Educators and researchers working in the field of Open Educational Resources (OER) are invited to participate in a survey aimed at developing and validating a set of quality and pedagogical guidelines for the use of OER in higher education.
University and college educators, researchers, and other stakeholders with expertise in the field of OERs are asked to contribute 10 minutes of their time to complete an online survey to help validate the quality and pedagogical guidelines for OER use in higher education.
The study is funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). The principal investigators leading the study are Professors Insung Jung and Teruyoshi Sasaki of the International Christian University, Japan. They would be happy to share results of the survey with respondents upon request. Please direct any questions about the study in general, or about the survey in particular, to Professor Jung.
Responses will be accepted until November 15, 2013. Thank you very much in advance for lending your time, experience and expertise to this important and exciting project, and for sharing this information with others who may be interested! Click here to go to the survey now.

The clock is ticking down to the highly anticipated launch of the Open Educational Resource university (OERu) website. It will be unveiled for the first time on 1 November, 2013. OERu is a virtual collaboration of like-minded institutions committed to creating flexible pathways for OER learners to gain formal academic credit.
At the OER university, anyone with an internet connection and the motivation to learn can study world-class courses for free. Even better, those courses will count towards real qualifications. All of the courses are based on OERs, so students can access the materials freely online without having to pay for textbooks. The courses are designed for independent study, but learners can support each other through the networking channels available.
On Friday November 1, Sir John Daniel will officially launch the OER university website. The institutions of higher education that form the partners of the Open Education Resource university initiative are doing all of their planning for the launch event in the open.  It is important to note that it is not a conference but rather an implementation planning meeting.
In addition, anyone can register to attend the launch event online.

Open Access Week, a global event now entering its sixth year, is an opportunity for the academic and research community to discuss the potential benefits of Open Access. Participants can share what they’ve learned with colleagues and to help inspire wider participation in helping to make Open Access a new norm in scholarship and research.
“Open Access” to information – the free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research, and the right to use and re-use those results as you need – has the power to transform the way research and scientific inquiry are conducted. It has direct and widespread implications for academia, medicine, science, industry, and for society as a whole.
Open Access (OA) has the potential to maximize research investments, increase the exposure and use of published research, facilitate the ability to conduct research across available literature, and enhance the overall advancement of scholarship. Research funding agencies, academic institutions, researchers and scientists, teachers, students, and members of the general public are supporting a move towards Open Access in increasing numbers every year. Open Access Week is a key opportunity for all members of the community to take action to keep this momentum moving forward. More...

LibLink es el proyecto Enlace de Bibliotecas entre América y España a través del cual se comparten más de 17.000 documentos científicos al año.
Las instituciones educativas que participan, forman parte del Consorcio Iberoamericano para la Educación en Ciencia y Tecnología (ISTEC). Con este proyecto se pretende crear y compartir conocimiento a través del intercambio electrónico gratuito de documentos. Entre sus objetivos se encuentran favorecer el intercambio de información bibliográfica, aumentar el uso de tecnologías de la información y la comunicación, divulgar la producción científica de las instituciones que forman parte del Consorcio y conseguir unas mejores condiciones de negociación frente a los proveedores de recursos a la hora de adquirir productos y servicios.
Esta iniciativa se inscribe dentro del movimiento Open Access, con el que se fomenta el acceso abierto y gratuito a materiales educativos digitales. Integrarse al proyecto para acceder gratuitamente a los beneficios de LibLink es muy fácil y sólo requiere que las universidades interesadas se incorporen como miembros a ISTEC.