Paraguay/OER

Policies Survey notes:

In Paraguay, the Community of Free Software drives the use of free software and licences applicable to educational materials and other materials, like the General Public Licence (GPL) and Creative Commons.

Paraguay may not have a policy that deals with OER, but has a free access policy.

The respondent to Policies Survey from Paraguay noted in relation to Paraguay's motivations for involvement in the OER movement that "In my view the main advantage is linked to the freedom to share and the ability to improve material through the collaboration of interested people." The respondent also commented, in relation to obstacles to the adoption of OER, that "Basically the low amount of OER, coupled with the low Internet access at home and educational institutions limit the use of OER."

Overview

Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay (Spanish: República del Paraguay; Guaraní: Tetã Paraguái), is one of the two landlocked countries which lie entirely within the Western Hemisphere, the other being Bolivia, both in South America. It lies on both banks of the Paraguay River and is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Because of its central location in South America, the country is sometimes referred to as Corazón de América — Heart of America. The population is 6,300,000. The capital (and largest city) is Asunción. The official languages are Spanish and Guaraní. About 75% of all Paraguayans speak Spanish. Paraguay is divided by the Río Paraguay into the eastern region, officially called Eastern Paraguay (Paraguay Oriental) and known as the Paraná region; and the western region, officially called Western Paraguay (Paraguay Occidental) and also known as the Chaco. The southeastern border is formed by the Paraná River, containing the Itaipú dam shared with Brazil. It is currently the largest hydroelectric power plant in the world, generating almost all the electricity consumed by Paraguay. Another large hydroelectric power plant on the Paraná River is Yacyretá, a collaborative project by Paraguay and Argentina. Paraguay is a representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Paraguay is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the National Congress. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Further information

For further general information see Wikipedia:Paraguay/OER.

Education in Paraguay/OER

For a general description of education in Paraguay/OER see Education:Paraguay/OER.

e-learning

For a description more focussed to e-learning see E-learning:Paraguay/OER.

OER Initiatives in Paraguay/OER

Paraguay has no official public policy on OERs.

National OER initiatives

The Ministry website [Spanish] has a growing ICT section - http://www.mec.gov.py/cms/recursos/9065-direccion-general-de-educacion-inicial-y-escolar-basica This link is to the basic education section, but each level of education has its own section, with frequent circulars and access to multimedia resources. (1)

Institutional OER initiatives

The Universidad Nacional de Villarrica del Espiritu Santo (UNVE) and the Catholic University "Ntra, Sra. de la Asuncion" in Paraguay are fellow members of an international project called OportUnidad. Institutions from Latin America and the European Union participate in this project, which seeks to create a common ground in higher education by increasing the use of open educational resources (OERs) and practices (OEPs). OportUnidad started in January 2012 and ends in June 2014.

References

1. ReVica/VISCED page for Paraguay (http://virtualcampuses.eu/index.php/Paraguay)

Reports

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