U.S. Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter will participate in a media conference call at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, March 5, to announce the first annual Open Education Week and to launch a video competition, entitled “Why Open Education Matters.”
Open Education Week aims to raise awareness about the availability and benefits of free and open textbooks and other material for all levels of education. The video competition, co-sponsored by the Education Department, Open Society Foundations, and Creative Commons, is looking for creative videos that draw attention to the availability of free open education resources and also describe their benefits for students, teachers, and public education institutions.
Kanter will discuss how open education resources (OER) align with President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s priority call to reduce the cost of college, while also improving the quality teaching and learning.