Hi David, if I make a copy of the original, correct a spelling mistake and republish the copy, then there are two similar versions. If I offer the correction to the author of the original and he accepts it, then there is only one new version of the original. Best, Axel
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Just as an example, if we have a version control system, OERSI would always reference to the one latest version, while older versions would be available behind the scenes: current version Open Educational Resources Search Index and older versions Releases Ā· progit/progit2-de Ā· GitHub. There will be no different version in OERSI to confuse the users. A copy and republication would lead to two entries in OERSI, which could confuse users.
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Thanks for the clarification.
This makes much sense, though we might speculate how much change makes it more than a modified version, not to mention the complexities if David makes a new work by adding chapters off of say version 2.122 and I make a changes version from 2.198ā¦ Or that many OER textbooks are built from a start of significant reuse of multiple works.
And versioning might get to the question of tracking the reuse of OER which now at many places seems to lean on a volunteer system of notifying by a web form (vague memories long ago David, of Scott Leslie pondering how this could be done with documents).
Axel, I am intrigued to see this ability of OER to be tracked by OERSI by adding a tag in Github or Gitlab, and having appropriate metadata (looking at the few titles that show up, at least they are not all computer science). Itās an uphill effort to get many authors to take on the Git system, it might be interesting to set up some way for people to āgitā an experience with something smaller in scale than a whole textbook.
Versioning systems on a larger scale would help in so many ways,.
I just came across Liascript used for the OER GitHub tutorial which looks like an elegant way to render course/OER content from a Github source, a bit like @paulhibbitts Docsify This.
All of this takes me back to a circa 2016 project where I was advocating sourcing content in Markdown from a git repo, and rendering it in WordPress, Hugo, etc. Later the project ended up in an LMSā¦ so I dream of more Git based solutions.
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I suggest that the number of people on the planet who might use OER with actual students in a classroom who also understand the meaning of the phrase, āsourcing content in Markdown from a git repo, and rendering it in WordPress, Hugo, etc,ā
Itās not only a matter of authors taking on the Git system; most people have never heard of Git. Go to an elementary school near where you live and ask how many teachers know what Git is. Then, try to convince them why they might want to know what it is.
And, I donāt see the benefit of keeping track of āversioning.ā
I agree, @danmcguire, that there are vanishingly few in education who would know what those words mean. Why is that, I wonder?
I think thereās a strong case to be made that weāre in the midst of a digital Dark Age. I personally think that everyone should have the digital literacy of knowing what those words mean, and, in addition, understanding terms like āsemantic markupā. (To my mind, the idea that there are many āedtech expertsā who have no idea what these terms mean is much more of a problem, but I digress.)
To make room for the former in the curriculum, we could simply stop teaching (and even using) specific closed products like MS Word or Google Docs. Iām quite sure the world would be far better off (on many levels) if we did those things.
For what itās worth, @cogdog, all of the content on https://tech.oeru.org is written in Markdown, and all of our code (and some documentation) is in git - we run our own git forge (preferring it over anything run by ethically bankrupt corporations like Microsoft or Google).
I firmly believe that literally everyone would benefit from understanding and using version control and semantic markup like āmarkdownā. The former has saved my bacon on many occasions, and the latter has allowed me to, among other things, understand how documents should be madeā¦ so that theyāre accessible to those relying on screen readersā¦ or those wanting to unambiguously interpret content written for human consumption with a computer.
The fact that we donāt already do this is testament to the digital colonialism most of use have endured, many entirely oblivious about the extent to which those framing their digital existences are, in fact, censoring their learning and understanding.
Remember: for Big Tech to maximise shareholder value, they have to keep their users ignorant (or else theyāll realise how low-grade and inconsistent the software they wall use really is).
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Just wondering if anyone has see the Mozilla Open Leadership training (Open Leadership Training Series : README) and the various derivatives ( like Open Life Sciences) . These are mentoring people into Git as a collaborative repository. The mentorship is structured and collaborative. Iām half way through my mentorship journey. Enjoying it enormously. Yes, many may not have heard of github, but thatās not a good reason to not start learning now?
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Yes - also the Carpentries have well developed (and openly licensed!) courses - entire curricula - to help people get up-to-speed with Git, Python, R, and other technologies that help anyone improve their professional effectiveness by developing competence in creating - rather than just consuming - digital technologies. In particular, they engage with scientists and librarians for whom that new literacy is especially desperately needed.
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Unfortunately, none of the Mozilla Open Leadership training video content works anymore. Sad.
Yep. āPost must be at least 20 characters.ā
I have found a detailed edit history invaluable for cooperative OER developments or when providing mentoring or training support for educators improving their digital skills for using OER with actual learners.
I found this: Open Leadership Training Series : README Is it what you were after? The videos Iāve checked all seem to workā¦
Dan, I do not disagree with you, nor am I advocating āgitā as tool I would expect many/any classroom teachers to use now. This conversation was in the context of the OERSI tool, and now that I read this topic from top to bottom that was initially about choosing an OER repository, it has ranged many places.
Always appreciate your remarks here, as they always generate good conversations.
If you click through youāll see the video content canna be accessed.
The actual question I wanted to answer in this chat was: If you donāt have a repository in your immediate area, what can you do to share your OER? I came up with the idea that GitHub/GitLab are always possible, whether you teach in South America, Africa or even in Europe in a region where there is no repository. For this reason, we have also connected these global platforms to the OERSI. Over time, however, it has also become clear that these platforms offer far more advantages and features than the actual repositories, as OER are not the same as open access publications in the academic field, but rather thrive on continuous joint development. While it is good that there is the possibility to store and publish your materials somewhere, we see the real strength in coordinated collaboration to create something bigger together. These platforms can also be used to show students how they can organize their work together in projects and contribute to current teaching materials in order to improve them.
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Huh, which video, in particular, are you wanting to view? Itād be great if you could provide a link (the one not working for you).
Iām not sure where that video comes from. The first video I found is Open Leadership Training Series : The GitHub Interface and Markdown, and it appears to work. I canāt see the actual link you used to access the Mozilla and Firefox Creation Myth videoā¦ itās just the link mediated by Discourse. Are you perhaps losing the Wayback wrapper?