Letter from the mEd Desk
Nicole Carney
Director of Engagement
Dear EdTech Connected readers,
We are excited for the release of the our third EdTech Connected issue with a thematic focus on Open Educational Resources (OERs). However, since our last issue a lot has happened!
Our team has grown and we want to welcome the newest members: Scott Nicholson, Escape Games for Education Strategic Advisor; John Comings, Senior Literacy Specialist; Hector Rosario, Senior Numeracy Specialist; and Peter Joyce, Senior Digital Scaling Specialist. You can learn more about them on Our Team page, along with our great set of interns and volunteers. With the addition of new team members has come two new activities: #InspirationSTEM and Afghan Kids Support Hub (use the links to learn more about these new initiatives).
The Alliance Membership is growing as well! We currently have 44 innovative and dynamic members at the moment, and anticipate adding new members in the upcoming year. These new additions will be announced in our eNews and shared through our social media channels.
We also hosted our 11th Annual Symposium in September on EdTech for Accelerating Foundational Literacy and Numeracy in Low-Resource Contexts. Overall, the event included 145+ presenters who represented 38 countries from around the world. You can view recordings from the symposium sessions on the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Showcase page.
As for this issue of EdTech Connected, we chose OERs as the thematic topic as a response to one of the recommendations in the #SaveOurFuture White Paper produced by the Education Commission. Since the publication of this report, the mEducation Alliance has been working to promote OERs in various capacities and collaborating with a variety of partners, including the Education Commission, EdTech Hub, UNESCO, and Neil Butcher & Associates (NBA) on this topic. Also, be on the lookout for an OER policy dialogues series the mEducation Alliance will be co-hosting with NBA in the new year!
In this issue, there are a variety of features that demonstrate how OERs benefit educators and learners. Are you looking for organizations who have produced quality OERs? Checkout out the Notable OERs article. If you are seeking expert opinions on OERs, then we suggest watching one of the three Voices interviews: Angela DeBarger (Hewlett Foundation), Zeynep Varoglu (UNESCO), or Neil Butcher and Kirsty von Gogh (NBA). We also suggest reading a thought-provoking piece co-written by UNHCR and Learning Equality on Maximizing the Utility of OERs: An exploration into curriculum alignment, collaboration, and machine learning. Overall, there is a lot of great content that we are excited to share with you! We want to thank everyone who made this issue of EdTech Connected possible.
And Happy Holidays from the mEducation Alliance – We look forward to all the wonderful things to come in the New Year!
All the best,
Nicole Carney
Director of Engagement, mEducation Alliance
