The Mission

The open academy of knowledge should set its mission very clearly in order to create the community of learners and educators who will build such a huge organization from scratch.

The academy should not be influenced by the current education paradigms. The models upon which the education, worldwide, is  built, are proving their inability to accommodate for the growth in the learners community! Well, the community has not really exploded with people, rather, the whole world of learners and educator have come together in one place, at least virtually.

The Mission
The Open Academy of Knowledge will provide the community of learners the facility to communicate knowledge  by using the latest technology of the time as well as assisting the learners to develop their knowledge at their own pace and in the direction that best utilizes their capabilities and potentials.

In order to fulfil its mission, the founders of the academy will need to discuss and set plans for the following issues:

1. Identification of individuals
2. Assessment of knowledge, skills, and abilities of individuals
3. Creating the network of knowledge modules
4. Assembling the necessary expertise for the creation of the organization
5. Continuously identifying the available technology and its potential in knowledge communication
6. Sustainability
7. Continuous evolution
8. ....

The above list  is far from exclusive, thus, your input is vital for the continuation of this idea, and the realization of the dream.

To get started, I suggest a number of on-line meetings, discussion forums, WIKI pages. etc... The organization of a conference to get the people who believe in this dream might be another idea for the development of an action plan that can fulfil it.

There exists, currently, a WIKI named Open Academy of Knowledge http://openacademyofknowledge.wikispaces.com/ which maybe used as one of the communication platforms.

Your input and ideas is still needed!

Open Conference!

The open conference concept, as other ideas in this WIKI, is not any innovation of mine. The concept involves the online submission, review, and publishing of papers. It also involves the logical gathering of people interested in a certain subject.

The point now becomes to the questions:

1. Are you ready to publish your current research in an open conference?
2. Are you willing to become one of the conference organizing committee?
3. Are you willing to attend the conference from the luxury of your living room?

I know that I am. I know that you might be too! The question is, how many others are?

The Open Academy of Knowledge

The Open Academy of Knowledge



Imagine a place where you can go to acquire a new peice of knowledge, attend a regular class in a course, or even getting a certification of what you have lready learned ... most importantly, for FREE

Imagine going to teach your class, give a seminar, or presenting your latest research to people who maybe anywhere and who may attend it anytime ... most importantly, for FREE

Imagine publishing your research in a peer reviewed community where you get the instant feedback from your reviewers and get cited instantly by those who are interested in your work ... most importantly, for FREE

OK, don't laugh, I know that you know how to do all that, the technology is all out there, and you have already used different parts of it, if not all ot it.

My point is that you and I need to get our heads together and form that sort of community together ... YES, there are a lot of issues, people are working on different types of projects that make up different pieces of the puzzle, but virtually no one of them believes that it can be reliable and trustworthy as attending "The University of XYZ" that is ranked #xyz on the world, and they would prefer to teach in "The Academy of BUGGY" that pays them Gazilion buggys ber year, and most importantly, they would prefer to publish thier research in the "International Journal of Nowhere-ism" that has an impact factor of 10^-25.

Now you realized that you are one of those! How to get out there and convince yourself, first, and others to contribute in the founding of this type of academy? An academy that charges no one any fees nor pays anyone any sallaries! Most importantly, an academy that could only, at best, provide you with a virtual lab to conduct your experiment.

I am SURE that many others out there have thought of this idea and many of them have written such a blog, letter, note, or even a paper. If you know any of them, help me getting them together, and give me the honor of joining them in realizing this dream, THE OPEN ACADEMY OF KNOWLEDGE

Open Science Journal - A White Paper!

Have you ever sent a paper for publication in a journal?

If you did, then you realize that the most dramatic part is the time you need to wait for the paper to be reviewed! It is really scary imagining that your paper might need sometime between 6 months and 3 years to get published!!!

Some of you have experienced writing a blog, a note on facebook, a wiki page, or something of that sort. Wouldn't it be nice if you could publish your research in such and easy, quick, and swift way?

Definately, the issue of quality assurance and scientific credibility have to be managed.

I am proposing the idea through this blog, and want to start an open discussion on the issue to cover topics like peer reviewing, intellectual property rights, editorial board, etc ...

My initial idea is:

1. The creation of a WIKI for the Journal
2.  Anyone may post their paper
3. The members with similar background and scintific experience may post their review coments
4. The Author replies or edits the paper accordingly
5. The paper, as posted by the author, is considered the contribution and may be referred to in further work or by other authors

What do you think?
Contribute with your ideas!