College of the Canyons Enables Access to Open Educational Resources via EQUELLA

Cambridge, MA, July 01, 2009 --(PR.com)-- College of the Canyons’ goal of enabling access to Open Educational Resources is gaining momentum through the implementation of EQUELLA, an award-winning digital repository.

College of the Canyons’ long-term mission is focused on increasing student access to higher education. To achieve their mission, College of the Canyons aims to reduce barriers to public education, such as costs associated with the purchase and ongoing version changes of textbooks.

The institution’s Chancellor, Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook has provided the vision and leadership needed to launch the College’s Open Educational Resources repository. A key objective is to digitize assets and to create, collect and integrate Open Educational Resources into the institution.

To enable their students and faculty to discover, collaborate and share Open Educational Resources, College of the Canyons recognized the need to implement a suitable solution. EQUELLA was selected.

EQUELLA’s track record in enabling other institutions globally to easily search, create and share educational resources, the open access features such as the ability to search other repositories, and the ability to rapidly integrate with other systems implemented by College of the Canyons, reinforced this decision.

“The open and interoperable nature of EQUELLA has enabled us to consider options that weren’t possible with other solutions,” said James Glapa-Grossklag, Dean, Distance Learning Programs and Training. “From lowering the emphasis on textbooks, through to the opportunities to share, collaborate and be creative – EQUELLA is expanding the online education opportunities that we offer to our learners.”

A further objective was creating a platform that incentivized faculty to contribute resources, which necessitated a solution that was easy-to-use, and customizable to the institution’s requirements.

“Considering the amazing flexibility of EQUELLA, it is refreshing to discover how easily and rapidly we can configure the system to suit our needs.” said John Makevich, Instructional Design Coordinator at College of the Canyons.

College of the Canyons anticipates rapid growth in the amount of Open Educational Resources available to both faculty and students through the structured and easily accessible environment that EQUELLA has enabled. Moving forward, creation and contribution of student produced content in partnership with the student government will enrich the institution with further quality resources.

“Working collaboratively with educational institutions such as College of the Canyons reinforces our philosophy of Content as a Platform,” said Bob Cupitt, Chief Executive Officer, The Learning Edge North America. “This is a further example of how EQUELLA is transforming the process of education through easy access to content.”

About College of the Canyons
College of the Canyons provides relevant academic education at the lower division level, workforce training for businesses and lifelong learning programs for all who seek those opportunities. Total enrolment projected for Fall 2008 is 23,746 and is expected to rise to over 36,505 by 2017. College of the Canyons helps students with diverse interests and needs meet their educational goals and develop learning strategies required of productive citizens in an ever-changing world. For more information, visit http://www.canyons.edu.

About The Learning Edge North America
The Learning Edge North America's principal offering is EQUELLA, a digital repository that incorporates learning objects, learning content management, and integrated content authoring. EQUELLA integrates with popular course management systems and has been implemented by universities, community colleges, and state-based school systems worldwide. Visit us at www.equella.com.

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The Learning Edge North America
Alistair Oliver
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www.equella.com
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