1. What is Fahamu OpenCourseWare?

The idea behind Fahamu OCW is to make Fahamu course materials available on the web, free of charge, to any user anywhere in the world.

2. How does Fahamu OCW differ from other types of web-based education, including distance learning?

Fahamu OCW differs from other Fahamu web-based education offerings in that it is free and open, does not provide learning credits, and provides no access to tutors. Fahamu OCW is not a distance-learning initiative. If you would like information on our tutored courses, see our website.

3. What are the long-term goals of the Fahamu OCW initiative?

This is the first of our free online course. We hope to have further ones available soon.

4. Do I need to register to use Fahamu OCW course materials?

No. If you would like information about our tutored courses go to our website.

5. How do I find what courses are available?

There are three ways to access the materials: Use the Search function that can be found in the left-hand corner of every page on the Fahamu OCW site. Search for specific text, such as certain academic discipline area, across all courses or within just one course. To perform a detailed search, use our Advanced Search.

A second way to see what courses are available is to click on Course List that is listed in the right-corner navigation of every page on the Fahamu OCW website. This will allow you to view the list of every available course.

6. How can I use Fahamu OCW course materials?

Educators are encouraged to use the materials for curriculum development, students can augment their current learning by making use of the materials offered, and self-learners are encouraged to draw upon the Fahamu OCW for self-study or supplementary use. Course materials offered on the Fahamu OCW website may be used, copied, distributed, translated, and modified, but only for non-commercial educational purposes that are made freely available to other users under the same terms defined by the Fahamu OCW legal notice.

7. What are the prerequisites to use Fahamu OCW materials?

There are none.

8. Does Fahamu OCW offer discounts on textbooks or software applications used in the course materials?

Fahamu OCW does not sell, offer vendor discounts for, or represent any vendor who may sell the software, books, or other materials that users of Fahamu OCW may require to understand the course materials offered on the Fahamu OCW website. If you wish to register for a Fahamu tutored course please email info@fahamu.org for more information or visit the Fahamu website

9. How do I get a copy of the course pack for a particular Fahamu course?

Fahamu’s course materials are available in CDROM format. Please email info@fahamu.org for more information or visit the Fahamu website.

10. I have seen (or I am/represent) an individual, organisation, or institution that offers to teach Fahamu courses or tutor students based on Fahamu materials.

Does Fahamu approve or recognise such individuals or organisations?

No, Fahamu has no relationship with, grants no special permission to, and does not approve, endorse, or certify any organisations, teachers, tutors, or other service providers who use educational materials available on the Fahamu OCW website in connection with their services. Except for students admitted to a course by Fahamu, Fahamu does not authorise the granting of any kind of certificate or other recognition for participation in or completion of any course of study based on or using published Fahamu course materials.

11. Can I/my organisation state on our website or in our literature that we make use of Fahamu OCW course materials?

In accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons licence used by Fahamu OCW, you must give credit to Fahamu and the author of the course materials anytime you use Fahamu OCW materials. However, any reference to Fahamu (including the Fahamu name in any of its forms or Fahamu seals or logos) that deliberately or inadvertently claims, suggests, or in Fahamu’s sole judgment gives the appearance or impression of a relationship with or endorsement by Fahamu, is prohibited.

12. Can I link to the Fahamu OCW website from my website?

Links to Fahamu OCW or to courses or pages within the Fahamu OCW website are permitted so long as the use of the materials associated with the link is permitted under the terms of the Creative Commons licence used by Fahamu OCW, the link is freely accessible (e.g., no restrictions or fee for access); and there is no claim, appearance, or implication of an affiliation with or endorsement by Fahamu. Fahamu OCW cannot guarantee the persistence of any specific link other than those to the Fahamu OCW homepage.

13. Who owns the intellectual property published on the Fahamu OCW website?

Prior to making any course materials publicly available, the Fahamu OCW team has reviewed all material extensively to determine the correct ownership of the material and obtain the appropriate licences to make the material openly available on the web. We will promptly remove any material that is determined to be infringing on the rights of others. If you believe that a portion of Fahamu materials infringes another’s copyright, please use the feedback link below to notify us by email. The intellectual property policies created for Fahamu OCW are clear and consistent with other policies for scholarly materials used in education. Fahamu retain ownership of materials prepared for Fahamu OCW. If student course work is placed on the Fahamu OCW site, then copyright in the work remains with the student.

