{"timeline":{"defaultZoomLevel":"3","height":600,"asset":{},"date":[{"asset":{},"startDate":"1946","headline":"University of South Africa begins Distance Education Program","text":"

In 1946, the University of South Africa (UNISA) became the first university to teach exclusively by way of distance education. Owing to its distance learning opportunities--which brought education to those who couldn\u2019t attend residential institutions--UNISA played a key role in providing quality tertiary education to previously disadvantaged groups during political tensions and the apartheid years.<\/p>\n","endDate":"1946"},{"asset":{"media":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/2\/24\/Eleanor_Roosevelt_UDHR.jpg\/1920px-Eleanor_Roosevelt_UDHR.jpg","caption":"Eleanor Roosevelt holding poster of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (in English), Lake Success, New York. November 1949.","credit":"FDR Presidential Library & Museum \/ CC BY (https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0)"},"startDate":"1948,12,10","headline":"Universal Declaration of Human Rights","text":"

\u201cEveryone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a critical document in both the history of human rights and in education. Drafted by individuals from across world, the document established for the first time a set of fundamental and universal human rights. It was also the first document to recognize education as a fundamental human right. Written in<\/p>\n\n

Education as a fundamental human right is cited as the driving force behind open education\u2019s efforts to democratize education. Rooted in access, agency, ownership, and participation, open education and OER are part of a broader movement to democratize education in accordance with this basic human right \u2014 by removing barriers that people face in accessing education.<\/p>\n","endDate":"1948,12,10"},{"asset":{"media":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/0\/05\/Open_University_Coat_of_Arms_Modern.png","caption":"Coat of Arms, The Open University"},"startDate":"1969,04,23","headline":"UK establishes Open University","text":"

17 years after UNISA pioneered tertiary distance education, British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, proposed the UK Open University (the OU). Like UNISA, the OU was seen as an opportunity to use communications technology to bring high quality degree-level learning to those without the opportunity to attend campus. Officially established on April 23, 1969, the OU\u2019s origins are similarly rooted in altruism and social justice, paired with a motivation to disprove the assumed link between exclusivity and excellence in education.<\/p>\n\n

With the internet not yet in existence, early students of OU received their education at a distance through printed course materials and science home experiment kits. As time and technology advanced, university staff adapted their teaching methods. In 1971, for example, the OU signed an agreement with BBC that allowed OU to deliver courses, news, and information about the university on BBC 2 and Radio 4 for 30 hours per week. By the 1980s, students were sent OU broadcasts via videocassette, and in some cases, those in select classes were required to have home computers.
\n <\/p>\n","endDate":"1969,04,23"},{"asset":{},"startDate":"1983","headline":"Launch of the GNU Free Software Project","text":"

Before open source software was the widely recognized term, \u201cfree software\u201d was used as a blanket term to capture similar meaning. Richard Stallman is credited with laying the foundation for both. In 1983 Stallman launched the GNU free software project, creating an operating system free from constraints to use of its source code. By Stallman\u2019s definition, free software does not have to be free of cost, but does give people the freedom to:<\/p>\n\n

