Firstly I had a problem which web-community, LeMill or Wikiversity to join. My solution was both, so I acquainted myself with LeMill and Wikiversity. Both web-community are interesting and useful for me. LeMill is easy to use and it's face is clear and pleasant. Wikiversity contains more material and portals, but is little messy to my liking. However my final decision was Wikiversity where I found some health projects close to me. These learning resource pages invited everybody to expand and create educational content.
The next step was that I introduced myself in Wikiversity. Then I studied more how to edit in Wikiversity. There are very helpful instructions for the beginners e.g. Short Introductory tutorial and Help:Editing. I read also Erkan's hints and watched one videoclip.
Finally I create two sentences for the content of health. Later I can add more... For the meantime I haven't start my own project yet. Indecision is my problem. Probably I will start to do new learning content to Wikiversity. The topic could be public health. There is this topic in Wikiversity, but without content, and my thought is that I could use this kind of learning material in my own courses.
After all my first steps were pretty easy. I have got excited OER more and more. I found useful hints and material, and got encouragement. Thanks for Erkan! Your chat message encouraged me:) I just hope that I find more time to do these things, but it's up to me.
Mar 14, 2008
Mar 10, 2008
Open education projects
The examples of open education projects were very interesting. All of them were new for me. Open university (LearningSpace) gives course material and free access to them. I found many interesting health topics and it came to me that why I couldn't add some my material too? Maybe this would be my future project. In LearningSpace gives useful tools e.g. FlashMeeting and FlashVlog, Knowledge Maps etc. and their use has been guided. This weighs promising. I have to get familiar with this more and more.
The Rice Connexions is little different than LearningSpace, but the main idea is same: to share educational material and collaborate. There are handy module form and workable search for content. For the moment there are over 5000 reusable modules. Unbelievable! The health topics aren't so much than LearningSpaces, but some I could find. The Baraniuk's presentation was inspirational. And TED talk is again one useful open educational tool ;) I found one very interesting presentation from the spread of AIDS, which I am going to use in my course's extra material.
MIT OpenCourseWare is fantastic. I hope that this is university in future all over the world. Knowledge has to share and give possibilities for everyone. For example it was very interesting to consider the course named by "Narrative ethics", where students read literature like Kafka, Carver etc.
LeMill is web community for finding and sharing educational resources. It is definite and one notable advantage is that LeMill could use in Finnish too. I think that I will be more familiar with this during this week.
On the whole these example projects were fascinated. There are so much information and stimuli for my own education. If this goes on, I will be addicted...
The Rice Connexions is little different than LearningSpace, but the main idea is same: to share educational material and collaborate. There are handy module form and workable search for content. For the moment there are over 5000 reusable modules. Unbelievable! The health topics aren't so much than LearningSpaces, but some I could find. The Baraniuk's presentation was inspirational. And TED talk is again one useful open educational tool ;) I found one very interesting presentation from the spread of AIDS, which I am going to use in my course's extra material.
MIT OpenCourseWare is fantastic. I hope that this is university in future all over the world. Knowledge has to share and give possibilities for everyone. For example it was very interesting to consider the course named by "Narrative ethics", where students read literature like Kafka, Carver etc.
LeMill is web community for finding and sharing educational resources. It is definite and one notable advantage is that LeMill could use in Finnish too. I think that I will be more familiar with this during this week.
On the whole these example projects were fascinated. There are so much information and stimuli for my own education. If this goes on, I will be addicted...
Mar 5, 2008
OER - What is this?