14. What are the requirements of use for Fahamu OCW users?

The underlying premise and purpose of Fahamu OCW is to make course materials used in Fahamu courses freely and openly available to others for non-commercial educational purposes. Through Fahamu OCW, Fahamu grants the right to anyone to use the materials, either “as is,” or in a modified form. There is no restriction on how a user can modify the materials for the user’s purpose. Materials may be edited, translated, combined with someone else’s materials, reformatted, or changed in any other way. However, there are three requirements that a Fahamu OCW user must meet to use the materials:

• Non-commercial: Use of Fahamu OCW materials is open to all except for profit-making entities who charge a fee for access to educational materials.
• Attribution: Any and all use or reuse of the material, including use of derivative works (new materials that incorporate or draw on the original materials), must be attributed to Fahamu and, if a faculty member’s name is associated with the material, to that person as well.
• Share alike (aka “copyleft”): Any publication or distribution of original or derivative works, including production of electronic or printed class materials or placement of materials on a website, must offer the works freely and openly to others under the same terms that Fahamu OCW first made the works available to the user.

Please refer to the Creative Commons licence for our specific licensing terms and conditions. If you would like to use Fahamu OCW course materials, but you are unsure whether your intended use qualifies as non-commercial use, please contact us using the feedback link at the bottom of the page.

15. How does Fahamu define non-commercial use?

A commercial use would involve the assessment of a direct or indirect fee for use of the Fahamu OCW materials, or any derivation or modification of the Fahamu OCW material, or any other commercial exploitation of Fahamu OCW materials. All uses, reuse, and distribution of Fahamu OCW material, including works derived from Fahamu OCW material, must be attributed to Fahamu OCW and to the original authors where identified on the Fahamu OCW materials you distribute. If you would like to use Fahamu OCW course materials, but you are unsure whether your intended use qualifies as non-commercial use, please contact us using the feedback link at the bottom of the page.

16. How do I properly cite my reuse of Fahamu OCW materials?

If you choose to reuse or repost Fahamu OCW materials you must give proper attribution to the original Fahamu faculty author(s). Please use the following citation “This material was created by or adapted from material created by Fahamu. Copyright© (Year) Fahamu.”
If you want to use the materials on your website, you must also include a copy of the Creative Commons licence used by Fahamu OCW, or clear and reasonable link to its URL (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/), with every copy of the Fahamu OCW materials or the derivative work you create from it.

17. How can I contribute my own educational materials to Fahamu OCW?

The intent of Fahamu OCW is that our website should reflect the course materials for what has been developed by Fahamu. It would be difficult for Fahamu OCW to guarantee the accuracy and originality of materials we received from outside sources. However, we encourage other universities to create their own “opencourseware” in which materials from their courses would be posted online and openly shared with the world. Fahamu OCW is eager to link to other institutions or institutions that have similar goals.

18. What do I do if I believe a portion of Fahamu OCW Material infringes my copyright?

Fahamu OCW, prior to making any Fahamu OCW Materials publicly available, has reviewed all material extensively to determine the correct ownership of the material and obtain the appropriate licences to make the material available on Fahamu OCW. Fahamu OCW will promptly remove any material that is determined to be infringing on the rights of others. If you believe that a portion of Fahamu OCW material infringes another’s copyright, please send us feedback. If you do not include an electronic signature with your claim, you may be asked to send or fax a follow-up copy with a signature. To file the notification, you must be either the copyright owner of the work or an individual authorised to act on behalf of the copyright owner.

Your notification must include:

• Identification of the copyrighted work, or, in the case of multiple works at the same location, a representative list of such works at that site.
• Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity. You must include sufficient information, such as a specific URL or other specific identification, for us to locate the material.
• Information for us to be able to contact the claimant (e.g., email address, phone number).
• A statement that the claimant believes that the use of the material has not been authorised by the copyright owner or an authorised agent.
• A statement that the information in the notification is accurate and that the claimant is, or is authorised to act on behalf of, the copyright owner.

19. How do I contact Fahamu?

Fahamu OCW is a publication of Fahamu ‘Learning for Change’ course materials on the web. It provides the content of the course materials but is not substitute for course participation either in a Fahamu distance learning course or in a residential course. For more information on how to participate in one of these courses please email info@fahamu.org or visit our website.

