Material Detail

This report traces the Education Program (2002) of Hewlett Foundation  for using IT as a catalyst to increase   universal access  for enhancing high-quality academic content on a global scale.The focus of the program initially was on funding exemplars (living specifications) of high-quality content and building community, collaboration,and a shared knowledge base about the creation, dissemination, and use of OER. In the aggregate the program has addressed the production, access, use, and evaluation of high-quality education content.

Initially the report discusses how the OER movement creates incentives for a diverse set of institutional stakeholders to enlarge and sustain this new 'culture of contribution'. Some of the initatives discussed are MIT OCW,Rice Connexions Project, Utah State and  similar projects.

Later,Open Participatory Learning Infrastructure (OPLI) as a tool for  nurturing Intellectual capital (Content) and Human capital (talent) is discussed.Need for OPLI  to provide participatory architectures for meta-university, the university in and of the world,  and concepts of “learning to be” sooner rather than later, and global-scale massification of higher education, extending all levels and age: K–12, higher education, and lifelong learning.Suggestions about defining, awarding, and managing the initiative are also elaborated.

The report is useful for those who wish to know and understand the evoltion of  OER and OPLI