Practice:OCL4Ed/Pathways/Why open matters (Part 1)/Introduction

=Introduction=

It is noble to teach oneself, but still nobler to teach others -- and less trouble.

In today's world. where the cost of replicating digital knowledge is near zero, consider for example that:


 * In 2008 approximately 66% of the children in Sub-Sarahan Africa did not have the privilege of attending secondary school.
 * The Student Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) report that American students spend an average of US$900 per annum on the purchase of textbooks. This is more than the average 2009 gross national income per capita (US$512) of the world's low income countries.

The challenge associated with the global demand for tertiary education is not a new phenomenon.

More than one-third of the world’s population is under 20. There are over 30 million people today qualified to enter a university who have no place to go. During the next decade, this 30 million will grow to 100 million. To meet this staggering demand, a major university needs to be created each week.

Fortunately, the open web combined with open content licensing provides us with the technology to freely distribute learning materials in support of all national curricula. Moreover, we are able to manipulate and transform digital data for a variety of delivery technologies, including print for those learners who do not have access to the Internet at virtually no additional cost. Every teacher, lecturer and trainer has the opportunity to make a difference, to widen access to free learning materials for all learners, by sharing their teaching materials drawing on the power of collaboration now possible with social software. Yes, this is a rare occasion where individual contributions can transform the world.

Is teaching a vocation or profession?
Most educators would agree that teaching is both a vocation and profession. Consider the following definitions from Wikipedia and Dictionary.com: