SA agency wins major US open education contest

Creative agency Blink Tower has won an award from the US Education Department and Open Society Foundations for explaining why Open Education is important.

The South African-based agency beat out 60 other entrants, with a video explaining how standard education models can leave students and teachers working with out-of-date materials and massive expenses.

The open education solution would see relevant educational tools being put online, allowing them to be constantly updated and repurposed.

The competition was launched in March 2012 to solicit creative videos that clearly communicate the use and potential of free, high-quality Open Educational Resources — or “OER” — and describe the benefits and opportunities these materials create for teachers, students, and schools everywhere.

Blink Tower sells itself on the premise that it can turn ideas into simple videos which “even your grandmother can understand” and has been in operation since mid 2010.

The prize winners were decided by a panel of distinguished experts including Davis Guggenheim, Nina Paley, Liz Dwyer, Anya Kamenetz, James Franco, Angela Lin, and Mark Surman. Due to technical problems with the public voting on the Why Open Education Matters website which prevented some persons from submitting a vote, the third prize video has been awarded by the judging panel.