Programs

Open Equal Free provides news, resources, networking opportunities, training, and more to educators around the world, but we couldn’t do it without your support. Check out our programs below and be sure to look at the impact they have here.

Teachbuzz is  the world’s best collection of lesson plans designed with the whole world in mind. Teachbuzz was created with a global perspective, which means that no cost lessons are truly no cost whether you’re teaching in an African village or a European metropolis.

Designed by teachers, the lessons are searchable based on the criteria most important to them. Find the lessons most suited to your needs, whether economical or pedagogical, quickly and easily.

We are in the business of increasing impact without increasing cost. We help organizations be the best they can be and share their greatness with others, often for free. Let’s work together! We offer trainings, consultancy, and resource development that is designed to improve the work you do without increasing your budget.

Remember, an important part of our work is that everything we help to create is made available under open content licensing. You can read about the licenses available, and the one we recommend, here.

Keeping up-to-date is vital in any profession. Open Equal Free has an education news team reporting from and about developing countries around the globe.  Find breaking education news, teaching tips, resources, and inspirations at openequalfree.org.

Meet. Greet. Save the World.

Our newest program, /Collaboration, is a collection of resources that help champions of development get in touch, stay in touch, and do their work more effectively. It includes Forums to ask tough questions and get great advice, a Wiki with local programs and services to help new comers get acquainted with the field, and, in select locations, regular meetings for aid workers to chat, share ideas, and give support.

Targeted Giving

Interested in supporting the great work Open Equal Free does? See ways you can direct your money to have big impact with our Targeted Giving page, or see options to make small donations go a long way with our Donations page.

Mission/Vision

Mission

We will not rest until the last barrier to learning is removed. We use consultancy, open educational resources, and the spread of ideas to remove them.

Vision

We strive for a world where the tools for human growth are Open, Equal, and Free for everyone.

What does that mean?

By Open we mean that they are adapted to the contexts in which they operate while encouraging a broadened understanding of the world.

By Equal we mean that all individuals have equal ability to access and engage them. This means not only physical contact with learning materials, but the training necessary to fully utilize them.

By Free we mean free not only from financial costs, but those opportunity costs that make growth prohibitive to so many of the world’s inhabitants.

History

Resources designed to work in the poorest classrooms on earth are devastatingly scarce. We work to change this by spreading the best possible resources to educators in the most difficult corners of the world as efficiently as possible.

Open Equal Free has come a long way since our launch in August of 2011. Below you will find some presentations, grant proposals, and other looks into the generation of Open Equal Free. Remember, everything you see here was made by a single staff member and some amazing volunteers on a tiny budget in less than a year.

An Early Idea: Open Educational Resources for the Developing World

This video, made in late 2010 as a pitch for a resource development grant. This idea never made it off the ground, but you can see the passion that one day grew into Open Equal Free:

The Work that Inspired the Organization

This is a presentation given in Singapore on the work our founding Nerd did the year prior to starting Open Equal Free. It explains why the developing world needs open educational resources so badly, and what our goals are in creating and sharing them.

A Wacky Value Called “Sharing”

This is a little presentation about an early idea of having an “open source logo.” We’re still accepting submissions!

Core Values

Be serious about education. Be a little wacky about everything else.

Spreading great education is what gets us out of bed in the morning. It’s serious work, and we take it seriously. As educators we know the best learning happens when we’re engaged and happy. We think the best work does too.

Love learning

We love that we’ll never know it all and there will always be something new to discover. We’re constantly expanding our knowledge and skills to improve the work we do and the lives we live.

Be patient but determined

Changing the world takes time, we’re willing to push for that change with steady determination.

Do more with less

We empower educators working with limited resources. We believe ideas, not money, are the key to improving the world.

Be open, be honest, be humble

There’s always room for improvement. We thrive in an open, honest environment where good ideas and constructive criticism are free to flow.

Share! Share! Share!

Share resources, share credit, share ideas, share your work, share your greatness with the world. After all, sharing is caring.

Cultivate creativity

We believe that improving the world doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult, as long as we’re willing to look at old problems in new ways.

Be optimistic

The world is getting better! We have a lot of hard work to do, but we expect success.

Love the work you do

Helping people do what they do better, helping people love what they do more, and helping people learn and grow. What’s not to love?

Be open-minded

New ideas, new ways of looking at the world, new kinds of people, new challenges, and new successes. We love them all.