This is really impressive, Wayne. WikiEducator has grown into the most active open source online platform there is globally and it has been a privilege to have been part of this growing community and project from the get go. It has been an exciting journey to this point and I am looking forward to much more to come.
Cheers, Patricia On Nov 13, 3:38 pm, Wayne Mackintosh <mackintosh.wa...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi Everyone, > > A brief moment to reflect. Education is an act of sharing knowledge freely. > > So where are all the free education materials that we can adapt, modify and > reuse without restriction? Why has humanity taken so long in achieving a > free knowledge base for us to share for the common good of education and > society? Why are the majority of our global population under served when it > comes to education? > > To paraphrase Bob Dylan: > > " How many years [can the closed copyright] mountain exist > Before it's washed to the sea? > Yes, 'n' how many years can some [educators] exist > Before they're allowed to be free? > Yes, 'n' how many times can [we] turn our [heads], > Pretending [we] just don't see? > The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind, > The answer is blowin' in the wind." > > The value proposition of sharing digital teaching materials is a > "no-brainer". Getting back to Dylan's refrain "The answer, my friend, is > blowin' in the wind" has been described as "impenetrably ambiguous: either > the answer is so obvious it is right in your face, or the answer is as > intangible as the wind" > (see:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blowin%27_in_the_Wind) > > I started WikiEducator as a project to collaborate with the free culture > movement to develop digital teaching materials in support of every national > curriculum by 2015. (If we're a little late, 2017 will be just fine :-) ). > > - Yesterday, WE were a top 59K site (Alexa). > - During October, WE generated more than 10.5 million hits on our site > with a full-time staff of two people. > - WE train and build wiki skills for thousands of teachers in more than > 110 countries -- thanks to a dedicated team of facilitators who share > knowledge freely. > - WE have developed more content pages than Wikiversity (with only 6% of > the number of the registered users compared to WV) > - WE can now work internationally, freed from the geographical > constraints of the Commonwealth. > > WE should take a moment and reflect on what WE have achieved -- this is an > amazing story and you are making it happen! > > However, we shouldn't gloat for too long. 2015 is a little more than 5 years > away, but I sense an energy that WE have a fighting chance in achieving our > goal of free digital resources in support of all national curricula. > > - WE need to become more effective supporting new WikiEducators in > becoming active contributors to our common goal > - WE need our technology to become transparent (i.e. significantly easier > to use) > - WE need to continue our commitment to provide free training to any > warm-blooded (as in mammal) educator in the world who wants to learn wiki > skills > - WE need to connect educators across international boundaries and > - WE need to have fun while contributing to the social good of education. > - What else do WE need to do? > > Is the answer so obvious or as intangible as the wind? > > Let's continue making OER futures happen for the world -- the wiki way. > > Cheers > Wayne > > -- > Wayne Mackintosh , Ph.D. > Director, > International Centre for Open Education, > Otago Polytechnic, New Zealand. > Board of Directors, OER Foundation. > Founder and Community Council Member, Wikieducator,www.wikieducator.org > Mobile +64 21 2436 380 > Skype: WGMNZ1 > Twitter: OERFoundation, Mackiwg --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "WikiEducator" group. To visit wikieducator: http://www.wikieducator.org To visit the discussion forum: http://groups.google.com/group/wikieducator To post to this group, send email to wikieducator@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to wikieducator-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
