- OpenLRN
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Open Learning Resources Network 
Motto: Supporting Open eLearning and Research
Where Learning BeginAgency overview Formed 2008 Headquarters India Website www.OpenLRN.org The OpenLRN[1] project is an India based organization that promotes open content[2] initiative launched by the Open Learning Resources Network. OpenLRN is an effort to bring high quality educational content and tools on the web accessible for teaching, learning and research. OpenLRN allows pupils self-determined, independent and interest-guided learning.
At the heart of the movement is the simple and powerful idea that the worlds' knowledge is a public good and that technology in general and the World Wide Web in particular provide an extraordinary opportunity for everyone to share, use, and reuse knowledge.
Modeled after MIT′s OpenCourseWare Initiative, OpenLRN encourages the free exchange of educational materials on the World Wide Web. It is our hope that OpenLRN will lead to the exploration of ways of supporting instruction and student learning using web-based resources.
Goals
The goal of OpenLRN is to publish "open" content on the web that covers most general education subjects taught at schools and colleges. Faculty from schools, colleges and universities who have developed exemplary content, and are willing to share it openly with others, are encouraged to participate. By inviting faculty from a variety of institutions, the OpenLRN project will offer a breadth of learning models, teaching approaches, and depth of instructional material. The content published will be licensed under a Creative Commons License.[3] Faculty will retain copyright of their materials that will be published in the OpenLRN site. The terms of attribution, distribution, and modification will be determined by the content authors.
Clearly, the success of OpenLRN relies on wide faculty participation and a large pool of quality contributions of materials. "Open content is a bold idea," admits Anne Margulies,[4] Executive Director of MIT's OCW effort. Yet, an open content effort "aligns closely with the educational and public service missions of a non-profit institution of higher learning. More importantly, such an effort resonates deeply with faculty who have a passion for teaching and who have dedicated their lives to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge."
The OpenLRN project is not a distance learning[5] or degree- or certificate-granting initiative and will not offer courses for credit or fees. Typically, web-based learning content is limited to those who register and pay for materials or course delivery. OpenLRN is not meant to replace degree-granting higher education or for-credit courses. Rather, the goal is to provide the content that supports an education.
The OpenLRN content will be published in a Learning Management System (LMS)[6] that will be based on Open Source Software.[7]
The OpenLRN initiative will begin with a proof-of-concept pilot that will showcase open content for a small set of subjects to be made freely available by the mid of 2009. The long-term vision is to broaden participation in the initiative, promoting openness, sharing, and collaboration globally.
References
- ^ "Open Learning Resources Network". http://openlrn.com.
- ^ "Open Content". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_content.
- ^ "Creative Commons". http://creativecommons.org.
- ^ "Anne Margulies, Executive Director of MIT's OCW". http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2002/ocw-0424.html.
- ^ "Distance Learning". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distance_learning.
- ^ "Learning Management System". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_management_system.
- ^ "Open Source Initiative (OSI)". http://www.opensource.org.
External links
Categories:
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
