Siyavula is an open education resource project in South Africa that aims to support teacher communities through providing curriculum-aligned open learning materials online. Research was conducted to understand teachers' curriculum needs and the challenges and opportunities of implementing Siyavula. The research found that teachers face challenges with having appropriate curriculum materials and would benefit from easy to use, standards-aligned resources. It also found that teachers already engage in behaviors like sharing, reusing and remixing materials that Siyavula could leverage. Potential barriers to implementation include issues with technology access and skills as well as cultural resistance, but teachers are open to collaboration.

1. Siyavula: Supporting Teacher Communities For Curriculum-Aligned OER in South Africa OpenEd Conference 2009 Mark Horner, Shuttleworth Foundation Joel Thierstein, Connexions Kathi Fletcher, Connexions Cynthia Jimes, Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education Siyavula:

2. The Importance of Community Community in education is highly valued:

4. Bringing Educators Together Siyavula will transform teaching...

6. Software Only the Connexions platform satisfies our primary needs: ICS Material

7. Software Only the Connexions platform satisfies our primary needs:

8. Software

9. Closed Loop Communities share, create, use and improve:

11. Ratings

12. Forums on Lenses

13. Forums on Lenses

14. Curriculum Alignment Lens

15. OpenEd Conference 2009 Cynthia Jimes, Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education ISKME: Research to Support Teacher Communities For Curriculum-Aligned OER in South Africa

20. Evidence of Need for Siyavula Not having the curriculum materials needed Knowing if the materials are of high quality/good Knowing if the materials meet curriculum requirements Knowing which materials to choose Knowing how to use materials in the classroom We need easy to use materials that meet the standards of the district and that are easy to adapt. And having material that the learners understand easily. - Teacher Survey Participant “ ” N=192 Teachers reported the following curriculum challenges

21. N=198 I make use of a lot of 3-D apparatus, which I either bought or made myself to assist learners in mastering a concept (numeracy). - Teacher Survey Participant Evidence of ‘OER Behaviors’ in Place Teachers reported using the following types of materials in the classroom Newspapers, magazines or journals Materials created by other teachers Information/materials found on the Internet Textbooks recommended by the Dept. of Education “ ” Materials I created myself

22. N=190 The benefits [of working collaboratively with other teachers] are that one can see the strengths and weaknesses of ones own work and colleagues can give constructive suggestions. - Teacher Survey Participant Evidence of ‘OER Behaviors’ in Place Teachers reported the following curriculum development activities Shared materials I have with other teachers Created materials in collaboration with others Provided feedback to teachers on their materials Received feedback on materials I created Discussed materials informally with colleagues “ ”

23. Observations of a teacher “swap and share” group at one South African school revealed how teachers meet to share hard copies of science exams and exercises, and discuss ways to combine the new materials with their own Evidence of ‘OER Behaviors’ in Place Teachers reported the following use and reuse activities I combine materials with other types of materials I edit or modify materials to meet my needs I use materials ‘as is’ N=195

26. Cynthia Jimes [email_address] Mark Horner mark.horner@shuttleworthfoundation.org Joel Thierstein & Kathi Fletcher [email_address] [email_address]