Public Libraries as OER
EdTechPost asked the question What is the most successful formal OER (open educational resource) project?. Of course, it's a question without a definitive answer, but I like one possibility: the public library.
Public libraries - especially the modern incarnations - are great examples of OER.
OER content is made free to use or share, and in some cases, to change and share again. This is made possible through licensing, so that both teachers and learners can share what they know. You can browse and search the OER Commons to find curriculum, and tag, rate, and review it for others.
In my home state of New Jersey, it is a critical time for public libraries and the budget process. According to savemynjlibrary.org, over 80,000 New Jersey residents have filled out orange postcards protesting the 74% cut to state funding for New Jersey libraries and the bill to eliminate minimum funding for public libraries. Over 54,000 emails have also been sent to the state officials. Library supporters have rallied in Trenton, legislators have been visited, and letters have been written.
The budget crisis is not unique to New Jersey, so public libraries across the country are threatened.
Libraries are possibly the most successful open education resource and are certainly one of the earliest examples of OER. My own small, local library shares CDs, audiobooks, DVDs, Internet access, workshops along with the books, magazines and newspapers.
Public libraries - especially the modern incarnations - are great examples of OER.
OER content is made free to use or share, and in some cases, to change and share again. This is made possible through licensing, so that both teachers and learners can share what they know. You can browse and search the OER Commons to find curriculum, and tag, rate, and review it for others.
In my home state of New Jersey, it is a critical time for public libraries and the budget process. According to savemynjlibrary.org, over 80,000 New Jersey residents have filled out orange postcards protesting the 74% cut to state funding for New Jersey libraries and the bill to eliminate minimum funding for public libraries. Over 54,000 emails have also been sent to the state officials. Library supporters have rallied in Trenton, legislators have been visited, and letters have been written.
The budget crisis is not unique to New Jersey, so public libraries across the country are threatened.
Libraries are possibly the most successful open education resource and are certainly one of the earliest examples of OER. My own small, local library shares CDs, audiobooks, DVDs, Internet access, workshops along with the books, magazines and newspapers.
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