I’ve decided to keep a separate blog for this project from it’s beginnings over here. I’ve cut and pasted the details from the original blog post.
I’m launching myself into this project, which consists of using OERs to learn undergraduate level statistics appropriate to quantitative research methods in education. I’d love to be able to find the perfect course package waiting for me through a search at theOpenCoursewareFinder, but I suspect I’ll be doing some patchwork between OER Commons, the OpenCourseWareFinder, and ItunesU. I’ll be on a high speed connection this time, but I won’t be purchasing any textbooks or software in order to keep costs down and accessibility high. Since I’m interested in language and translation issues around OERs, I also plan on searching for courseware in all of the 3 languages I can actually read (English, French, and Spanish). I’ll document it on this blog somehow, and follow the same methodology as I did in 2001.
Obviously, I hope to be successful in learning statistics (and not for the purpose of obtaining credits or credentials), but I really hope to learn more about OERs, searching OERs, and engaging with them as student in some meaningful way. Specifically, what advantage will the OER initiatives provide that Google couldn’t provide in my 2001 experiment? Will it speed up the assembly of course materials into some meaningful learning package? Will it provide me with a more structured learning plan? Will I be seeking networks of experts to help me out in the absence of an instructor? Will I know when I’ve been successful? Will I wish I just went out and bought Statistics for Dummies?
