California is the 16th state to join the U.S. Department of Education’s #GoOpen Initiative, which encourages educators to use openly licensed educational material.
California created an online resource exchange for educators called Collaboration in Common, focused on creating and sharing a statewide repository. This builds on the #GoOpen campaign by offering educational resources and materials without cost or violating copyright laws.
“Collaboration in Common is a great example of how California looks for innovative ways to improve teaching and learning throughout our diverse state,” said Tom Torlakson, California superintendent of public instruction. “We are leveraging technology and our talented teaching workforce to create a first-of-its-kind professional learning community and resource exchange that will offer professional development and access to new ideas and resources to benefit all of our schools.”
The #GoOpen initiative allows schools to repurpose funding typically spent on these educational materials–which can now be accessed openly in some states–and invest in digital learning.
“States are powerful collaborators in supporting and scaling innovation,” said Joseph South, director of Office of Educational Technology. “With the launch of statewide #GoOpen initiatives, states are helping districts transition to a new model of learning by facilitating the creation of an open ecosystem of digital resources that can increase equity and empower teachers.”