KnowledgeWorks Foundation Provides Executive-On-Loan to Curriki's Open Source Learning Website
KnowledgeWorks Foundation Provides Executive-On-Loan to Curriki's Open Source Learning Website
CINCINNATI, Jan. 3, 2008 (PR Newswire - US Newswire) -- KnowledgeWorks Foundation has announced a new collaboration agreement with Curriki: The Global Education and Learning Community, an award-winning open source website that lets educators around the world create and share curricula.
The collaboration aims to further the website's mission of creating a community for teachers to develop open source learning resources that are free to anyone. To support that goal, KnowledgeWorks has agreed to share expertise it gained from founding Educator's Knowledge Network, an online professional learning community for American teachers involved in its high school reform efforts.
The foundation will provide program manager Katherine Prince as an executive-on-loan to work with Curriki half-time through June 2008. Prince, who has specialized in collaborative knowledge management, will help define the role community development and social networking will play as the website matures in providing open education resources.
"The goal of making education equally accessible to learners everywhere is one that KnowledgeWorks has long shared," says Chad P. Wick, KnowledgeWorks Foundation President and CEO. "We also believe in the potential of peer-to-peer networks to revitalize educators and education systems. We're pleased to support the people at Curriki as they move forward with the important work of developing an open curricula platform."
"We are thrilled that KnowledgeWorks shares our commitment to making high quality educational resources available to all learners around the globe at no cost," adds Scott McNealy, Curriki's founder. "The support KnowledgeWorks is providing will extend our social networking efforts so that we can engage an even larger audience of educators in this rapidly evolving movement."
Curriki was founded in 2004 by Sun Microsystems as the Global Education & Learning Community, and the website went live in 2006. Nearly 35,000 members contribute and use its 10,000 free learning resources, including everything from lesson plans, assessments and media clips to complete textbooks.
The website is part of a trend toward open resources, following the model popularized by Wikipedia, the collaborative online encyclopedia. When community members visit Curriki, they can contribute new content or comment, edit and organize existing content to create a lesson, course or curriculum.
"From our work learning about the forces shaping the future, we know that the growth of knowledge collectives is a trend that holds promise for transforming education," states Monica Martinez, Vice President of Education Strategy for KnowledgeWorks. "This collaboration will provide the foundation with an opportunity to learn more about the movement toward open education resources."
KnowledgeWorks came in contact with Curriki through its 2006-2016 Map of Future Forces Affecting Education, which identifies trends that are likely to shape education over the next decade. The map, which KnowledgeWorks developed jointly with the research group Institute for the Future, is the first tool of its kind for education planning. It has been used by thought leaders across the country as a tool to spark discussion and plan for education's future.
The collaboration aims to further the website's mission of creating a community for teachers to develop open source learning resources that are free to anyone. To support that goal, KnowledgeWorks has agreed to share expertise it gained from founding Educator's Knowledge Network, an online professional learning community for American teachers involved in its high school reform efforts.
The foundation will provide program manager Katherine Prince as an executive-on-loan to work with Curriki half-time through June 2008. Prince, who has specialized in collaborative knowledge management, will help define the role community development and social networking will play as the website matures in providing open education resources.
"The goal of making education equally accessible to learners everywhere is one that KnowledgeWorks has long shared," says Chad P. Wick, KnowledgeWorks Foundation President and CEO. "We also believe in the potential of peer-to-peer networks to revitalize educators and education systems. We're pleased to support the people at Curriki as they move forward with the important work of developing an open curricula platform."
"We are thrilled that KnowledgeWorks shares our commitment to making high quality educational resources available to all learners around the globe at no cost," adds Scott McNealy, Curriki's founder. "The support KnowledgeWorks is providing will extend our social networking efforts so that we can engage an even larger audience of educators in this rapidly evolving movement."
Curriki was founded in 2004 by Sun Microsystems as the Global Education & Learning Community, and the website went live in 2006. Nearly 35,000 members contribute and use its 10,000 free learning resources, including everything from lesson plans, assessments and media clips to complete textbooks.
The website is part of a trend toward open resources, following the model popularized by Wikipedia, the collaborative online encyclopedia. When community members visit Curriki, they can contribute new content or comment, edit and organize existing content to create a lesson, course or curriculum.
"From our work learning about the forces shaping the future, we know that the growth of knowledge collectives is a trend that holds promise for transforming education," states Monica Martinez, Vice President of Education Strategy for KnowledgeWorks. "This collaboration will provide the foundation with an opportunity to learn more about the movement toward open education resources."
KnowledgeWorks came in contact with Curriki through its 2006-2016 Map of Future Forces Affecting Education, which identifies trends that are likely to shape education over the next decade. The map, which KnowledgeWorks developed jointly with the research group Institute for the Future, is the first tool of its kind for education planning. It has been used by thought leaders across the country as a tool to spark discussion and plan for education's future.