20. Will inquiries to Fahamu OCW be answered?

Fahamu OCW encourages users to provide feedback on the site and the published course materials. The comments and constructive criticism of users will help the Fahamu OCW staff improve the site and published course materials as we continue to evolve during the pilot phase of this initiative.

21. What technology is used to publish the Fahamu OCW website?

Fahamu OCW runs on the open source eduCommons software. The current technical solution has been in use since January 2005 with a four-person technical support team managing all aspects of this infrastructure.
The planning tools used by the Fahamu OCW team in publishing course materials include a portion of the workflow in eduCommons, and several checklists and documents. For creating and managing content, we use several desk tools (file conversion tools) as well as eduCommons, that together fully support our publishing process. Our content delivery infrastructure includes a production cluster and a content staging cluster.
For more information on eduCommons, please contact the eduCommons OCW Outreach Director.

22. Is Fahamu OCW an open source project?

Fahamu OCW is firmly committed to open systems and will share its approach and the open source eduCommons software with those who may want to launch similar efforts. eduCommons has a dedicated team of four developers focused on extending the platform, features and functions to meet Fahamu OCW and other institutions’ needs.

23. Is it within the Fahamu OCW user licence to translate the course materials?

Fahamu asks that any Fahamu OCW materials translated into other languages from the original English must be accompanied by the following disclaimer: “These Fahamu OpenCourseWare course materials have been translated into [YOUR LANGUAGE] by [YOUR INSTITUTION] and Fahamu OpenCourseWare makes no representations or warranties of any kind concerning the materials, express or implied, including, without limitation, warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, or the absence of errors, whether or not discoverable. Fahamu OpenCourseWare bears no responsibility for any inaccuracies in translation. Any inaccuracies or other defects contained in this material, due to inaccuracies in language translation, are the sole responsibility of [YOUR INSTITUTION] and not Fahamu OpenCourseWare.”

24. What are the technical requirements for viewing Fahamu OCW course materials?

The majority of Fahamu OCW course sites work on both the Macintosh and Windows platforms. Although higher-speed connections are preferable, slower connections, such as 28K modems, should allow users to view most materials on the sites. However, downloading materials may take somewhat longer. Fahamu OCW has tested the course sites with Netscape version 4.75 and Internet Explorer version 5.5 browsers.

25. How do I change the font-size on the Fahamu OCW website?

The fonts and style of the Fahamu OCW website have been specifically selected to meet certain design and accessibility standards. The Fahamu OCW Team has tested the site and these standards across a wide variety of browsers and platform. However, some users may still find that their browser configurations continue to display the text too small. You can change the displayed font size using your browser’s View menu. In Netscape 7, there is a “VIEW – Text-Zoom” selection (try 120%). In Netscape 4.x, there is a “VIEW – Increase Font” selection. In Internet Explorer, you can select “VIEW – Text-Size – Larger or Largest.” We hope this helps you to more comfortably view the Fahamu OCW course materials.

26. Will the Fahamu OCW website be compliant with W3C standards and accessibility requirements?

All course mateirals published on the Fahamu OCW site are valid XHTML and meet Section 508 and WAI-AA guidelines. Our style guide includes validating and checking the accessibility of HTML as part of the authoring process. We require all images to contain ALT attributes and all links to contain TITLE tags.

27. What information does Fahamu OCW collect from visitors to the website?

The information we learn from visitors helps us improve the Fahamu OCW site, and assists our foundation sponsors in evaluation of usage, access, and impact of Fahamu OCW on the worldwide educational community. Fahamu OCW collects the following information from visitors:

• Information You Provide: We receive and store any information you enter on our website or give us in any other way. You provide most such information when you submit feedback on the site, contact us by email, or agree to participate in a visitor survey. This information may include your name and email address, your academic status, your institution, your geographic region, how you are using Fahamu OCW, and what you think of Fahamu OCW. In all cases, any information you provide is strictly optional and voluntary and you may choose to use the Fahamu OCW site without ever providing this information. If you voluntarily provide your email address or other contact information, we will not share personal information with anyone without first requesting your explicit permission to do so.
• Automatic Information: We receive and store certain types of information whenever you interact with the Fahamu OCW website. Examples of the information we collect and analyse include the internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Fahamu OCW site; computer and connection information such as browser type and version, operating system, and platform, and; content you viewed or searched for during your visit to Fahamu OCW. During some visits we may use software tools to measure and collect session information, including page response times, download errors, and length of visits to certain pages. However, none of this information is personally identifiable or linked back to you individually.

