On Monday, March 5th, Creative Commons, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Open Society Institute kicked off a new video competition aimed at raising awareness of Open Educational Resources (OER), with prizes ranging from $1,000 to $25,000. According to the competition website, Why Open Education Matters is “one part of an ongoing campaign to raise public awareness so that more people know about Open Educational Resources and the contribution they can make to improve the quality of teaching and learning while also substantially lowering the costs of a high-quality education.”
Videos should be no more than 3 minutes long and must be submitted by June 5, 2012. Competition organizers suggest that successful videos will communicate the benefits, opportunities, and best uses of OER to improve educational opportunities and innovation for students, teachers, and public institutions.
The impressive panel of judges includes well-known individuals like Davis Guggenheim (celebrated director of the documentaries An Inconvenient Truth and Waiting for ‘Superman’) and James Franco (actor, artist, and filmmaker).
Are you an OER fan and want to help spread awareness of its benefits? Have you seen OER in action? Then be sure to check out the official Why Open Education Matters website to learn more about the competition – and let the cameras roll!