Discussion:
[WikiEducator] New scientific paper based on OER content
Declan
2018-05-31 03:09:54 UTC
Permalink
Hi folks

I have learned since joining Wikieducator that there really is no typical
content or approach to OER. The projects are as strange and idiosyncratic
as the individuals dreaming them up. And yet they find homes here and
based on page visit data, they are at least seen by others. The page on
maintaining chainsaws has not been modified since 2009...and has received
more than 20k visits. My old Biology in Elementary Schools page was visited
nearly 80k times....once the course ended I considered whether I should
scrap it; I should not!

A bit more obscure, my streams project wiki is the foundation for an
iPhone/Android app and changes made on Wikieducator are (mystically)
reflected in the phone in my pocket. I presented this at an international
conference last week and it was rather cool to see all the hands go into
pockets to download as soon as I provided the search terms. Wikieducator
content instantly transmitted into the hands of the entomologist
specialists who will use it. I don't believe that the phone activity is
captured in the 4 or 5 K visit count.

Falling under the category of "truly strange" perhaps, is a collection of
skulls my students have built called 'digital coyote' which we started to
provide calibrated coyote skull images from diverse geographical locations
for educational usage. The idea was to share a fairly scarce resource
(seriously, how many teachers have 100+ coyote skulls for their students to
measure). We did that and we published a teaching article about it;
teachers and students can measure and compare skulls from
Alaska and Texas
for example.



But
.we realized that the resource we had built was of sufficient quality
to also serve as a model for the research community. Three undergraduate
student researchers and I have just published that paper:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325214710_Use_of_Point-and-Shoot_Photography_to_Compare_Regional_Differences_in_Canis_latrans_Coyote_Skull_Size



This research is in large part based on OER content hosted by Wikieducator
in turn based on images we placed in Wikimedia Commons , but this
particular paper is non-educational and not a candidate for the Eric
platform
.so we shared it instead on Researchgate.



Sooo....I don't yet know where my next OER adventure will take me but in
the meantime, I'd like to express a heartfelt thanks to the OER community
for the logistical and technical support in encouraging this sort of
strange and wonderful collaboration.


Sincerely


Declan
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Wayne Mackintosh
2018-05-31 06:32:59 UTC
Permalink
Hi Declan

Thanks for sharing. Your WikiEducator work with students is both innovative
and inspiring.

I'm pleased that we've been able to support an open OER website for more
than 12 years without charging users or resorting to advertising on the
site to help pay the bills. This demonstrates the power of the open source
model. We look forward to continuing our efforts to share open technologies
for the OER community.

We've come a long way. This year we've been able to launch a free 1st year
of study with pathways for learners to achieve university-level
qualifications (see for example the Certificate Higher Education Business
<https://oeru.org/certhe-business/>) based entirely on course materials
authored in WikiEducator!

Still lots of work to be done and we look forward to providing the
technologies to support these initiatives for the next decade and beyond!

Cheers
Wayne
Post by Declan
Hi folks
I have learned since joining Wikieducator that there really is no typical
content or approach to OER. The projects are as strange and idiosyncratic
as the individuals dreaming them up. And yet they find homes here and
based on page visit data, they are at least seen by others. The page on
maintaining chainsaws has not been modified since 2009...and has received
more than 20k visits. My old Biology in Elementary Schools page was visited
nearly 80k times....once the course ended I considered whether I should
scrap it; I should not!
A bit more obscure, my streams project wiki is the foundation for an
iPhone/Android app and changes made on Wikieducator are (mystically)
reflected in the phone in my pocket. I presented this at an international
conference last week and it was rather cool to see all the hands go into
pockets to download as soon as I provided the search terms. Wikieducator
content instantly transmitted into the hands of the entomologist
specialists who will use it. I don't believe that the phone activity is
captured in the 4 or 5 K visit count.
Falling under the category of "truly strange" perhaps, is a collection of
skulls my students have built called 'digital coyote' which we started to
provide calibrated coyote skull images from diverse geographical locations
for educational usage. The idea was to share a fairly scarce resource
(seriously, how many teachers have 100+ coyote skulls for their students to
measure). We did that and we published a teaching article about it;
teachers and students can measure and compare skulls from
Alaska and Texas
for example.
But
.we realized that the resource we had built was of sufficient quality
to also serve as a model for the research community. Three undergraduate
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325214710_Use_of_
Point-and-Shoot_Photography_to_Compare_Regional_
Differences_in_Canis_latrans_Coyote_Skull_Size
This research is in large part based on OER content hosted by Wikieducator
in turn based on images we placed in Wikimedia Commons , but this
particular paper is non-educational and not a candidate for the Eric
platform
.so we shared it instead on Researchgate.
Sooo....I don't yet know where my next OER adventure will take me but in
the meantime, I'd like to express a heartfelt thanks to the OER community
for the logistical and technical support in encouraging this sort of
strange and wonderful collaboration.
Sincerely
Declan
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Wayne Mackintosh
Director OER Foundation and OERu facilitator
UNESCO - ICDE Chair in OER
Mastodon: @***@mastodon.oeru.org
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