Samoa/Learn4Content workshop
Contents
Learn4Content Workshops at the National University of Samoa
The National University of Samoa is the venue for the latest Learn4Content workshop in the Pacific region. Two Learn4Content workshops have been planned for Samoa at NUS in September and November.
First Learn4Content workshop: September Workshop 2008
The September workshop from 3rd – 5th September, is scheduled to coincide with the NUS mid-semester break. The 20 participants in the September workshop comprise of 2 representatives from each faculty, school or centre.
What is Learn4Content?
The Learning4Content project is spearheaded by the Commonwealth of Learning. The project aims to provide free skills training in wiki technology for educators in the Commonwealth in exchange for a free content lesson on WikiEducator (http://www.wikieducator.org). The project is inspired by a Native American proverb adopted by the INGOTS open source software training initiative ( http://theingots.org)
Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may not remember, involve me, and I'll understand.
The Learning4Content project aims to achieve the following outcomes:
- Facilitate at least one skills development workshop in each of the 53 states of the Commonwealth in the basic wiki editing required for free content development on WikiEducator;
- Train at least 2 500 educators with a firm commitment to dedicate half of the workshops to building capacity among women in the developing world;
- Educators to produce at least 2 500 free content lessons for use in secondary schools, vocational education and formal tertiary education settings;
- Assist the English Wikipedia to improve the quality of existing articles that can be used for educational purposes before converting these encyclopedia articles into lessons for learners who don't have access to textbooks;
- Build a thriving and sustainable network of educators collaborating on the development of free content for education.
COL's WikiEducator is a website dedicated to the collaborative development of free content for education that anyone can modify and use. WikiEducator has grown exponentially during its first year of operation and is currently ranked within the top 8% of most visited websites in the world. The strategy of the Learning4Content project is to scale up training and content development by networking with: COL's focal points in 48 of the 53 countries of the Commonwealth; teachers, trainers and lecturers in the Commonwealth; and members of the Freedom Culture, most notably the Wikipedia community. Progress is monitored on WikiEducator which tracks every edit on the site.
Leaning Contract
In exchange for the free training participants are asked to each sign a "learning contract" in which they commit themselves to donate one free content lesson in exchange for free training on wiki-educator skills. The learning contract represents ones pledge to donate a little of ones knowledge for the benefit of education for all. There are four key elements in the L4C Learning Contract:
- Requirements or learning objectives - what you are going to learn
- Resources and strategies - how you are going to learn
- Evidence of Learning - how you will know that you have learned it
- Verification - how you will prove that you have learned
By signing the Learning Contract, each L4C participant agrees to:
- Master the basic editing skills to acquire the status of Wikibuddy. (The skills are specified in the Learning Contract. You may also see these online - Providing evidence of Learning.
- Actively participate in our support groups / online discussions which are available for your learning.
- Complete the learning activities in the tutorials.
- Complete your free content resource / learning materials in the prescribed time
Trainer
The trainer for these workshops is David Leeming, Technical Adviser of People First Network who has extensive involvement in the OneLaptopPerChild Project Oceania, SchoolNet projects, and of course the Learn4Content project.
Outcomes of September workshop
NUS participants indicated their appreciation in this great learning opportunity and how the workshop has contributed to improving their repertoire of ICT skills, authoring skills, knowledge of Open Educational Resources and the Free and Open source movement, and associated concepts such as Creative Commons and issues such as the debate on quality of authoring. Feedback and full details of the workshop can be found at: [1]
Founder of Wikieducator Conducts Second Learn4Content Workshop at the National University of Samoa
The second Learn4Content workshop to be held at the National University of Samoa will be conducted by none other than Dr Wayne Mackintosh, the founder of the Wikieducator project. The first Learn4Content workshop was conducted in September 2008 but the second workshop that was planned for November was postponed and is now held this week from 23rd to the 26th March.
Trainer
The trainer for these workshops is Dr Wayne Mackintosh, currently the Education Specialist, e-learning and ICT Policy at the Commonwealth of Learning, who is not only the founder of wikieducator but also the founding project leader of e-learning XHTML Editor (Open source software project). Amongst his many roles and experiences in his illustrious career path he is an elected member of the Wikieducator Council, was an Associate Professor and Founding Director of the Center for Flexible and Distance Learning at the University of Auckland, and published over 80 publications, reports and research papers. His resume can be found at [2]
Participants
The participants for the second workshop are from a range of institutions: NUS, MESC, SQA, Samoan Association of Trades and Vocational Training:SATVETI(Punaoa, Tesese, Don Bosco,Ulimasao), Samoa Primary, St Marys College
Program
THE LEARNING4CONTENT WORKSHOP 23 – 27 MARCH 2009 NUS, Le Papaigalagala
Computer Labs – IHE Campus
Day 1, 23 March 2009 (Group 1)
9am - Lotu
9.10am - Welcome Address – Letuimanu’asina Dr Emma Kruse Vaai
9.15am - Official Opening – Gatoloaifaana Tilianamua Afamasaga
9.30am - Introduction to Wiki / Training Wayne Mackintosh (COL)
12noon - Lunch
1pm - Group Work
3pm - Afternoon Tea
3.15pm - Group Work
4.30pm - Finish
Day 2, 24 March 2009 (Group 1)
9am - Group Work
10am - Morning Tea
10.30am - Group Work
12noon - Lunch
1pm - Group Work
3pm - Afternoon Tea
3.30pm - Group work
4.30pm - Finish
Day 3, 25 March 2009 (Group 2)
9am - Lotu
9.10am - Welcome Address – Letuimanu’asina Dr Emma Kruse Vaai
9.15am - Official Opening – Gatoloaifaana Tilianamua Afamasaga
9.30am - Introduction to Wiki / Training Wayne Mackintosh (COL)
12noon - Lunch
1pm - Group Work
3pm - Afternoon Tea
3.15pm - Group Work
4.30pm - Finish
Day 4, 26 March 2009 (Group 2)
9am - Group Work
10am - Morning Tea
10.30am - Group Work
12noon - Lunch
1pm - Group Work
3pm - Afternoon Tea
3.30pm - Group work
4.30pm - Finish
