Monthly Archives: July 2009

Creative Commons Launches DiscoverEd

Posted on July 22, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Jane Park at Creative Commons is announcing the launch of DiscoverEd. DiscoverEd is a prototype OER search tool. Park emphasizes that the tool is still a work in progress. From the blog post:

We are by no means launching this as a definitive tool; in fact, we intend just the opposite. We are launching this so that others in the search and discovery space can contribute to this project. There are a number of known issues which we would love help on, especially since we think the community’s input and work should go into shaping future versions of this tool. This tool is currently intended for educational resources, but there is no reason anyone can’t take and adapt it for other purposes.

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Microsoft Releases Moodle Plug-In

Posted on July 22, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Kip Kniskern at Liveside.net is reporting at Microsoft has released an open-source plug-in for Moodle. The plug-in allows Moodle users to access Microsoft Live services through Moodle. From the post:

Microsoft’s Live@edu program, which provides email, Messenger, Live ID and SkyDrive storage services for educational institutions including hundreds of universities and school districts around the world, will now be able to integrate with Moodle

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“Myths” of Open and Online Education and Social Media

Posted on July 22, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Leigh Blackall has a new blog post on “myths” surrounding open and online education as well as social media. The post addresses a wide range of topics, including disillusionment over state of open education and OER. Blackall struggles with answering the question of teacher engagement. From the blog post:

What is it REALLY that is causing the teacher disengagement from something so apparently important to the meaning of literacy, teaching and access to learning? Why does it seem that the world’s greatest encyclopedia, the most phenomenal video library and the most in depth access to first hand experience is made up by everyone except those wrapped up in the education system?

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Wales Joins Open Textbook Organization

Posted on July 22, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Dana Oshiro at ReadWriteWeb is reporting that Jimmy Wales is now joining and advisory board for CK-12, a nonprofit that develops open textbooks. Readers may remember that CK-12 was behind the Physics “flexbook” adopted in Viriginia. From the post:

According to CK-12, the difference between Wikipedia and CK-12 is that the organization “specifically focuses on K-12 standards-based content centered around the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects vs. serving as an encyclopedia of knowledge…CK-12 offers materials such as lesson objectives, vocabulary, and Q & A – similar to those found in textbooks.”

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Wiki Conference This Weekend in New York

Posted on July 22, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Fred Benenson at Creative Commons is announcing Wiki-Conference New York 2009 will be held July 25-26. The conference will be held at the Vanderbilt Hall at NYU. From the blog post:

Plans are still gestating, and more schedule details should appear soon; participants are encouraged to give your own ideas for topic sessions.

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Creative Commons Designates Latin America Liasion

Posted on July 22, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Ahrash Bissell at Creative Commons is announcing that Carolina Botero, head of CC Columbia, will now be the regional liasion for Creative Commons. Botero will be reviewing projects related to OER in Latin America. From the blog post:

We anticipate that this work will extend the size and impact of the OER and CC networks, fostering greater collaboration among projects as well as greater awareness of their important work.

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Dissertation on Incentives for Using OCW

Posted on July 22, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Anne Arendt has tweeted the availability of her dissertation on the incentives for Utah residents to use OpenCourseWare. The dissertation is openly available at her website. From the dissertation:

This dissertation examines Utah resident views of incentives and disincentives for use of OpenCourseWare (OCW) and how they fit into the theoretical framework of perceived innovation attributes established by Rogers. Rogers identified five categories of perceived innovation attributes, which include relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability.

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Curriki Submits Textbooks to California

Posted on July 22, 2009 by | 1 Comment

Earlier in June, OEN reported on a California initiative to move towards electronic textbooks, possibly open ones. Peter Levy at Curriki is now announcing that Curriki has submitted two textbooks for approval, one in Chemistry and one in Earth Science. From the post:

At the time of the announcement, expected around August 10, a link to download both of these books will be available on the State’s official free textbook Web site. At the same time, Curriki intends to make both books available in an open source form on Curriki.org and will be reaching out to Earth Science and Chemistry teacher across the state to work with our content. This experiment will be a exciting proof of concept to see if the community actually can and will use open source materials.

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Digital Economy Report Released

Posted on July 22, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Mike Linksvayer at Creative Commons has announced the availability of a report titled Autralia’s Digital Economy: Future Directions. The report does discuss openness surrouding openness in the public sector. It is licensed CC BY-NC-ND. From the blog post:

Congratulations to all involved, especially former CC General Counsel Mia Garlick, who last year joined the Australian Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy to lead its digital economy initiatives.

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Open Yale Now on iTunes

Posted on July 22, 2009 by | Leave a comment

NewsonFeeds is reporting that Open Yale courses are now available on iTunes. According to iTunes, the first set of courses were made last modified Jul. 14 and a second set on Jul. 21.

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