UNESCO releases new publication on open educational resources
26-06-2009 (Paris)

UNESCO has released its first openly licensed publication. Open Educational
Resources: Conversations in Cyberspace brings together the background papers and
reports from the first three years of activities in the UNESCO OER Community.
Access the online edition – or buy the book!
Education systems today face two major challenges: expanding the reach of
education and improving its quality. Traditional solutions will not suffice,
especially in the context of today's knowledge-intensive societies.

Open Educational Resources (OER) offer one solution for extending learning
opportunities. The goal of the OER movement is to equalize access to knowledge
worldwide through sharing online high quality content. Open Educational
Resources are digitalized materials offered freely and openly for use and reuse
in teaching, learning and research.

Since 2005, UNESCO has been at the forefront of building awareness about this
movement by facilitating an extended conversation in cyberspace. A large and
diverse international community has come together to discuss the concept and
potential of OER in a series of online forums.

The background papers and reports from the first three years of discussions are
now available in print. Open Educational Resources: Conversations in Cyberspace
provides an overview of the first steps of this exciting new development: it
captures the conversations between leaders of some of the first OER projects,and
documents early debates on the issues that continue to challenge the movement.
The publication will provide food for thought for all those intrigued by OER –
its promise and its progress.

Open Educational Resources: Conversations in Cyberspace is UNESCO's first openly
licensed publication – an indication of the commitment of the Organization to
the sharing of knowledge and the free flow of ideas.

UNESCO’s OER Community is active since 2005; it connects almost 900
individuals in over 100 countries to share information and work collaboratively
on issues surrounding the production and use of Open Educational Resources.
UNESCO’s work on OER is generously supported by the William and Flora Hewlett
Foundation.

Access the online edition:
http://oerwiki.iiep-unesco.org/index.php?title=Open_Educational_Resources:_Conve\
rsations_in_Cyberspace

Source:
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=28899&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=2\
01.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anup Kumar Das
New Delhi, India
http://anupkumardas.blogspot.com/
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