Open Content

I am getting increasingly interested in the area of Open Content and Open Educational Resources (OER).

This is educational content that is "copyleft" licensed to permit sharing among users worldwide. The philosophy is similar to Open Source software, but this is for content. Groups that are doing work in this area include OER Commons, Wikibooks, Curriki, and others.

This area has so much potential to reshape education, especially in areas that are under-served and have inadequate resources. (Having taught in Africa, where most kids don't even get to attend school, I really see the need for this.)

Many teachers have developed their own great classroom resources, including, I'm sure, most of the people in this ning. And I'll bet that most are willing to share.

All you have to do is add a "copyleft" license to your materials when you post them. An easy way to do this is to use one of the Creative Commons licenses. They're easy to use and include the link and art you need to include on your web site.

Check them out!