Phillip Schmidt shares his impression and the main accomplishments of the Open Courseware Consortium (OCWC) meeting in Dalian (China) held between April 23-27, 2008.
The major events at the OCWC include election of the first Board of Directors, finalizing the ratification process for the by-laws, and proclaiming registration of the OCWC as a non-profit organization in the State of Massachusetts. Outlining the positives from the OCWC, Phillip writes:
After the Dalian meeting I came away with the impression that there was a lot of enthusiasm, and lots of great projects, and that the overall mood within the OCWC was very positive, but also that things were changing very rapidly, with lots of challenges and opportunities and a new organisation identifyings its place in the open education landscape.
Reflecting on the criticism forwarded against Open Courseware Consortium for its disproportionate focus in favor of publishing content compared to innovating teaching and learning practices, technology standards, and other aspects that are deemed to comprise Open Educational Resources, he states:
…while courseware publication was the starting point, and remains the unifying focus for the consortium, many of its members have moved far beyond just making content available. Some sites are offering support for self-learners, other projects are forming thematic communities, yet others are considering how open content creates new opportunities for informal (or non-institutional) learning communities. The ideas coming from this group of institutions are at least as innovative and radical as those in other open education communities….
Phillip envisages further discussion on the Cape Town Open Education Declaration in the upcoming OCWC, and hopes this would result in increasing the contribution of the OCWC members, most of whom took part in drafting the Declaration.
