My education, my dad, my girlfriend, my tattoos, my Life – Davido tells it all in new interview

In this interview with Joan Omionawele, Davido shares his experiences before fame came his way and opens up on his musical career, private life and plans for the future.

Before you became a big shot, what were those days of humble beginnings in the industry like?They weren’t easy – having to prove that you could do this, or that you could be big and sell records, and then not having people believe you or want to take a chance. I had some rough periods of even hungry days in the studio. Sometimes you got broke, but still just found one way or the other to pull through. I had plenty rough times.

What were your childhood days like?
I had a regular childhood. A whole lot of play and school, sometimes the play would just centre around music.

How did your dad feel about your decision to become a recording artiste?
He didn’t like it at first; but eventually a man understands a man’s need to do his thing and make a name for himself.

Did you drop out of school because you wanted to pursue your musical career?
Who says I dropped out? I’m in my third year in school.
How do you combine your music with your studies successfully? Has building a profession in music affected your studies in anyway?
It’s not been easy, but it’s working one way or the other. Being madly busy is not easy to cope with when you are studying; but it has no choice but to work out.

Why did you decide to go into music?
I was always going to do music as soon as I discovered my flair for it and I was working on sounds too in a studio and some of my friends used to say that I should just try doing my own thing. So, I took it up when I realised that I could actually make some decent sounds. I’ve always nurtured dreams of performing live, so it just had to be done.

Which musicians inspire you?
TuFace, PSquare and the Koko Master (Dbanj). Those guys are really something. The big things they’ve done in this industry are unforgettable. So, that’s my drive as well – to (make) a serious impact.

You travel a lot. Does your girlfriend not complain?
(Laughs) If you know say I get, and you sabi am, go ask am.

You mean you are not dating anyone now?
No.

You must have a lot of ladies trying to get your attention. How has the reception from your female fans been like?
It’s crazy, coupled with the fact that I am young, and with girls in my age group too. Here in Africa and in Europe, the female fan base is wild. I really appreciate it. When guys are feeling you while you perform and also the girls are gingered and sometimes crazier about you, it’s cool.

We have had pictures of you in bed with various kinds of ladies. How has that affected your career?
If it has had any big effect on my career, I’m not sure I know about it, because I am still doing my thing and God still has my back. God did not allow some random act of one person who felt like fooling around to now spoil my career or ruin my image. Sebi they wanted to snap me (take my photograph)? They ‘snapped me’ and went their way…and my life goes on. That’s it.

What deals, endorsements, shows or recognition have you got that were quite memorable for you?
MTN of course. My first advert for MTN Pulse was a big deal for me. It was a great thing to be part of. Also, my shows all over Nigeria and performing in different states make me unable to decide which one is my favourite, seriously. You perform in a state and get mad love from the crowd; and then the next state is even crazier. And that’s how it just keeps going. So, my high points are those moments when my fans show dedication, and show me love like ‘Ah, you be our guy; you be our man, you know?

Which musicians do you dream of working with internationally?
It won’t be bad working with Pitbul, David Guetta, Sean Paul, and Nicki Minaj.

Your dad is wealthy and influential. Would you say his wealth has been a propelling factor in your career?
My father is wealthy, yes, and I am thankful to God for that. One way or the other, in my music career, there’s always a point where the gratitude goes to my father and always a point where my father’s wealth has been a useful factor. As for opening doors, well, maybe. But money is not everything and every part of it, behind the scenes of success is a lot of blood, sweat and tears.

If you were not a musician, what other career path would you have chosen?
Maybe a producer; but if you mean totally out of music, maybe one big businessman.

Reports say you were caught abroad spending fake money. How did that happen?
Go and ask the so called reporters whether na dem put fake currency for my hand. How does that even make sense? We were in Europe and spending good hard-earned money, even when the person we had a deal with was defaulting, and didn’t want to pay us. So it was just some rubbish they cooked up to spoil our names, and get away with breaking our contract. But of course, we don pass that one, so na dem sabi.

What’s the most expensive thing you have ever pampered yourself with?
My house! But if that doesn’t count as pampering, then maybe one of my Rolexes that the price tag can give somebody ‘Apollo’.

You have so many tattoos. Are you just following the trend or you’re doing your own thing?
I feel the need to ink my skin, so I do it. Simple. It’s my desire and that’s all.