\n\t
run the program for any purpose, <\/li>\n\t
modify the program from the source code to suit needs, <\/li>\n\t
redistribute copies for gratis or at a cost, <\/li>\n\t
and distribute modified versions of the program for the community\u2019s benefit. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","endDate":"1983"},{"asset":{"media":"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/3510\/4059116681_7c7483e1e9_k.jpg"","credit":"The Internet is Open by Jeremy Brooks - CC BY NC 2.0","caption":"The Internet is Open by Jeremy Brooks - CC BY NC 2.0"},"startDate":"1991","text":"
In 1991, the World Wide Web became publicly available as a series of documents interconnected via hypertext links, paving the way for the internet as we know it today. The World Wide Web, and by extension the Internet, have made it possible to share and access information at will, providing the infrastructure on which it has become possible to make educational materials openly available and to connect global communities of OER champions. <\/p>\n","headline":"Welcome to the World Wide Web","endDate":"1991"},{"asset":{"media":"https:\/\/opensenselabs.com\/sites\/default\/files\/2019-05\/Untitled%20design-49.png"},"startDate":"1998","headline":""Free Software" rebranded as "Open Source"","text":"
The term \u201copen source,\u201d however, was born out of a motivation by Eric Raymond, author of \u201cThe Cathedral and the Bazaar\u201d (1997), and others to rebrand free software as appealing to the commercial software industry. Recognizing that \u201cfree software\u201d was often interpreted to mean free of cost, Raymond\u2019s \u201cThe Cathedral and the Bazaar\u201d instead pushes the argument that \u201copen source software communities develop software faster, produce software with fewer bugs, are more innovative, and offer a better fit for the end-users than do proprietary software production companies.\u201d The paper prompted Netscape Communications Corporation to release their Internet suite as free software, leading to the coining of the term \u201copen source\u201d at a 1998 strategy session in Palo Alto, California. <\/p>\n","endDate":"1998"},{"asset":{"media":"https:\/\/www.merlot.org\/merlot\/getCBContentImage?img=1069680%2Fe%2F202031684219444681000.png","caption":"https:\/\/www.merlot.org\/"},"text":"
MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching), provides \u201ccurated online learning and support materials and content creation tools, led by an international community of educators, learners, and researchers.\u201d MERLOT was launched in 1997 under the leadership of Chuck Schneebeck, Director of California State University\u2019s Center for Distributed Learning (CSU-CDL)--an academic service provider for the California State University System\u2019s 23 campuses. MERLOT was developed out of need for a technology service to which users could contribute a collection of online resources, and over time it grew into an online digital resource library. <\/p>\n\n
In 1998, a State Higher Education Executives Organization\/American Productivity and Quality Center (SHEEO\/APQC) study on faculty development and instructional technology selected CSU-CDL as one of six best practices centers in North America. This award resulted in institutions collaborating with CSU-CDL on the MERLOT project, so that by July 2000 the project had grown into a cooperative of 23 Institutional Partners of MERLOT--each a higher education system or individual institution. Today, MERLOT serves as one of the largest online OER repositories and as a consortium composed of over 30 Partner Members who contribute annual fees to sustain MERLOT\u2019s activities. Key to MERLOT\u2019s activities is the fostering of community, as the community drives growth of by contributing\/reviewing resources and networking on behalf of MERLOT\u2019s mission.
\n <\/p>\n","headline":"MERLOT project launched","startDate":"1997","endDate":"1997"},{"asset":{},"startDate":"1998","endDate":"1999","headline":"David Wiley coins term "Open Content" and creates the Open Publication License","text":"
David Wiley was inspired by the values and ideas that shaped the open source movement. Seeking to apply the same values and ideas to educational materials, like music, literature, art, and scholarly research, Wiley coined the term \u201copen content\u201d in 1998.<\/p>\n\n
Wiley determined that the first step to creating open content lied in creating a General Public License (GPL) for content. Wiley released the OpenContent License in 1998, and in 1999--in collaboration with Eric Raymond, publisher Tim O\u2019Reilly, and others--released the Open Publication License (OPL) (1999). The OPL allowed users to make copies, redistribute, and revise materials licensed with an OPL, so long as they attributed the original creator. Licensors could also opt into additional license clauses that would, for example, prevent commercial use of content or revisions of OPL-licensed content.<\/p>\n"},{"asset":{"media":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/c\/c9\/Ocwhp.png","credit":"CC BY SA 4.0"},"startDate":"2000","text":"
