... From the Editors
A letter from the editors of the Sloan-C View

Too often we fail to recognize and pay tribute to the creative spirit.
~ Alfred P. Sloan

This issue recognizes the creativity of open source projects that are building communities for sharing innovation and resources.

Asynchronous learning networks have made open education resources (OER) more freely accessible, including “learning resources (courseware, content modules, learning objects, learner support and assessment tools, online learning communities); resources to support teachers (tools for teachers and support materials to enable them to create, adapt and use OER; as well as training materials for teachers; and other teaching tools), and resources to assure the quality of education and educational practices” [1].

This issue of the Sloan-C View introduces 3 open education resources, each of which considers users as co-developers:

• Connexions is a unique web-based teaching and learning environment. For authors and instructors, Connexions combines free authoring, course building, and publishing tools with an open-access content repository.
• The Open Learning Initiative (OLI) develops high quality openly available online courses through use-driven design that is grounded in cognitive theory, formative evaluation for students and faculty, and iterative course improvement based on empirical evidence.
• The National Repository of Online Courses (NROC) project supports the development and distribution of high-quality online courses to a worldwide audience .

•  In “Hot off the Blog,” Ray Schroeder looks at open source initiatives.

•  A short list of open courseware, syllabuses and modules provides descriptions from the project websites.

•  In Sloan-C member news, congratulations to the University of Central Florida and Virginia Tech for receiving 2005 Educause Teaching & Learning Awards.

The purpose of the Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) is to help learning organizations continually improve the quality, scale, and breadth of their online programs according to their own distinctive missions, so that education will become a part of everyday life, accessible and affordable for anyone, anywhere, at any time, in a wide variety of disciplines.

You are welcome to join Sloan-C: http://www.sloan-c.org