Open Education Week 5-10 March 2012

Open Education Week is a global event that seeks to raise awareness about the benefits of free and open sharing in education, especially Open Educational Resources (OER). In its simplest form, the concept of Open Educational Resources (OER) describes any educational resources that are openly available for use by educators and students, without an accompanying need to pay royalties or licence fees. Open Education Week is being coordinated by the OpenCourseWare Consortium. The event will take place online and in different locations around the world, with opportunities to participate in webinars, discussions and live events. Projects and events will be featured from institutions and organizations from around the world. Visit www.openeducationweek.org for more information.

“The vision of the open education movement is to create a world in which the desire to learn is fully met by the opportunity to do so, where everyone, everywhere, is able to access affordable, educationally and culturally appropriate opportunities to gain whatever knowledge or training they desire. “The movement encompasses producing, sharing, using and modifying content, as well as innovative models of educational delivery,” said Anka Mulder, President of the OpenCourseWare Consortium. “Open Education Week will showcase projects, resources, people and ideas so that people around the world can see the breadth of what has been accomplished already, and participate in discussions about the future of the movement.”

At the University of Mauritius, the VCILT will be joining individuals and organisations from around the world in helping to raise awareness of the open education movement and open educational resources (OER).  One of the highlights of the local events will be an open conversation on OER in agriculture and allied subjects. Mr K. Boodhoo of the Faculty of Agriculture has kindly agreed to facilitate the discussion.