Beginning in 1999, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) faculty began to consider how they might use the internet to fulfill the school\u2019s mission of advancing knowledge. Open CourseWare was proposed in 2000, and with original funding from William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, was announced in The New York Times by April 2001. In the announcement, author Carey Goldberg cited the project as a 10-year initiative to create public websites \u201cfor almost all of [MIT\u2019s] 2,000 courses,\u201d where materials like \u201clecture notes, problem sets, syllabuses, exams, simulations, even video lectures\u201d could be made available for use and repurpose at no charge. 500 courses were published by OCW\u2019s 2003 launch, and since then materials from over 2000 courses have been made openly available. <\/p>\n","headline":"MIT Open Courseware (OCW) Launches","endDate":"2003"},{"asset":{"media":"https:\/\/opensource.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/image-full-size\/public\/lead-images\/creative_commons.jpg"},"startDate":"2001","endDate":"2002","headline":"Founding of Creative Commons and CC Licenses","text":"
Founded in 2001 by Lawrence Lessig and others, Creative Commons grew out of inspiration from web publisher Eric Eldred and in response to a growing community of bloggers who were creating, sharing, and remixing online content. The Creative Commons licenses were released in 2002 as a means to legally enable creators like the community of bloggers to retain their copyright while sharing their work under more flexible terms than \u201call rights reserved.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
As the internet expanded the ways in which people were able to share digital content, educational resources became increasingly born digital. Creative Commons licenses made it possible for creators to define the conditions under which others use their work and for users to interpret their rights to an item.
\n <\/p>\n"},{"asset":{"caption":"UNESCO Global Open Educational Resources Logo - CC BY 3.0","media":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/2\/20\/Global_Open_Educational_Resources_Logo.svg\/1920px-Global_Open_Educational_Resources_Logo.svg.png"},"startDate":"2002,07,01","endDate":"2002,07,03","headline":"UNESCO defines the term "OER"","text":"
UNESCO convened the Forum on the Impact of Open Courseware for Higher Education in Developing Countries in Paris on July 1-3, 2002. The forum was held in partnership with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications. Following MIT\u2019s high-profile push to release Open Courseware, a group of seventeen participants representing higher education from over ten countries came together to increase support and collaboration in this new area of education. <\/p>\n\n
Recognizing the need to rename the service that was until that point referred to as \u201copen courseware,\u201d a working group at the forum coined and defined the term \u201copen educational resources\u201d (OER) as: \u201cThe open provision of educational resources, enabled by information and communication technologies, for consultation, use and adaption by a community of users for non-commercial purposes.\u201d
\n <\/p>\n"},{"asset":{"caption":"Read the Cape Town Declaration: https:\/\/www.capetowndeclaration.org\/read-the-declaration","media":"https:\/\/www.capetowndeclaration.org\/cpt10\/img\/cpt10-logo-short.png"},"startDate":"2007,07","endDate":"2008,01,22","text":"
Held in Cape Town in September 2007, the Cape Town Meeting brought together 29 leading proponents of open education from nations across the globe, including South Africa, Poland, Chile, and Canada. <\/p>\n\n
Convened by the Open Society Institute and the Shuttleworth Foundation, the Cape Town Meeting was intended to accelerate efforts to promote open resources, technology, and teaching practices in education. Much like Forum on the Impact of Open Courseware for Higher Education in Developing Countries, participants discussed ways in which to expand OER initiatives through collaboration. Its outcome--co-authored by meeting participants--was the Cape Town Declaration. <\/p>\n\n
Released publicly on January 22, 2008, the Declaration is a statement of principle, strategy, and commitment. It recognizes open education as not just a means to increase access to education, but also as an opportunity to imagine \u201ca new pedagogy where educators and learners create, shape and evolve knowledge together\u2026.\u201d In understanding and articulating the barriers to realizing open educational resources and open technologies, however, the declaration presents three strategies to \u201cincrease the reach and impact of open educational resources:\u201d<\/p>\n\n
\n\t
Educators and learners are encouraged to actively participating in the open education movement. <\/li>\n\t
Educators, authors, publishers, and institutions are encouraged to release their resources openly. <\/li>\n\t
Governments, school boards, colleges, and universities are called upon to make open education a priority.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
As of 2020, the declaration has been signed by 2635 individuals and 280 organizations, each committing to the declaration\u2019s three strategies. It remains part of a global movement towards open education.<\/p>\n","headline":"Cape Town Declaration"},{"asset":{"media":"http:\/\/www.unesco.org\/new\/fileadmin\/MULTIMEDIA\/HQ\/CI\/CI\/pdf\/Events\/Paris%20OER%20Declaration_01.pdf"},"startDate":"2012,06,20","endDate":"2012,06,22","headline":"The first World OER Congress is held in Paris","text":"