Ilkka Tuomi's report describes and defines concept of OER. In the report he clarifies the concept and highlights that definition depends on its use. Still I was expecting that he would have used more definitions than the UNESCO definition. Maybe this definition is accredited generally. Actually by doing some internet searches I found out that the term OER was first adopted at UNESCO's Forum. The searches were useful, I found other suitable definitions like OER dgCommunity's definition: "OER is digitized materials, offered freely and openly for educators, students and self-learners, to use and re-use for teaching, learning and research. It includes open access to both the content and the technology to distribute the material." You will find this definition from a nice introduction booklet and free Webinars http://cedict.blogspot.com/2007/11/oer-introduction-booklet-and-free.html
To my annoyance I haven't got to grips with the UNESCO definition, but in reading this other one I realized that I have done this in my early online courses by adding Youtube videoclips, using digital archives etc.
Figure 5 opens well to me what kind of things can belong to OER. I get it that OER provides so many opportunities for educators and learners if OER is open and free. OER promotes educational equality and connects people. Learning can happen in everywhere. It is clear that educators' role will be changed.
In my opinion Tuomi has successfully perceived both technical and social dimensions of OER. Without open sources and their openness this kind of OER distribution wouldn't have happened. Now almost everyone can find and share suitable learning material, tools, archives etc. Learning is moving beyond schools and other institutions. What this will mean in future?
Tuomi has also distinguished three levels of openness. These levels fascinated me. In my opinion levels were describing also technical skills. The UNESCO has published World Report: Towards Knowledge Society where is wrote: "We have seen that the existence of different ways of gaining access to knowledge is one of the major characteristics of learning societies." I think that OER is one of the major characteristic of learning society.
To my annoyance I haven't got to grips with the UNESCO definition, but in reading this other one I realized that I have done this in my early online courses by adding Youtube videoclips, using digital archives etc.
Figure 5 opens well to me what kind of things can belong to OER. I get it that OER provides so many opportunities for educators and learners if OER is open and free. OER promotes educational equality and connects people. Learning can happen in everywhere. It is clear that educators' role will be changed.
In my opinion Tuomi has successfully perceived both technical and social dimensions of OER. Without open sources and their openness this kind of OER distribution wouldn't have happened. Now almost everyone can find and share suitable learning material, tools, archives etc. Learning is moving beyond schools and other institutions. What this will mean in future?
Tuomi has also distinguished three levels of openness. These levels fascinated me. In my opinion levels were describing also technical skills. The UNESCO has published World Report: Towards Knowledge Society where is wrote: "We have seen that the existence of different ways of gaining access to knowledge is one of the major characteristics of learning societies." I think that OER is one of the major characteristic of learning society.
Mar 4, 2008
Who I am?
Hello everybody,
One day in January I read about Wikiversity in the newspaper. That was the first time when I heard it, so I went to my computer and checked it. And what I found...? ...very interesting and fascinating learning environment where learning is main thing without heavy bureaucracy. Immediately I found interesting course "Composing free and open online educational resources" which I'd like to take part in.
And now here I am ;) My name is Ari and I have worked for a long time with online education, designed and taught courses in health sciences at the University of Kuopio. Last autumn I got excited open resources and environments in online education. Thanks for my colleague who maintained that open online environments are better for learning than closed. I wondered WHY? But I did'nt get satisfying answer. After that I however have read more about this, and the more I have read the more I have made certain that he could be right. This course will be one step again in my learning process and during this I will start to plan my first "open online course".
I hope enjoyable learning for all of you!
One day in January I read about Wikiversity in the newspaper. That was the first time when I heard it, so I went to my computer and checked it. And what I found...? ...very interesting and fascinating learning environment where learning is main thing without heavy bureaucracy. Immediately I found interesting course "Composing free and open online educational resources" which I'd like to take part in.
And now here I am ;) My name is Ari and I have worked for a long time with online education, designed and taught courses in health sciences at the University of Kuopio. Last autumn I got excited open resources and environments in online education. Thanks for my colleague who maintained that open online environments are better for learning than closed. I wondered WHY? But I did'nt get satisfying answer. After that I however have read more about this, and the more I have read the more I have made certain that he could be right. This course will be one step again in my learning process and during this I will start to plan my first "open online course".
I hope enjoyable learning for all of you!
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