SUPPORT OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

1. Sign the Cape Town Open Education Declaration

The Declaration is "at once a statement of principle, a statement of strategy and a statement of commitment. It is meant to spark dialogue, to inspire action and to help the open education movement grow... [it] has already been signed by hundreds of learners, educators, trainers, authors, schools, colleges, universities, publishers, unions, professional societies, policymakers, governments, foundations and other kindred open education initiatives around the world."

2. Join more then 2,000 faculty members in signing the "Open Textbooks Statement to Make Textbooks Affordable" 

"Faculty members share students' concerns about the high cost of college textbooks, but they often find it difficult to find appropriate course materials at an affordable price. Free, online open textbooks represent a promising way to expand the existing textbook market to include more low-cost, comparable options. By signing this statement, faculty members state their intent to include open textbooks in their search for the most appropriate course materials, and they declare their preference to adopt an open textbook in place of an expensive, commercial textbook, if the open textbook is the best option."

3. Let Congress know you support H.R. 1464 "Learning Opportunities With Creation of Open Source Textbooks (LOW COST) Act of 2009"

"To require Federal agencies to collaborate in the development of freely-available open source educational materials in college-level physics, chemistry, and math, and for other purposes."

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Creative Commons also draws attention to this, in a recent blog post:

The U.S. Department of Education’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Using ARRA Funds to Drive School Reform and Improvement (warning: Microsoft Word .doc) mentions Open Educational Resources:

Use technology to improve teaching and learning. Purchase and train teachers to use instructional software, technology-enabled white boards, and other interactive technologies that have been shown to be effective aids for instruction, particularly for English language learners, students with disabilities, and both struggling and advanced learners. Use open education resources or purchase high-quality online courseware in core high school content areas.

The transformative potential of Open Educational Resources (OER)

The January 2009 SPARC-ACRL Forum on Emerging Issues in Scholarly Communication

The forum introduces OER and the philosophy behind them to the wider library community, highlights examples of how different constituencies are currently advancing OER on campuses, and offers suggestions for how libraries can further engage to support OER.

Forum presenters include: Richard Baraniuk, an architect of the Cape Town Open Education Declaration and founder of Connexions; David Wiley, Chief Openness Officer for Flat World Knowledge; Nicole Allen, leader of the Student PIRGs’ Make Textbooks Affordable campaign; and Mark Nelson, Digital Content Strategist for the National Association of College Stores.  

SPARC Innovator: R. Preston McAfee (January 2009)

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Online Discussion Forums

Iterating toward openness 

This blog about openness, open education, and open content is maintained by David Wiley.