The Open High School of Utah – Using 21st Century Solutions to Change the World One Course at a Time

MEDIA ADVISORY
April 14, 2011
CONTACT: DeLaina Tonks, (801) 725.3396, 

The Open High School of Utah – Using 21st Century Solutions to Change the World One Course at a Time

SALT LAKE CITY - When the Open High School of Utah was founded in 2008, we never imagined that our mission would spread across the globe to Christchurch, New Zealand.

In the wake of tragedy and destruction, the power of technology and a mission to share our quality curriculum with anyone, anywhere, anytime has allowed us to meet the academic needs of students in New Zealand without stepping one foot outside of Utah.

Following a devastating earthquake that hit Christchurch on February 22, much of the city’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, including numerous schools. This has placed a great strain on the education system in New Zealand’s second largest city. The Greater Christchurch Schools Network (GCSN) has stepped up to play a leading role in providing support in the form of blended and online learning for teachers and students in the distressed city. The OHSU curriculum content is the largest single addition to the GCSN resources.

“I want to extend my thanks for the generosity shown in making your courses available,”  shared Paul Seiler with the New Zealand Ministry of Ed. “I am slowly starting to appreciate just how widely sharing is possible if things have ‘open’ as a foundation.”

This large repository of curriculum was made possible through our mission – “Unique to OHSU is our commitment to share the curriculum we have developed as an open educational resource usable by anyone at anytime.”  On September 7, 2010 we released our first ten semesters of creative commons licensed content at www.ocw.openhighschool.org. The objective behind creating open content is to create free and simple access to knowledge and information through collaboration and innovation.

The use of open resources also makes it possible to very easily modify the curriculum to meet student needs. This is perhaps the most exciting aspect of the Open High School of Utah! Every student’s educational experience can be customized to best fit their needs, whether you’re a student learning online in New Zealand or right here in Utah. 21st century technology and shared open curriculum became an instantaneous solution to a difficult situation – now that’s powerful innovation changing the world!

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The Open High School of Utah invites you to learn more about their teaching model and curriculum at www.openhighschool.org and by watching this brief video clip, courtesy of OpenSource.com.

The Open High School of Utah is putting the focus where it should be – on the student. Our mission is to facilitate lifelong success by meeting the needs of the 21st century learner through individualized, student-centered instruction, innovative technology, service learning, and personal responsibility.

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