I’m not sure what to think of this one. It is still too new to really know. But I’m interested to see where it goes. I was in a conversation recently in a listserv (Listserv? Did I just way that? Yep, they still exist…) about the differences between Moodle and Drupal. Some one popped in a message that we should check out OpenAcademic – a project that combines parts of Moodle, Drupal, Elgg, OpenID, and MediaWiki.
Wow. That would be awesome. They don’t have a first release yet, but they do have many interesting thoughts on their site. Their tag line is “bringing education to all.” Nice. They also have a nice mission statement on the front page:
OpenAcademic — supporting learners, teachers, and institutions.
Create an intranet. Blog. Podcast. Manage the school website, and all the club websites. Create a private workspace. Manage a class. Share files. Give students the tools to build portfolios that cross academic years and curricular disciplines. Support teacher professional development. Communicate with parents. Build a safe social networking environment within your school community.
Well. There you go. If they can bring all that hype into being, this could be interesting. I also love this one statement from their site:
Funny. I agree. Ever been in a conversation with someone about learning software, and you call something an LMS, and they stop you and correct you that it is (add fake snobbish accent here) “really a VLE, not an LMS.” Well, excuse me….
Matt is currently an Instructional Designer II at Orbis Education and a Part-Time Instructor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Previously he worked as a Learning Innovation Researcher with the UT Arlington LINK Research Lab. His work focuses on learning theory, Heutagogy, and learner agency. Matt holds a Ph.D. in Learning Technologies from the University of North Texas, a Master of Education in Educational Technology from UT Brownsville, and a Bachelors of Science in Education from Baylor University. His research interests include instructional design, learning pathways, sociocultural theory, heutagogy, virtual reality, and open networked learning. He has a background in instructional design and teaching at both the secondary and university levels and has been an active blogger and conference presenter. He also enjoys networking and collaborative efforts involving faculty, students, administration, and anyone involved in the education process.