http://www.teacherswithoutborders.org/
Open education Open education is a collective term[1] to describe institutional practices and programmatic initiatives that broaden access to the learning and training traditionally offered through formal education systems. The qualifier "open" of open education refers to the elimination of barriers that can preclude both opportunities and recognition for participation in institution-based learning. One aspect of openness in or "opening up" education is the development and adoption of open educational resources. Institutional practices that seek to eliminate barriers to entry, for example, would not have academic admission requirements. Such universities include The Open University in Britain and Athabasca University in Canada. Such programs are commonly distance learning programs like e-learning, mooc and opencourseware, but not necessarily.
WHAT’S IN MY BAG? — Uprooted IRC This year, nearly 100,000 men, women and children from war-torn countries in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia have fled their homes and traveled by rubber dinghies across the Aegean Sea to Lesbos, Greece. Refugees travel light, for their trek is as dangerous as it is arduous. They are detained, shot at, hungry. Hungry for Solutions: Can the Youth Fix the Future? On a recent late summer morning in Portland, Oregon, I walked past the downtown farmers' market, where vendors were setting up their lush displays of fruits and vegetables. Food was on my mind, but for a different reason. I was on my way to a forum for young people about how they could help fight world hunger. The Mercy Corps, a global humanitarian organization headquartered in Oregon, hosted the Portland Youth Summit as part of its Global Citizens Corps. According to Erin Thomas, who served with the Peace Corps before working with Mercy Corps, the organization is increasingly looking to young people to help find solutions for global problems such as hunger. "We need your ideas to solve these problems," she told the audience of teens and young adults.
Spotlight on E-Learning Education Week's Spotlight on E-Learning brings together a collection of articles hand-picked by our editors for their insights on: Understanding different models of online learningChoosing the right e-learning companyIncreasing access and equity in digital learningHow elementary schools incorporate e-learningParental involvement in online educationWhat works best for classrooms that blend face-to-face and virtual learningNew standards outlining online-course design Elementary school online students need remediation or acceleration at junctures in their development some say are more crucial than any in high school. January 7, 2011 - Education Week Distinguishing between the wide variety of virtual schools and online-learning programs available involves understanding the type of operational control.
The Women of Zaatari Refugee Camp The older, more established parts of the camp are generally safer because they have electricity. People know or are related to one another, unlike in the newer areas, where neighbors are strangers. Those outlying areas are much less crowded, trailers and tents are more widely spaced, and there are no streetlights, making a nighttime visit to the communal toilets, for example, a terrifying dash. There is talk of rapes and prostitution, but few cases of sexual assault are reported because most victims refuse to speak out because of the social stigma attached to sexual violence. Zaatari is just one consequence of a hemorrhaging Syrian conflict that began in March 2011 with peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad and morphed into a grinding civil war that has claimed more than 120,000 lives. Nearly a third of Syria's population of about 23 million is now displaced.
Pajama Program Our Mission Pajama Program provides new pajamas and new books to children in need, many of whom are waiting and hoping to be adopted. These children live in various situations including group homes, shelters and temporary housing facilities and are shuffled often from one place to another. Many of them have been abandoned, abused or neglected. Student Research: Can Googling Replace $168 Intro to Psych Textbook? Electronic Textbooks | News Student Research: Can Googling Replace $168 Intro to Psych Textbook? By Dian Schaffhauser02/16/11 Students are taking the battle against high-priced textbooks into their own hands. This week, 11 University of Cincinnati seniors in the psychology program presented at an Educause event a comparison of the content of traditional college texts, one of which costs $168, to content they found for free on the Web.
Syria's refugees: Girls use photography to document life in the Zaatari camp For three months, a group of Syrian girls aged 14 to 18-years-old from Za'atari Camp - the biggest refugee camp for Syrians, which can now be counted the fourth biggest city in Jordan - participated in a media workshop to gain artistic and technical training in photography and video, with encouragement to reflect on and voice their own stories and those of their surrounding community. With cameras, microphones and pens in hand, the girls set out to document their everyday lives – how it looks, feels and sounds from the ground, at the heart of their world. One of the young artists, who has just started learning to read and write, named the body of work 'Waves of Childhood.' All photographs and writing in the following slides were produced by the girls. Picture: womenone.org
50 Excellent Open Courses on Teaching With Technology The information below is taken from a recent posting on www.onlinecollegesanduniversities.com. It is a listing of 50 free online courses that are offered on a wide variety of instructional technology topics. The courses are free, self-directed, and accessible over the internet. Rather then listing a few examples in this posting I decided to paste all of the links below. Using technology and creating unique learning environments are two big dreams that all types of teachers have, from elementary educators to distance education teachers to college professors.
Quick facts: What you need to know about the Syria crisis Editor's note: This article was originally published on August 13, 2013; it was updated on October 7, 2015 to reflect the latest information. Donate today to help Syrian families survive crisis and rebuild their lives ▸ Syria’s civil war is the worst humanitarian disaster of our time. The number of innocent civilians suffering — more than 11 million people are displaced, thus far — and the increasingly dire impact on neighboring countries can seem too overwhelming to understand.
What You Need to Know: Conflict in Syria, children, and the refugee crisis Syria crisis: Fast facts 13.5 million people in Syria need humanitarian assistance.14.6 million Syrians are refugees, and 6.6 million are displaced within Syria; half are children.2 Read an open letter from Syrian children.Most Syrian refugees remain in the Middle East, in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt; about 10 percent of the refugees have fled to Europe.3Children affected by the Syrian conflict are at risk of becoming ill, malnourished, abused, or exploited. Millions have been forced to quit school. Art with Syrian Refugees: The Za’atari Project Za’atari Syrian Refugee Camp in Jordan, 2013. This piece was created in collaboration with Syrian refugee children, and explores the importance of water conservation, especially for those who suddenly find themselves stranded in a desert. Project partners: AptART, ACTED, UNICEF. Za’atari refugee camp (photo by Max Frieder)