Hi Everyone,
I
looked at an open education technology called the Commonwealth of Learning (http://www.col.org/Pages/default.aspx).
It is an intergovernmental organization made up of representatives from the 54
countries of the British Commonwealth. The Commonwealth of Learning
headquarters are in Vancouver, Canada. Their mission is to support open and
distance education knowledge, resources and technologies throughout the British
Commonwealth. Commonwealth of learning (COL) has developed into one of the
world’s leading forums in open education and works with other organizations
such as UNESCO and the World Health Organization. They emphasize teacher
development and expertise with electronic media. Funding comes from governments
on a voluntary basis with major contributors being Canada, the United Kingdom,
Australia, New Zealand and India. COL’s activities are grouped under two
headings, education which is
dedicated to providing free online education and livelihood and health, which provides information on health and
nutrition with a primary focus on education in developing nations of the
British Commonwealth.
I
know of a good example of open education in the automotive industry. The Eaton
Corporation (www.truck.eaton.com/)
freely posts all service literature on line. Eaton is known for heavy truck
transmissions and axles. I can access full service manuals for every truck
component that Eaton produces on line, just search Eaton Service Manuals. Most
other manufacturers require the initial purchase and then a yearly subscription
for such information. Our Eaton representative from Toronto, and former student,
tells me that by allowing open access to all of their service literature Eaton has
taken a greater market share, particularly in the developing world. The Eaton
representative has also been sure to equip our school with classroom sets of
brand new Eaton transmissions and drive axles for students to work on. He says that
this as well will ensure their dominance in the market long into the future.
References
http:// www.truck.eaton.com/
http://www.shuttleworthfoundation.org/
