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Oklahoma City (Feb. 26) – The Oklahoma State Department of Education today announced the launch of a new
statewide #GoOpen initiative, joining the inaugural cohort of states across the
country committing to support school districts and educators transitioning to
the use of high-quality, openly licensed educational resources in their
schools.
Oklahoma
was recognized for its leadership by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) at
the #GoOpen Exchange, a gathering of state and district leaders, education
technology platform providers and non-profit organizations working together to
help educators transition to using openly licensed educational resources, which
can reduce costs for items like textbooks.
Under the commitment, Oklahoma will develop a statewide technology strategy that
includes the use of openly licensed resources as a central component, create
and maintain a statewide repository of openly licensed resources and
collaborate with other #GoOpen states to share learning and professional
development resources.
“In
order to ensure Oklahoma is offering an education that fully prepares students
for college and career, we need to keep up with technology,” State
Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister said. “Openly licensed
resources can be updated regularly, and they reduce overhead for districts,
freeing up funds that can directly benefit schoolchildren. The #GoOpen
initiative offers districts the chance to collaborate on high-quality resources
they might not otherwise have considered.”
Since
the launch of #GoOpen, school districts from more than 16 states have worked
with innovators from education technology companies, districts and nonprofit
organizations who have committed to create new tools and provide professional
learning opportunities.
“States
are powerful collaborators in supporting and scaling innovation. They can
connect forward-thinking educators, share effective ideas and approaches
widely, amplify successes and support districts in leveraging limited
resources,” said Joseph South, director of the Office of Educational Technology
at the USDE.
After
the launch of the #GoOpen initiative, participating states will be able to help
local districts transition to the new model. Broken Arrow is the first Oklahoma
district to pledge to #GoOpen; others are expected to follow.
Openly
licensed educational resources have enormous potential not only to empower
educators but also increase equitable access to high-quality education
opportunities in the United States.
“Switching
to openly licensed educational materials has enabled school districts to
repurpose funding typically spent on static textbooks for other pressing needs,
such as investing in the transition to digital learning,” says Andrew Marcinek,
Open Education Advisor at the USDE. “We are excited that Oklahoma is committed
to supporting its districts in using openly licensed educational resources.”
For
more details on #GoOpen commitments made by states, school districts, and
technology companies, visit http://tech.ed.gov/open.
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