Washington, D.C. (July 15, 2008) – Curriki, an online community for creating and sharing open source K-12 curricula, announces the completion of phase one of its Web site redesign, part of the organization’s ongoing efforts to provide an easy-to-use online collaborative environment for educators and learners worldwide. In addition, Curriki has expanded its offering of open source curricula with a new educational program, Panwapa, from Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, in partnership with the Merrill Lynch Foundation. Panwapa, which in the Tshiluba language of the Congo means “here on this earth,” is a collection of educational resources designed to introduce and model the skills needed for global citizenship.

Designed to meet the needs of its members, the Web site (www.curriki.org) offers new and improved features to enhance the user experience. Visitors are welcomed by an easy-to-use home page, which provides users with three ways to become an active member of the open source education community. Users can “Find” open source curricula and educational materials, “Contribute” their own high-quality content, and “Connect” through Groups with other educators and learners. New tutorial videos and tips offer additional support, helping members find the information they need faster and easier. Additional ease-of-use improvements will be phased in over the next several months. Included in these enhancements will be the ability to generate a collection of free open source resources in a format easily suitable for printing.

“Our new site offers Curriki members easier access to nearly 16,000 free, open source learning assets, including lesson plans, student activities, assessments, and even complete courses,” said Dr. Barbara “Bobbi” Kurshan, Executive Director of Curriki. “We’re thrilled with our progress and the community response to our mission to provide educators, parents and students with universal access to high-quality open source educational resources. These Web site enhancements are an example of our continuing efforts to improve access to quality educational content, and eliminate the education divide around the world.”

The new educational program, Panwapa, was created as a means to teach children how to become responsible global citizens. Panwapa begins with new Muppet characters – such as “Azibo the Monster” and “Athena the Owl” – who share their stories about learning to build a community on Panwapa Island. The stories feature real children and their experiences in different parts of the world. Intended for grades preK-2, the collection of educational materials includes movies, exercises and lesson plans designed to help young children understand and appreciate different cultures. In one interactive game, children learn about how other communities face basic needs. In others, they gather and present information about their own culture or community, in order to better appreciate other cultures. To visit Panwapa, log onto www.panwapa.com, and to see the new Panwapa curricular offerings, visit www.curriki.org.

Curriki has more than 40,000 registered members, with more than 2,000 additional members joining the online community every month. The online repository is expected to double the number of free, open source learning assets to more than 28,000 by the end of 2008. Each month educators in more than 180 nations worldwide access Curriki.

More Information

To learn more about the online learning resources provided by Curriki, visit www.curriki.org, or call 202-898-0833.

About Curriki

Curriki is a social entrepreneurship organization that supports the development and free distribution of open source educational materials to improve education worldwide. The online community gives teachers, students and parents universal access to peer-reviewed K-12 curricula, and powerful online collaboration tools. Curriki is building the first and only Web site to offer a complete, open course of instruction and assessment. Founded by Sun Microsystems in 2004, the organization now operates as an independent nonprofit.

Contacts

Curriki
Peter Levy
914-740-5505
plevy at curriki dot org
www.curriki.org

C. Blohm & Associates, Inc.
Emily Embury
608-839-9800
emily at cblohm dot com
www.cblohm.com

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