OERu Communication technologies and protocols

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Key points


Overview, openness and self-help approach

The OER Foundation maintains a number of lists and communication channels roughly grouped according to audience and purpose to facilitate the OER universitas (OERu) initiative. The OER Foundation subscribes to radical transparency as a matter of policy. All planning is conducted openly in WikiEducator and the archives of our lists are publicly accessible. (Don't post confidential information or anything you would not like read by the general public on the lists we maintain.)

General practice in managing OERu communication lists

The OER Foundation is serious about facilitating widening access to learning opportunities by working with educators and educational institutions, to help them achieve their objectives through Open Education. We welcome constructive contributions from all interested persons.

We do not moderate our lists other than reasonably accepted practice to manage spam. There is a trade-off between openness and the ability to manage "spam", unsolicited advertising etc. We apologise in advance should unwanted posts appear on the list. These will be deleted from the archive. The OERu partners have a low tolerance for trolling activities. The OER Foundation reserves the right to delete or exclude members from the list. If you don't like what we are doing or object to decisions we have taken in good faith, you have the whole public Internet to complain to.

Note: The OER Foundation deems that posts to our lists are dedicated to the public domain unless the user specifies an alternate license in the body of their post.

Technical help and support

The OER Foundation does its best to help members with technical questions. The OER Foundation has only three full-time staff members so if you require an immediate response, we recommend that you first read the self-help instructions below, or show a friend or colleague this page who could help. That is the quickest way to get resolve basic technology support questions, especially if it's an after hours request taking the New Zealand timezone into account. For information on editing in the wiki, consult our extensive list of wiki tutorials. If you are struggling with any wiki text or syntax elements, post your question on one of the OERu lists below and remember to include the url of the page in your query.

Communication channels

Discussion lists

List Audience Purpose Self-help instructions
OERu list on Google Groups

Register here

  • Open community and general public
  • Many OERTen members subscribe to this list
  • General discussions about the OERu
  • This is the main list to keep up to date with OERu developments
  • The general public can view posts on the OERu list.
  • To post on the OERu list on Google Groups, you must self-register as a member of the list. We recommend that you create a free Google account (if you don't have one) and follow the instructions on screen to register on the OERu list.
  • Members of this list can self-manage their settings and preferences, for example email, digest or web-only access.

OERu list for OERTen members at OER Foundation
Register here

  • Intended for staff of OERTen anchor partners
  • Discussions relating to operational activities of the OERTen
  • General OERu discussions should be posted on the Google Group OERu list.
  • The general public can access the collection of prior postings to the OERu anchor partner list.
  • If you are a staff member of one of the OERTen partners, you can self-register on the OERu list page.
  • Generally speaking, this is a low traffic list, but sometimes there can be a flurry of activity usually around target dates for key activities. Consider setting up a rule in your email client to save emails with "[OERu]" in the subject line to a folder, or use your delete button. You can always access the archive later. You may also choose to set your subscription options to not email you every message and use the archive to keep up to date. (You could also unsubscribe and follow the web archives of the discussions, but by unsubscribing, you will not be able to post to the list.)
  • To unsubscribe from the OERu list, get a password reminder, or change your subscription options visit the OERu list page.

Online planning forums

The OERu initiative arranges online seminars and planning discussions from time to time. These are announced on the main the OERu lists.

Synchronous planning sessions

Synchronous planning webinars for the OERu are hosted by different institutions. These are announced on the main OERu lists.

One-to-one interactions

Many individuals from OERTen partners welcome informal discussions and interactions. Representatives from our anchor partners are welcome to list their names and contact particulars below.

Name Organisation Ways to connect
Wayne Mackintosh OER Foundation
  • Skype: WGMNZ1
  • Email: email
  • Gmail Video/Chat/Audio: mackintosh.wayne@gmail.com
  • Microblog: waynemackintosh at identi.ca
Jim Tittsler software engineer
  • Gmail audio/video chat: jtittsler@gmail.com
  • Microblog: @jtittsler at twitter

Where to contribute

  • General thoughts, ideas and announcements are made on the relevant discussion lists.
  • Discussions relating to planning documents and sub-activities of the logic model are hosted in the wiki. Contributors should post all discussions relating to wiki documents using the corresponding discussion pages in the wiki. (Don't post suggestions and ideas relating to the wiki planning pages on the discussion lists. We need to keep a wiki-based record of developments.)
    • If you see a typo in the wiki, or can improve on the language used, be bold and edit the page.
    • If you want to suggest a substantive change to a wiki page or suggested an alternative which may change the original meaning or intent, first post your ideas on the corresponding discussion page in the wiki. We aim to achieve rough consensus before making substantive changes on the main wiki pages.
    • Remember that you can add individual pages in the wiki to your watch list and set your preferences to receive email notifications of changes to pages you are watching.

Finding your way around OERu pages in the wiki

WikiEducator is used as the main platform for the collaborative planning activities for the OERu. We recommend that you bookmark key pages of interest and familiarise yourself with the navigation at the top of your browser which contains the links to the main areas of the OERu wiki pages. Important OERu hubs in the wiki include:

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