What’s the craziest thing you have ever done on stage?
(Laughs) Nothing too wild; I just kissed a girl from the stage.

Some of your fans complain that you don’t have strong lyrics but only project the elitist life?
It’s what we need to drive the sounds; those kinds of lyrics are what the industry, as it is, is moved by. I can decide now to bring out the deepest of my emotions through lyrics. And you know, they will say Davido is boring.

In your dull moments, what do you do to get back in line?
I just make a mad beat, or take a trip to somewhere of interest.

How do you relax?
I go to the most exotic resorts and lounges in any country I’m currently in. Then sometimes I like to just (relax) with my headphones and just jam for hours, undisturbed.

Nicki Minaj Looking HOT As She Displays Her PIMPED OUT Pink Lamborghini Aventador [PHOTO]

Nicki Minaj revealed her new 2014 Lamborghini Aventador earlier this month in blue. But now the head barbie drop some more cash on an already tricked out whip and this is the end result.

Nicki rolled up to the launch of her new K-Mart collection in her new pink Lamborghini Aventador.

Nicki Minaj look stunning in a black pants while showing plenty cleavage in a blue top and gold accessories.

Fans of Nicki Minaj can now pick up her new fall collection at K-Mart.

This was the Lambo before it became pink.

she is gorgeous and money speaking.

Wizkid throws 100k into crowd, causes stampede at Felabration

When you visit a zoo, you often see the sign ‘Don’t feed the animals’. And even when you don’t, some basic instinct just tells you not to…

Last night Thursday, October 17, 2013, Wizkid caused a stampede at the New Afrika Shrine that lasted close to 30 minutes and interestingly, it had nothing to do with his performance.

The Pop star had just wrapped up his thrilling performance at about 3:26AM when he asked his managerGodwin Tom to hand him two bale of N500 notes supposedly around the sum of N100,000. Wizkid then threw the money into the crowd and left the stage.

Wizzy and his entourage immediately left the venue without the knowledge of the near-disaster he had caused as fans in the crowded general public area proceeded to hound themselves over a few thousands of Naira. The fight for the N500 notes amongst the crowd couldn’t be controlled by the stage security. In fact security guards joined in the fight for the money.

The fight led to a stampede and lasted for another 30 minutes. It had to take the intervention of more security officials and show host Omobaba who pleaded for the crowd to be calm.

Youths take protest against ASUU strike to UNILAG

In a act of solidarity, young Nigerians from different parts and facets of Nigerian came together in Lagos, Nigeria at the University of Lagos, Akoka, on Thursday to protest against the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The organisation had called an indefinite strike for over 7 weeks, due to the failure of the Federal government to implement an agreement reached by both parties in 2009.

The students on a mission were denied access into the campus as the gates were locked by security operatives as more than 30 riot policemen were stationed at the entrance of the university campus to keep the protest under control.

Students of the University of Lagos, also appealed to ASUU and the FG to resolve their differences on time.

The strike since its commencement, has misplaced millions of Nigerian students and left them without anything to do, initiating an increase in crime rate in the nation.

ASUU, university of lagos, lagos state, education in nigeria, federal government news

Nigeria to Experience 2 Eclipses

Nigerians will experience a partial or rather penumbra lunar eclipse around midnight today, and a total solar eclipse on Sunday. 

According to The Guardian, the 2013 penumbral lunar eclipse will be visible as well throughout the Caribbean, Europe, Africa and Asia. A report from Discovery.com says: “For observers in Africa, Europe and western Asia, the eclipse will occur in the middle of the night when the moon is high overhead. The partial shading will be visible as the slight reddish dimming of the normally bright full moon".

The partial eclipse would be visible in most parts of Nigeria between 10.53 p.m. today and 2.48 a.m. October 19, 2013. During the lunar eclipse today, part of the moon will skirt through only the outer edge of the earth’s shadow in what scientists call a penumbra lunar eclipse.

While on Sunday, most parts of northern Nigeria, including Kaduna, are expected to experience total solar eclipse unlike other parts of the country like Lagos, which will experience only partial solar eclipse.

The last time Nigeria experienced a total solar eclipse was on March 29, 2006.

