We are having our second round of seminars on using and creating open educational resources (OER) at the University of Cape Town. Looking back on our first seminar is an interesting way to gauge how far we have come and
First Glance at OERca Software
We have started experimenting with the OERca software which is currently being developed at the University of Michigan (UMich). The OERca software was designed to support the dScribe process of clearing potential open educational resources for global use under open
OER as an Enabler in Tough Economic Times
I believe the adoption, on a grand scale, of OER resources may be upon us. Consider the current state of the economic world. Unemployment rates are rising across the world. It is said that when people lose work during a
Remixing OER Content with the Open University’s LabSpace
The Open University (OU) Labspace is an area for experimentation, where educational practitioners are encouraged to download, amend and adapt both current and archived course materials. (labspace.wiki) Labspace in particular breaks outside of the traditional OER model of simply presenting
Mobile Internet Revolution
Last week we attended two public lectures on mobile access. The first presentation by Dr Rohan Samarajiva was based on research done in South and Southeast Asia. Mobile usage in these countries is growing fast. Samarajiva’s study was focused on
Sowing Metadata for Constant Harvest
So far we have submitted two resources to the OER Commons which are now indexed on Google’s search engines. I recently searched “guide for tutors in humanities” and our recent addition came up third. We intend on building up a
Uncovering the Riches of Buried Academic Resources
Open Educational Resources (OER) ARE currently being published and used at the University of Cape Town. As no formal OER directory has been established as of yet, the resources are found scattered throughout departmental websites or on academic’s personal websites.
Finding Creative Commons Resources
Our project relies heavily on UCT staff and students adopting a Creative Commons (CC) or similar open licensing culture. Read the “Beauty of Some Right Reserved” by Molly Kleinman for some background on what that may mean for higher education
Video Lectures: Taking the Distance Out Of Distance Learning
Recently video lectures are becoming a popular resource as many large institutions are now filming their best lecturers in the classroom. Academic Earth launched in beta in January 2009 and has since created quite a buzz in the online world.
Reflections Upon: Open Access in a Closed Institution
Yesterday we attended a seminar organized by the Centre for Educational Technology titled “Open Access in a Closed Institution”. The presenter Hussein Suleman is a senior lecturer with the department of Computer Science here at UCT and is an ambassador