OER1042 Demonstration ppt

The 4C Initiative: A Case Study on Digital Content Capacity Building

Dr. Theodore Lynn, Mr. Neil Bruton, Dublin City University

Conference Theme: Open Educational Communities

Abstract: This demonstration presents an overview of the digital content capacity building strand of Cambridge University Press’ 4C initiative. The 4C Initiative is a global initiative by Cambridge University Press to (i) develop a digital content supply network for education; (ii) connect education to a billion digital resources in the next ten years; (iii) help educators and educational institutions worldwide to collaborate; and (iv) build local digital content publishing capacity worldwide. The digital content capacity building strand is managed by Dublin City University’s Learning, Innovation and Knowledge Research Centre and funded by Cambridge University Press and Nominet Trust. The goal of this strand is to provide educators with the preliminary skills needed to discover, evaluate, integrate and expose digital content online. The focus of the project is proficiency rather than expertise. Starting in November 2009, online synchronous learning seminars are delivered by subject matter experts from a variety of public and private sector organisations on aspects of searching, evaluating, licensing (including copyright), viewing/playing, modifying, integrating, describing and exposing/sharing digital content are available for free through a Webex Training Centre service. All sessions are recorded and available to educators and learners as learning objects under a Creative Commons license. Where possible, each module will be delivered in multiple languages and specifically English, Arabic and at least one African language. In line with the sponsor organisations’ missions, the digital content capacity building strand will contribute towards the advancement and dissemination of knowledge worldwide and specifically via the Internet and in deprived areas of the world:

• Encouraging collaboration within the global education community
• Encourage best practice use of digital content for education
• Building digital content publishing capacity for OERs
• Increase the volume of digital content for education

The initiative is internationally-focussed and complements a number of existing UK and international projects. The presentation will outline the evolution of the initiative including challenges and achievements at the time of presentation. It will also include a demonstration of the training platform, OERs generated from the initiative and details on how educators can support in the delivery of training and make use of the OERs generated from the initiative.

Keywords: Digital Content, Capacity Building, OERs, Online Learning