Bulletproof car scandal: Airline operators, others demand investigation

Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah

Some stakeholders in the aviation industry and civil society  groups   have called on the nation’s anti-corruption  agencies to investigate the purchase of two bulletproof vehicles for the Minister of Aviation, Mrs Stella Oduah.

The vehicles valued at a whopping $1.6m(about N225m) were said to have been  delivered to Oduah in August by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.

But the aviation industry stakeholders and the groups, in separate interviews with our correspondents on Thursday, said their calls for a probe  were  necessary in order to identify and prosecute those behind the controversial deal.

The aviation stakeholders are the  Airline Operators of Nigerian and  Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria.

AON, through its Assistant General Secretary, Mr. Muhammed Tukur, described the purchase of the bulletproof cars as unfortunate, saying   it showed the high level of  corruption  in Nigeria .

It  said, “This   shows how bad things have gone in this country; that the minister has admitted to receiving the cars from the NCAA   reveals that they  do not care for the people of this country.

“We can see that all these people and parastatals use their offices to siphon funds for anything they want. We  think there is no other option but for her (Oduah)  to resign her appointment as the aviation minister.

“Also, we call on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to thoroughly investigate the issue, because, some of us had foresight of these things, and we know that there are more coming  up soon.”

The ATSSSAN said the ‘necessary government agencies’ should not hesitate to prosecute anyone found to have played a role in the purchase of the bulletproof cars.

 “We have government agencies that can look into such issues as this  such as the EFCC. So, these agencies should look into the matter, and if they find out that it is indeed true, they should take the appropriate action,” its  National President, Mr. Ben Okewu, told one of our correspondents.

Also,  WACI, through its Executive Director, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, argued that   the procurement of the bulletproof  vehicles showed the level of   culture of impunity in the  country.

 It therefore called on the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies to conduct a holistic investigation into the issue with a view to prosecuting those found culpable in the   Aviation ministry and  the NCAA.

It  said, “If it is true that the NCAA bought the said bulletproof cars for that amount, because it is not the prerogative of the NCAA to do so, it shows the impunity in the society.

“Impunity is on the rise in this country; people do whatever they like.

 “There should be a painstaking investigation of the NCAA and the ministry and anybody found culpable should be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others. The EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies should ensure that the matter is investigated thoroughly.”

 On its part,  CACOL noted that Oduah, in order to satisfy her ostentatious lifestyle, had by accepting the cars  compromised the safety of Nigerians.

 Its  Executive Chairman, Debo Adeniran, said, “ When the minister asked NCAA  to buy  her bulletproof cars worth $1.6m   because of alleged threats to her life. Where did she expect them to get the money?

“She expected them to compromise standard of course. It is now clear that the frequent air accidents are products of corruption and incompetence in our aviation sector.”

It called on the anti-graft agencies to “investigate the matter and prosecute anyone found to have abused their office.”

 Also, a former member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Uche Onyeagucha,    said the amount involved in the purchase of the cars for Oduah was beyond the approval  limit of the minister and the NCAA.

This, according to him, calls for  finding  out if  a request for the purchase of the vehicles  was forwarded to the Federal Executive Council  or not.

Onyeagucha said the number of past and present political office holders in the country using bulletproof cars was outrageous.

He urged Nigerian leaders  to learn from the Mexico experience where most of the people using bulletproof cars  had been  killed.

 The PUNCH  learnt in Abuja that the NCAA  also  spent millions of naira on 13 Prado jeeps and 21 Corollacars  for its directors and general managers.

One of our correspondents gathered that  the  jeeps were bought for the directors and  the  corolla cars for the general managers.

A senior official of the agency who pleaded for anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press on the issue,  admitted that the   purchase of the cars and  jeeps was an anomaly.

He  however said it was a practice that was not confined to the aviation ministry alone.

The source  said, “I think that during the course of the purchase of the cars  that the management  decided to also get  the bulletproof cars for the minister. However, some of the cars have not been given to their owners. They are still parked at the car lots.”

One of our correspondents gathered that some members of staff who  felt they might be left  out of the car bonanza leaked to the press, the information which was originally designed to be a petition to the EFCC.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the NCAA, Mr. Fan Ndubuoke, confirmed that he was  aware of the purchase of some cars by  the authority.

