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OpenLearn 2007: Presentation of the FHSST project
A collaborative, participatory framework for teaching and learning, where teachers and learners take on the role of active “researchers” in the instruction process, was an important theme that drove discussions, informal talks over coffee, and several of the presentations at the 2007 OpenLearn conference in Milton Keynes, UK.
The presentation of the Free High School Science Texts (FHSST) project likewise created some buzz. The presentation told the story of how FHSST built open content from the bottom up, and grew into a project that has inspired the South African Ministry of Education to consider a more broad-scale initiative to create open textbooks for all grade levels in South Africa.
The FHSST presentation elicited enthusiasm and questions from the audience around, e.g., the hackathons (How structured are the hackathons, and do they vary from group to group?), as well as around volunteer demographics (Did FHSST have trouble recruiting volunteers with the right background or skill level?). Another interesting question came from a participant who was in the process of setting up an open content project of her own: How did FHSST always manage to make the right decisions? The answer to that question was perhaps more telling of the overall success of FHSST. The FHSST project—beyond being driven by champions who were passionate about their work, were strategic thinkers or had experience with management consulting— continued to maintain its primary focus on its volunteers and its end users. That is, all of its decisions, its improvements and adaptations of its practices, processes, and tools, were constantly aligned and realigned in light of the volunteers who created the textbook content, and with an eye toward the teachers and learners who would ultimately use the textbooks.
After the presentation, several participants personally expressed enthusiasm for the FHSST case study, explaining how it served as an inspiration to their own work in trying to create open content or in supporting the overall movement. One concrete outcome of the presentation will be an interview by an Open University researcher with ISKME about the case study, which will be available on the OpenLearn website and as a podcast that is downloadable for others to use and reuse.
For more information about the FHSST presentation at OpenLearn 2007, contact Cynthia Jimes at Cynthia@iskme.org. To download the FHSST presentation, click here.
tags:
education oer fhsst openlearn-2007 case-study
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