Curriki, the Global Education and Learning Community today announced that it has been awarded the King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in education at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Curriki was one of two winners chosen from among 68 projects from 51 countries and one international nongovernmental organization focusing on the theme of open access to education. The prize is placed under the high patronage of HM King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain. In addition to the UNESCO honor, Curriki also unveiled a series of significant international partnerships with organizations in the United Kingdom, Canada and South Africa.
Curriki's open source model allows the education community to share, improve and collaborate on the development of curriculum and curricular resources. "We are honored to be recognized with this very prestigious award," said Bobbi Kurshan, Executive Director of Curriki. "Winning this prize will help engage Ministries of Education around the globe with Curriki's innovative open source model for curriculum development and distribution. We are also pleased about the growing global ecosystem of partners Curriki continues to build with organizations such as The Innovation Unit, LEARN and Learnthings Africa."
Working with The Innovation Unit one of the leading organizations for education innovation in the UK, the new partnership will investigate the impact of Curriki's Open Source content and tools in The Innovation Unit's "Next Practice" projects. The first project of the partnership, located at the Crosshall School north of London, will involve teachers creating templates using Curriki's new wiki-based tools. Students, working in small groups, will work collaboratively to complete their assignments, which will cover topics such as carbon emissions and global warming. After the initial launch, the project will be expanded to include more than 500 students.
Mike Gibbons, Chief Executive of The Innovation Unit, said, "The Innovation Unit's Next Practice projects are based on ideas and practices developed by the creativity of practicing professionals. Open source platforms like Curriki are very powerful tools for supporting this creativity for teachers and also ensuring that learning is personal and powerful for every student."
Curriki also announced a new initiative in Canada with LEARN, a non-profit educational foundation supported by the Québec-Canada Entente for Minority Language Education. Its mission his too provide access to quality learning material, educational technology, and e-learning resources in a timely, responsive manner to the Québec English Education Community. Initially, LEARN will share the Learning Evaluation Situations (curricular units) that cover French language and social sciences. Upon approval from the Ministry, LEARN will also share content on optics and the "ohm Zone." LEARN is looking to spearhead the implementation of Curriki Canada and to foster the development of a Pan-Canadian alliance for Professional Development and e-learning.
"LEARN's vision is to be a beacon for excellence in education and bring cutting edge resources to improve student success. We are confident that the partnership with Curriki will bring tremendous value to the students and educators of Quebec," said Michael J. Canuel, CEO of LEARN.
Finally, Curriki also announced a new partnership that will feature content from Johannesburg-based Learnthings Africa. Learnthings content covers materials for ages 4-18 across a range of subjects and curricula. All material is interactive, user friendly and makes learning a fun, engaging experience. Learnthings will be sharing with Curriki a range of science lessons aimed at ages 11 - 14 years. All lessons have clear objectives, animations, experiments and illustrations.
"Over 400 million kids, worldwide, do not have access to a primary education. Curriki is all about eliminating this education divide working in conjunction with governments, educators, the private sector, students and the community at large," said Scott McNealy, the founder of Curriki and the Chairman and Co-Founder of Sun Microsystems. "Winning the UNESCO prize as well as these and other forthcoming international partnerships are important steps to making sure that every child has access to high quality curriculum at no charge."
About Curriki
Curriki - the Global Education & Learning Community is a nonprofit dedicated to improving education by empowering teachers, students and parents with universal access to free and Open Source Curricula. Curriki is building the first and only Internet site for a complete course of instruction and assessment for K-12. The organization will create a world-class educational environment that is community developed and supported. Founded by Sun Microsystems in 2004, Curriki now operates as an independent nonprofit. For more information about Curriki, visit www.curriki.org