Licensed under CC BY Kathleen Ludewig. PPT and PDF versions available at http://open.umich.edu/node/3620/.

1. Increasing access to education
through OER and creative
global dissemination networks
Presenter:
Kathleen Ludewig (MSI/MPP Candidate 2010)
Presented to:
School of Information
iPol One Web Day
September 22, 2009
Copyright 2009 Regents of the University of Michigan. Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/>.

2. Problems
- Educational materials are expensive
- Disparity in health care within and between
countries
- Healthcare worker shortage, especially in
developing countries

3. Solution

4. OER
Learning materials that are freely available for use,
redistribution, and adaptation

5. A Huge Array Of OERs Exist Today
Across Different Populations Of Learners
K-12 Higher Education Life-Long Learning
Teacher training Courses Books
Courseware
Images
Video lectures
Applications
Podcasts
Lesson plans
Journals Games
Slide from Presentation CC BY William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Presentation at University of Michigan, October 23, 2008
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

6. OERs Are Available Across The World
Slide from Presentation CC BY William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Presentation at University of Michigan, October 23, 2008
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

7. Caveat
The resources may be free, but there are other
barriers (e.g. technical) to access

8. Facts
Ghana South Africa
Internet Users 650,000 (2007) 5.1 million (2005)
Internet Hosts 24,018 (2008) 1.297 million (2008)
Cell Phone Users 7.604 million (2007) 42.3 million (2007)
Source: CIA World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

9. Explanation
Bandwidth (DSL, dialup, broadband, and satellite)
are expensive.

10. Source: International Development Research Centre,
http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-6568-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

11. Workarounds
Server side:
- Compressed files, simple GUI
- Removable media
Client Side:
- Removable media
- Intranet
- Social networks (e.g. student representatives)

12. Policy Advocacy
Bandwidth for Education, some efforts:
- Universal Giving (Partnership with One Web
Day):
http://philanthropost.wordpress.com/take-
action-resources/spread-the-web/
- Partnership for Higher Education in Africa:
http://www.foundation-partnership.org/

13. Partnerships with other ICT4D Innovations?
- Telecenters
- Mobile phones
- Traveling library
- Freedom Toaster

14. Conclusion
If you want to share your materials, educational or otherwise,
worldwide I recommend that you:
1)Attach an open license (e.g. Creative Commons) and use
only public domain or open content in your materials
(Open.Michigan can help you get started!)
2)Include compressed files and other UI customizations for low-
bandwidth environments
3)Investigate distribution methods other than the Internet (e.g.
removable media, Intranet)
4)Join advocacy campaigns for bandwidth for education in
developing countries

15. Questions?
kludewig@umich.edu
https://open.mich.edu/wiki/
http://www.oerafrica.org/