Photo by Leigh Blackall

It was a real thrill to have Wayne Mackintosh out to UBC to talk with characteristic passion about WikiEducator. There is so much to admire about this project: its deep commitment to openness, a technology platform that is both simple and powerful, its innovative approach to training and a community engagement and governance model that is second to none.

All this Wayne discusses far better than I can:

(You can play or download the 68 MB MP3 here.)

There are a couple of extensions that WikiEducator has built for the MediaWiki software that I need to highlight. One, is a Collections Manager which “allows any user to build selections of wiki content, and to export them as a PDF file.” (A surprisingly attractive PDF I might add…)

The other extension is the WikiEducator Package Export, which will export a collection of wiki contents as an IMS Content Package, which can then be imported into a learning management system.

Oh, did you know that Open Office exports in MediaWiki format?

Nothing warms me up so much as yummy radical reuse… This work, in addition to MediaWiki’s other strengths (and the possibility of syndicating MW content via embed code and plugins) makes the case for using MW as a core collaborative authoring engine publishing across multiple applications.

On a personal note, Wayne is leaving Vancouver to take on a post with the new International Centre for OER at Otago Polytechnic… Otago has already demonstrated their leadership with open learning (and it’s mind-blowing to ponder what kind of stuff Wayne and Leigh might get up to being at the same institution). It’s been a pleasure to interact with Wayne both here in Van Rock City and as a travel-mate for events elsewhere… and he will be missed on the wet coast. Happy trails Wayne!