Global advocacy for OER culminated at the first World OER Congress in Paris on June 20-22, 2012, led by UNESCO, Commonwealth of Learning (COL), and other partners. The Congress was held to showcase global best practices around OER, celebrate the 10th anniversary of UNESCO\u2019s 2002 Forum, and release the 2012 Paris OER Declaration.<\/p>\n\n
\n\t
Recalling previous OER Declarations--like the Cape Town OER Declaration--and global declarations declaring education a human right--like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights--the Paris OER Declaration made 10 recommendations to grow OER: <\/li>\n\t
Foster awareness and use of OER<\/li>\n\t
Facilitate enabling environments for Information Communications Technology to bridge the digital divide.<\/li>\n\t
Reinforce the development of strategies of policies on OER.<\/li>\n\t
Promote the understanding and use of open licensing frameworks.<\/li>\n\t
Support capacity building for the sustainable development of materials \u2013 support institutions and teachers in building OER.<\/li>\n\t
Foster strategic alliances for OER.<\/li>\n\t
Encourage the development and adaptation of OER in a variety of languages and cultural contexts.<\/li>\n\t
Encourage research on OER.<\/li>\n\t
Facilitate finding, retrieving and sharing OER.<\/li>\n\t
Encourage the open licensing of educational materials produced with public funds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
The Paris OER Declaration therefore reaffirmed previous advocacy efforts and actions made at national and international levels to support the expansion of OER creation and adoption. The importance of these efforts were further reaffirmed with the United Nations\u2019 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
\n <\/p>\n"},{"asset":{"caption":"Read more about SDG 4: https:\/\/sdg4education2030.org\/","media":"https:\/\/sdg4education2030.org\/sites\/default\/files\/EN-Wheel_SDG4%20wout%20icons%20transparent.png"},"startDate":"2015","endDate":"2015","headline":"UN Sustainable Development Goals Released","text":"
In 2015, the United Nations Member States Adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development, which featured 17 Development Goals that together address global challenges, including poverty, climate change, inequality, and justice. Goal Number 4 calls for Quality Education; it indicates the necessity to \u201censure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.\u201d In so doing, UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 brings to focus the statements made in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in which equal access to higher education was formally recognized as a human right. As such, UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 has given further cause to push open education as a means through which to achieve inclusive and equitable lifelong access to education.<\/p>\n"},{"asset":{"media":"https:\/\/en.unesco.org\/sites\/default\/files\/ljubljana_oer_action_plan_2017.pdf"},"startDate":"2017","endDate":"2017","text":"
In 2017, global representatives from 111 countries convened for the second World OER Congress, this time in Ljubljana, Slovenia and organized by UNESCO and the Government of Slovenia. Here, the representatives adopted the 2017 Ljubljana OER Action Plan, which recommends 41 actions to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal on quality education. <\/p>\n\n
The Action Plan grew out of broad consultation, including six regional OER consultations attended by experts from more than 100 countries, an online consultation on the draft that saw input from more than 100 individuals, and recommendations from sessions at the second World OER Congress. The wide consultation resulted in a plan addressing five key areas for government action: <\/p>\n\n
\n\t
\u201cBuilding the capacity of users to find, re-use, create and share OER,<\/li>\n\t
Language and cultural issues,<\/li>\n\t
Ensuring inclusive and equitable access to quality OER,<\/li>\n\t
Developing sustainability models,<\/li>\n\t
Developing supportive policy environments.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
The widespread consultation, culminating in a 500 person World Congress, in indicative of the global attention that OER have gained over the course of open education\u2019s history. Present and future growth requires collective action in line with the Ljubljana OER Action Plan.<\/p>\n","headline":"Ljubljana OER Action Plan"},{"asset":{},"startDate":"2019,11,25","headline":"2019 UNESCO Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER)","text":"
\" The Recommendation on OER<\/a>, adopted by UNESCO\u2019s General Conference at its 40th session on 25 November 2019, is the first international normative instrument to embrace the field of openly licensed educational materials and technologies in education. \" (UNESCO, 2019). Read the document in it's entirety here<\/a>.<\/p>\n"}],"language":"en","headline":"Short History of OER","text":"
This timeline covers key milestones in the history of OER, tracing the relationship between technology and human aspirations throughout.<\/div>\n"}}

An Updated Short History of OER

Holly Ashbourne