Debut of OER Commons Arabic Expands Global Reach of Open Educational Resources

(Half Moon Bay, CA) – Today marks a shift toward expanded access to open educational resources (OER) for the Arabic-speaking world, with the launch of OER Commons Arabic. Developed by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME), the Arabic microsite is built on the existing framework of OER Commons and contains the full functionality of that site, including a system for saving and sharing content and the Open Author tool, which allows educators to build, remix, and translate content. 

During this initial launch phase, ISKME’s OER Commons and Open Author tools have been translated into Arabic; included are search and metadata descriptions in both Arabic and English.  With support from Qatar Foundation International (QFI), a curriculum alignment tool has also been developed for tagging and querying resources to Qatar’s achievement standards for science, mathematics and English, as well for the U.S. Common Core State Standards, and future work will including mapping standards across countries. OER Commons Arabic contains 360 resources, including mathematics and science content from Khan Academy, MIT Blossoms, and the University of Colorado’s PHeT Physic Simulations.

In addition to this overall collection of resources, OER Commons Arabic will also feature a custom Arabic Language Learning Resources community, developed as a joint effort by ISKME and a consortium with partners from the Center for Languages, Arts and Societies of the Silk Road (CLASSRoad) and the Language Acquisition Resource Center (LARC) at San Diego State University, as part of QFI’s Arabic Language and Culture Initiative. Situated within the OER Commons Arabic microsite, the custom resources community will offer up-to-date, accessible information about instruction, course materials, and opportunities for Arabic language educators and students; designers and administrators of Arabic language programs; and the general public.

Together, OER Commons Arabic and the Arabic Language Learning Resources community seek to provide a high level of access to OER for Arabic-speaking teachers and learners, as well as for those who wish to learn about Arabic language and culture. To that end, building on today’s launch, ISKME and its partners will continue on the next rollout stages for these pioneering ventures.

For more information, see http://oercommons.org/arabic

About Qatar Foundation International

Qatar Foundation International (QFI), LLC, is a U.S.-based member of Qatar Foundation (QF). Its mission is dedicated to connecting cultures and advancing global citizenship through education. QFI is a not-for-profit organization in Washington, D.C., focused on grant-giving and programmatic activities that promote education as a force that facilitates collaboration across geographical, social and cultural boundaries.

To learn more about QFI, please visit www.qfi.org. For media inquiries, please contact Jessica Chen: jchen@qfi.org, +1 714.335.6842

About ISKME

The Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (www.iskme.org), located in Half Moon Bay, Calif., is a global leader in research and practice around data use, open education, and social learning in the education sector. An independent, non-profit organization established in 2002, ISKME is well-known for its OER Commons initiative (www.oercommons.org), as well as its award winning international research on knowledge management in the education sector.