At any one time, about 300 million children of school going age are not in school. Experience indicates that when schooling is disrupted, whether by a pandemic, a natural disaster or other reasons, not all children return to the classroom. In addition, most countries have growing numbers of young people who have not completed schooling, or not well enough to progress, and who find themselves neither in employment nor in further education and training.

Open schooling can create learning opportunities for those not in school, those who left school and those who are in school but not learning effectively. There is no single model for open schooling provision which might offer a complementary or alternative curriculum, or both. However, all models can benefit from greater use of open educational resources; open, distance and flexible methods and open educational practices. In this way it is possible to address issues of access, quality and affordability in a sustainable way.

This book offers guidelines and examples that will be of use to teachers, managers, policy-makers and education leaders interested to ensure that the education system meets the needs of all children and youths.

This practical toolkit is designed to support open education leaders and community members across states and districts interested to increase awareness of OER and digital equity. It contains talking points, sample newsletter or website language, and sample social media posts, for anyone to use and adapt in their communications.

In October 2022, the #GoOpen National Network launched an important strategic policy action to advocate for integrating OER into digital equity implementations and this toolkit supports the network's communications strategies.

Funded by the federal bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, P.L. 117-58), the Digital Equity Act of 2021 requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to establish grant programs for promoting digital equity, supporting digital inclusion activities, and building capacity for state-led efforts to increase adoption of broadband by their residents. As states craft their Digital Equity Plans, they have a unique opportunity to leverage OER to support equity and capitalize on improved digital infrastructure.

The #GoOpen Policy Letter and Guidance documents were shared with state level IT and broadband infrastructure leaders across the country and are available as resources featured in the #GoOpen Hub on OER Commons.

The GoOpen National Network is launching an important strategic policy action to advocate for integrating OER into digital equity implementations at a time when states are specifying their Digital Equity Plans.

Funded by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, P.L. 117-58), the Digital Equity Act of 2021 requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to establish grant programs for promoting digital equity, supporting digital inclusion activities, and building capacity for state-led efforts to increase adoption of broadband by their residents.

The State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program will be making distributions to states based on their populations, demographics, and availability and adoption of broadband. The Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program will also support efforts to achieve digital equity, promote digital inclusion, and stimulate adoption of broadband. This federal funding can provide an unprecedented opportunity to realize the full educational potential of expanding digital access and inclusion not only through connectivity and IT devices, but also through the integration of OER.

On April 4, 2023, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee sent a letter to the Education Community seeking input on policies that the Committee should consider during the reauthorization of the Education Sciences Reform Act, including the Educational Technical Assistance Act and the National Assessment of Education Progress Authorization Act, from early learning through postsecondary education.To inform the Committee's work, they invited input on several specific questions.  In response, the #GoOpen National Network composed and submitted this letter in an effort to help the Committee recognize the pivotal role that Open Educational Resources can and should play in promoting and supporting student success.  The letter also highlights four specific ways that ESRA can support the use of high-quality OER by students, families, and educators.

The GoOpen National Network is disseminating this letter to state leads of broadband, IT and digital equity to consider OER in their Digital Equity Plans during 2022-2023.

The letter can be copied and customized for those interested in communicating and advocating with state leaders about OER awareness and the potential benefits of OER integration into state plans.

Read the accompanying GUIDANCE document: https://www.oercommons.org/courses/goopen-guidance-maximizing-the-impact-of-digital-access-and-inclusion-by-using-oer?__hub_id=97

BACKGROUND: The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”, P.L. 117-58) requires State Digital Equity Plans to identify barriers to broadband and device equity and accessibility. The plans must also feature objective measures of educational, workforce, health, and other benefits derived from closing connectivity gaps. Requiring or encouraging open licensing of digital materials, such as high-quality educational materials, is a powerful policy strategy for magnifying the educational and other social impacts of broadband access and inclusivity. With this goal as our guide, the #GoOpen National Network encourages you to work with the education leaders in your state to make open educational resources and other openly licensed materials a key element of your state’s Digital Equity Plan.

On Thursday, January 26, 2023, #GoOpen held a public webinar titled, “How Open Educational Resources Can Support Digital Equity in Your State”.  The session dove into the benefits of OER for digital equity, including hearing the perspective of a state that has invested in OER to promote equity. Featuring Connecticut education leader Doug Casey, the session provided specific examples of how participants might take action in their states to craft Digital Equity Plans that can leverage OER to support equity and capitalize on improved digital infrastructure.

Il volume rappresenta la tappa finale della prima stagione di implementazione del Progetto ABACUS (giugno 2019 - settembre 2020), sostenuta dal finanziamento pubblico garantito dalla Regione Siciliana e dalla Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri. In tal senso, la pubblicazione raccoglie sia una sezione di materiali di discussione critica sul percorso progettuale e sui primi esiti maturati, sia una ricca parte di contributi tematici offerti da referenti istituzionali, studiosi ed esperti, docenti accademici e ricercatori, professionisti e rappresentanti di organismi del Terzo settore Sono state così affrontate ed esaminate differenti tematiche e problematiche socio-culturali e socio-economiche, e prospettive e approcci metodologico-operativi tra loro affini e convergenti, che si sviluppano a cavallo delle politiche sociali, giovanili e culturali, della progettazione sociale e culturale, dell'innovazione sociale e della diversità culturale, in differenti contesti socio-territoriali siciliani e italiani, con una particolare attenzione per quelle iniziative che rappresentano casi paradigmatici in cui le istanze istituzionali, della ricerca, dell'educazione e della formazione si incontrano con le aspettative dei pubblici differenziati e, specialmente, delle giovani generazioni, anche sull'orizzonte della innovazione dell'occupazione giovanile.