28. What are “cookies,” and does Fahamu OCW make use of cookies on its website?

Fahamu OCW uses “cookies” in a limited way. Cookies are alphanumeric identifiers that this website transfers to your computer’s hard drive through your web browser to enable our systems to recognise your browser when you make return trips to the site. This allows us to track your use of the site (anonymously), and to analyze patterns in site use, such as repeat visits, length of visits, and breadth of content used, for example). Cookies also allow us to conduct periodic, online, voluntary user surveys where we can gain more insight into what type of people are actually using the site, how they are using the site, and what the educational impact of the site is on these users.
Fahamu OCW’s use of cookies is designed to be unobtrusive, and we do not collect personally identifiable information through their use. However, if you do not wish to accept cookies, the “Help” portion of the toolbar on most web browsers will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie, or how to disable cookies altogether. Disabling cookies will in no way affect your access to content on the Fahamu OCW site. If you leave cookies enabled on your web browser, you may be asked to complete a brief questionnaire that will help us gain a better understanding of the use and impact of Fahamu OCW.

29. Does Fahamu OCW share the information it receives?

Information about our site visitors is an important part of understanding and extending the impact of Fahamu OCW in the worldwide academic community. Individual personally identifiable information about users (name, email address, etc) will not be made available to third parties except as outlined below, nor will it ever be used for commercial purposes.

We share user information only as described below.

• Agents: We employ companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Examples include compiling and categorising user feedback, analysing survey data or data about your use of the site, and providing customer support. These agents have access to user information needed to perform their functions, for example, but may not use this information for any other purposes. These agents are bound by non-disclosure agreements.
• Fahamu OCW Sponsors: We work closely with philanthropic organisations that provide the funding that makes Fahamu OCW possible. These sponsors are interested in evaluating access, use, and impact of the Fahamu OCW website in order to determine if Fahamu OCW is achieving its objectives. We will provide information on a regular basis to these sponsors for evaluation purposes. We will not share any personally identifiable information such as name or email address unless you have given us explicit permission to do so.
• Institutions interested in the “opencourseware movement”: Part of Fahamu OCW’s mission as an organisation is to encourage other educational institutions to openly share their course materials with the world, as Fahamu is doing. In order to accomplish this objective, we are committed to sharing what we learn in public forums, at educational conferences, and with other educational institutions. This may include aggregate data about usage of the site, feedback we have received, and the impact of Fahamu OCW on people throughout the world. However, in no case will we share any personally identifiable information, such as name or email address, unless you have given us explicit permission to do so.

30. Why does this PDF not open correctly in my Acrobat 4.0/Acrobat 5.0 Reader?

A small percentage of the PDF documents offered on the Fahamu OCW website may be compatible only with Adobe Acrobat 6.0 Reader. If you would like to view such a file, we recommend downloading the Acrobat Reader 6.0 from the Adobe website at http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html. Meanwhile, we are currently working to identify these files and optimise them to fully function with Acrobat Reader versions 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0. Please contact us if should you notice a file that has this issue when attempting to view and we will work to fix it. In your message, be sure to include your version number of Adobe Acrobat, your browser type and version as well as what operating system you are using. Also, if you would identify the course, section and name of the PDF that would assist us in locating and correcting it.

31. How can I support Fahamu OCW with a financial donation?

It is particularly generous of you to offer a financial contribution to support Fahamu OCW. This is a wonderful endorsement of what we hope to achieve. If you wish to make such a donation, you can do so online. Fahamu is a Global Support Fund of the Tides Foundation, a duly registered public charity, exempt from Federal income taxation under Sections 501©(3) and 509(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code. If you are a US tax payer and wish to support Fahamu please contact info@fahamu.org for further details.

32. How do I apply for admission to Fahamu as a student?

Fahamu OCW is not a degree-granting or certificate-granting program. Fahamu OCW course materials are available for free on the web for the use of educators and self-learners
For more information on how to participate in one of Fahamu’s ‘Learning for change’ residential or CDROM-based distance learning courses please email info@fahamu.org or visit our website.

33. What is RSS?

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and an aggregator allow you to subscribe to discussion forums, blogs and other websites in order to receive timely, organised updates of posts, news, and other information you care about.

34.What are the Terms of Use for the discussion software?

See the Terms of Use for more information.
This material was created or adapted from material created by MIT, Copyright © 2005 MIT. Please see http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Global/terms-of-use.htm