of the Western Cape, Cape Town

Prior to being involved in this project, I was not too familiar with open education. My first discussion with Phillip Schmidt on open education and open course ware was a sort of eye opener. My experience in the field of education, apart from being a life long learner, is my exposure with non-formal education projects, which I find to have certain essential similarities to open education.

These projects are meant to bring education to those with little access to formal schools, due to financial or structural barriers. They acknowledge local knowledge and appreciate local materials to aid the learning-teaching process. Unlike non-formal education, though, open education faces a daunting challenge in the context of developing countries where access to computers and internet leaves so much to be desired.

I was at first overwhelmed by the information out there about open education. Hence, I have to put on hold my naïve enthusiasm to write blogs on it for some time bearing in mind the age old adage that one has to read to write. I have, thus, turned into an ardent follower of news and blogs on open education, and acquaint myself with the field. I have actively used Google Reader and Google Alerts to track pertinent information. I have created an account on Open Education News with the help of David. I have also been flexing my hand by creating a sort of prototype blog on WordPress.

I am excited to be part of a project to promote the cause of open education, and I am also drawn by this project which is proving to be an invaluable initiation to all kinds of interesting and learning experience.