Learning4Content is a COL initiative that is building the skills of educators to develop open educational resources (OERs) using wiki technology. The project is aimed at building a community across the Commonwealth that works collaboratively to develop free content lessons and other educational materials that can be used by educators, students and lifelong learners anywhere.
Since the beginning of 2008, more than 700 people have been received free skills training in wiki technology in more than 30 face-to-face and online Learning4Content workshops around the world. In return, participants sign a Learning Contract, agreeing to provide a free content lesson on WikiEducator. The project builds upon the spirit of voluntarism that characterises the wiki and free knowledge communities. Institutions provide computer labs to host the workshops and participants donate knowledge back to the community through the content they develop.
Learning4Content is supported by COL and a grant of $100,000 from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. An honorarium of $US 1,000 is available for each workshop.
The project's objective is to train at least 2,500 educators, which means that at least 2,500 free content lessons will be created, to be used in secondary schools, vocational education and post-secondary institutions. The workshops will also help Wikipedia improve the quality of existing articles that can be used for educational purposes, while creating a thriving network of educators collaborating on free content for education. To help address the gender disparity in information and communications technologies (ICTs) expertise in the developing world, half of the Learning4Content workshops are dedicated to building capacity among women.
Learning4Content is inspired by a Native American proverb adopted by the INGOTS open source software training initiative: Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may not remember, involve me, and I'll understand.
COL's WikiEducator is a website dedicated to the collaborative development of free content for education that anyone can modify and use. WikiEducator has grown exponentially since its launch in 2006 and is currently ranked within the top eight percent of most visited websites in the world.
The success of Learning4Content depends in large part on the participation of ICT experts and Wikipedians in presenting training workshops for educators using WikiEducator tutorials. COL is working closely with Mr. Erik Moller, Deputy Director of the WikiMedia Foundation and member of the WikiEducator International Advisory Board, for advice on liaising with Wikipedians and using appropriate wiki technologies.
Anyone interested in participating in Learning4Content as a workshop facilitator, participant or host institution should contact Dr. Wayne Mackintosh, COL Education Specialist, eLearning and ICT Policy at wmackintosh@col.org.
www.wikieducator.org/Learning4ContentNovember 2008