www.johndbritton.com

Are you interested in learning more about the Open Web? Then sign up for my course, Mashing Up the Open Web at P2PU. Sign-ups close on 3 March officially, but if you're really keen on taking the course, contact me.

Course Description

An introduction to open web standards. HTML, CSS, JavaScript (and more?) through project based learning. This course is not for complete novices, some web experience is required. Participants will work on a self defined project that leverages open datasets and web services to create a mashup that is useful to their target audience. The participants will engage in weekly real time meetings (irc, voice, or other) as well as ongoing asynchronous communication. The role of the organizer will be to guide participants in selecting a feasible project and assisting the 'just in time' learning experience associated with technology discovery.

The course will include discussions on the Open Web and help participants understand the importance of keeping the web open. Aside from practical web skills like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript participants will be introduced to a number of free and open data visualization tools. Participants will learn how to find open data and use those resources in creating a web mashup.

What are you waiting for? Sign-up Now!

On August 26, 2009 at midnight EST we closed applications to the first cycle at the Peer 2 Peer University (P2PU) with a total of 227 applicants across 7 courses. The six week pilot phase will begin on September 9, 2009 (09/09/09). Each of the 7 courses has a maximum enrollment of 8 - 15 students. All applicants will be notified of their status within a week.

P2PU Course Application Distribution

Number of Applicants to Each P2PU Course

• 54 - Copyright for Educators
• 48 - Behavioral Economics and Decision Making
• 34 - Land Restoration and Afforestation
• 30 - Open Creative Nonfiction Writing
• 25 - Introduction to Cyberpunk Literature
• 20 - Poker and Strategic Thinking
• 16 - Neuroethics and International Biolaw

Summary

These are exciting times, all of our initial courses have more applicants than we can possibly accept. At the end of the first cycle, we're going to meet for a retrospective and iterate on our methodology. During the second cycle I'll be leading a course on web development. Hope to see you there.

Photo: CC-BY-SA

Fast Company has an interesting article about Edupunk. It covers Academic Earth, Flat World Knowledge, and Peer2Peer University (P2PU).

It's also worth noting the total contribution to Open Education by The Hewlett Foundation is $68 million. Thanks for sending me to the Open Education Conference last year!

Today at the Open Education Conference in Vancouver, Canada we will open applications to The Peer 2 Peer University (P2PU).

The first round of six week courses will include:

• Introduction to Concepts in Behavioral Economics and Decision Making
• Copyright for Educators
• Introduction to Cyberpunk Literature
• Land Restoration and Afforestation
• Open Creative Nonfiction - Take Away Narratives
• Poker and strategic thinking

About P2PU

The Peer 2 Peer University (P2PU) is an online community of open study groups for short university-level courses. Think of it as online book clubs for open educational resources. The P2PU helps you navigate the wealth of open education materials that are out there, creates small groups of motivated learners, and supports the design and facilitation of courses. Students and tutors get recognition for their work, and we are building pathways to formal credit as well.

This blog post is my application for a travel scholarship to attend OpenEd 2009.

Last year I applied for, and was awarded a scholarship to attend OpenEd in Logan, Utah. I came all the way from Hong Kong, and I'm tremendously glad that I did. My experience at OpenEd has made an enormous impact on my life. I met some great people, found a great project, and subsequently landed an excellent job in Open Education.

There are four main reasons I plan to attend OpenEd 2009:

1. P2PU - Most (if not all) the people from the Peer2Peer University will be there, it's a perfect time to meet up and move forward.
2. Open Everything - I'm facilitating the organization of Open Everything unconferences in more than 10 cities around the world. OpenEd will be a great place to find more people to get involved. Open Everything NYC featured an entire Open Education track.
3. Flat World Knowledge - I've recently taken a position at this innovative Open textbook publishing company. I'll be there to share and answer questions.
4. Open Sessions - I thrive on Open sessions. I'm sure I'll lead at least one, and will be active in many.

There are plenty more good reasons for me to be there, who knows what new things I'll discover.

The most important issue I'm currently facing relates to the commercialization of the Open Education field. If I'm selected to attend OpenEd 2009, I'll be there to gather information and discuss the topic of for-profit commercialization of Open Education. Important decisions lie ahead and I want to be sure to do the right thing. It will be valuable to interact with people who have experience in commercializing Open and building sustainable business models.

Thanks for reading, feel free to contact me. I appreciate your consideration for this opportunity and I hope to see you all at OpenEd 2009.