Community building project/Communications/Brochures L4C

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 * 6 panel brochure (8.5 x 11)

Front Cover (1)
Learning4Content Building Capacity for Open Education Together

Generously supported by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

An initiative of the Commonwealth of Learning and WikiEducator.

What is Learning4Content?
Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may not remember, involve me, and I'll understand.

Inspired by this meaningful Native American proverb, COL's Learning4Content (L4C) initiative is dedicated to providing free wiki skills to educators in return for a commitment to develop free teaching materials.

Generously supported by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, L4C is likely the largest free wiki skills training effort in the world. L4C outcomes for 2008 include:


 * conducting 160 workshops in 52 Commonwealth countries
 * training 2,500 educators (teachers/trainers/lecturers) to develop 2,500 lessons of free content.

We will provide you with free training in return for a small donation of your knowledge in developing a teaching resource for the community. L4C participants confirm their commitment by signing a learning contract.

Our Educational Legacy
The ultimate goal of the L4C initiative is to enthusiastically encourage and support the development of individual capacity and a worldwide community of WikiEducators, which is committed to developing open education resources for both formal and informal instruction.

An Open and Free Education for All
The Learning4Content initiative is rooted in WikiEducator's core values of freedom and openness and in achieving the vision of "Education for All" using free content. We believe in fundamental knowledge rights such as access to information and communication technologies (ICTs), social inclusion and participation for all.

We are committed to Free/Libre values associated with the Open Source Software movement and believe that all educators are free to choose the technologies they want to use, and the content they want to teach.

We also believe that by working together, we can improve the technology we use, and the re-usability of digital learning resources: leading to appropriate and sustainable solutions for technology-enhanced learning futures.

What is WikiEducator?
Turning the digital divide into digital dividends using free content and open networks.

Named the "Best Educational Wiki" in 2007 by Stephen Downes and inaugural recipient of the MERLOT Africa Network's award for exemplary Open Education Resource (OER) practices in 2008, COL's WikiEducator is a dynamic and exciting community of educators who believe passionately that learning materials should be free and open to all.

WikiEducator is about collaboratively planning free content education projects for e-learning, distance and conventional applications; developing OERs; building sustainable and scalable communities-of-interest; and networking on funding proposals developed as free content.

A Workspace for Innovation and Creativity
The WikiEducator community is also about innovation, creativity and leadership. We invite you to join other educators who are using WikiEducator as a platform for testing new technologies, developing creative approaches and innovative educational solutions.

For example, in collaboration with the WikiMedia Foundation (overseers of the Wikipedia project), WikiEducator has piloted the first wiki-to-print application. To enhance the educational experience, we are experimenting with social networking and collaborative media-rich video, audio and animated content development for education. (Kaltura). Our growing community of WikiEducators provides timely feedback and in-the-field expertise to guide future innovations.

Just Try It! Our Community Will Support You
At the heart of the WikiEducator experience, is learning and collaborating - online and offline - with other WikiEducators in our growing Community of Support.

Our Help Tutorials guide learners through a certified skills development program, which includes basic wiki skills training, community-building and the Art of WikiEdiquette. Our L4C training opportunities in 2008 include:


 * Face-to-face workshops - organised and presented in collaboration with institutions in your country;
 * Online workshops - featuring an online facilitator to support your learning.

To register, please visit our registration page: http://wikieducator.org/Learning4Content/Registration

Wiki Skills Certification
The L4C initiative teaches basic skills in wiki editing, and introduces participants to appropriate WikiEdiquette - for greater ease and success in integrating into in our community culture. We recognise your contributions - and after completing our requirements, you will be awarded the valuable status of WikiBuddy in our skills hierarchy.

We hope that your L4C achievements will inspire you to continue your journey to acquire the status of WikiMaster in our community.

Get Involved!
There are many ways to get involved with the Learning4Content initiative:


 * sign up for free wiki skills training (online or in-person)
 * develop a lesson of free content
 * get certified - become a WikiBuddy, a WikiTrainer or WikiMaster!
 * organise a L4C workshop in your country
 * ask your employer/institution to host a L4C workshop
 * facilitate a L4C workshop
 * join other WikiEducators to develop free lessons and courses
 * check out WikiEducator's Wishlist
 * contribute funds to expand the L4C initiative
 * join WikiEducator's discussion groups and mailing list.
 * participate in our Community of Support
 * spread the word to your friends, colleagues and employers.

Join the Learning4Content initiative

 * Register for an online workshop: http://wikieducator.org/Learning4Content/Registration
 * Become an L4C facilitor: http://wikieducator.org/Learning4Content/Facilitators
 * Organise a face-to-face workshop in your country: http://wikieducator.org/WikiEducator:Bounties/WikiEducator_facilitators

Contacts and Further information
Commonwealth of Learning 1055 West Hastings Street Vancouver, BC V6E 2E6 Canada Tel: + 1 604 775 8200 Fax: +1 604 775 8210 Email: info@col.org

Wayne Mackintosh Education Specialist, E-Learning and ICT Policy Commonwealth of Learning wmackintosh@col.org

www.col.org www.wikieducator.org www.wikieducator.org/Learning4Content

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: www.hewlett.org

LEARNING FOR DEVELOPMENT