He, however, declined comments when asked to name the  beneficiaries and whether the agency was under any obligation to buy vehicles for the minister despite the fact that the ministry had its own budget.

The 2013 Budget of  Aviation ministry  revealed that there was no provision for the purchase of cars. About  N4.2bn was budgeted for the maintenance of motor vehicles, transport and equipment; N1.2bn for the purchase of trucks and N100m was  for staff buses.

Sallah Day terror: Microphone bomb kills governor

On a day that muslim pilgrims gathered in Mina, Saudi Arabia to pelt the devil with stones, terrorists in Muslim Afghanistan were demonstrating that they are scions of the same devil, as they killed a provincial governor with a bomb hidden in a microphone.

According to an AFP report, the hidden bomb exploded as the governor made a speech at a mosque after Eid prayers in Logar, close to the capital Kabul.

Arsala Jamal was appointed by President Hamid Karzai, like all 34 provincial governors, and he was seen as a close ally of the president, acting as one of his campaign managers in the 2009 election.

“This morning, governor Jamal was delivering a speech after Eid prayers when he was killed by a bomb planted in the microphone,” Logar provincial governor spokesman Din Mohammad Darwish told AFP.

“The governor wanted to speak and congratulate everyone on the occasion of Eid. At least 18 other people have been wounded, including civilians and government employees.”

Jamal only took up the Logar job in April after serving as governor of Khost, on the border with Pakistan.

No group claimed immediate responsibility for the blast, though Taliban militants often target provincial government officials as well as Afghan soldiers and police.

Karzai did not mention Jamal’s killing in his presidential Eid address on Tuesday, but again appealed for peace.

“Hamid Karzai called on the Taliban to work for the development of their country, and to spare Afghan security forces who are working to protect their soil, national dignity, and to stop carrying out attacks,” his office said.

“(The president) once again called on the Taliban and their leaders not to throw the youth of this country into destruction.”

Mohammad Jan Abid, head of the criminal investigative department in Logar, confirmed the mosque bombing and said a probe would be launched.

Volatile Logar, which lies to the south of the Afghan capital, is seen as a key strategic region, often described as a “gateway to Kabul” for Taliban militants based in strongholds across the south and east.

Security in the province has deteriorated in recent years, with the Taliban holding sway in some areas despite sustained Afghan and US military pressure.

Village-based Afghan Local Police (ALP) forces have also been active trying to wrestle back control of Taliban-held territory.

The Taliban have vowed to step up attacks as Afghanistan prepares for presidential elections in April and the withdrawal of 87,000 NATO troops by the end of next year.

Taliban supremo Mullah Omar on Sunday said he “rejected” the elections, which he alleged were being manipulated by foreign powers, and called on Afghans not to participate.

The hardline Islamist Taliban regime was driven from power by a US-led coalition in 2001 for sheltering the Al-Qaeda leaders behind the 9/11 attacks.

The US and Afghanistan are currently in the last stages of talks on a Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) that would see several thousand US troops remain in the country to aid stability and continue training of local security forces.

Omar warned any US bases remaining on Afghan soil “will never be accepted”, and that “armed jihad will continue against them with more momentum”.

Eid ul Adha is a major public holiday across the Muslim world, with mosques packed with devotees marking the prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son when God ordered him to.

Sheep and goats are sacrificed in many households and the meat distributed among family, friends and the poor.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND POLICE...SEE MORE.LOL LOL LOL !!!

ASUU strike: FG AGREES to spend N200 billion on universities yearly (READ

In an effort to end the ongoing ASUU strike, the Federal Government has said it is committed to  spending N200 billion in the 2014 budget on universities in Nigeria for about three to four years until the universities are brought to world-class standard. This is in addition to the N100 billion dedicated and already made available for 2013.

The government has also increased to N40 billion as a first installment for the funds in payment of earned allowances to the striking lecturers, which is an improvement from the N30 billion previously released.

According to sources, the information is s contained in an internal statement made by the  Vice-Chancellor,  Professor Bolaji Aluko of Federal University of Otuoke and was seen on Wednesday by Sahara reporters.

Reports say:

On the earned allowances, he explained, “Government will top it up with further releases once universities are through with the disbursement of this new figure of N40 million, so Vice-Chancellors are urged to expedite this disbursement within the shortest possible time using guiding templates that have been sent by the CVC,” the circular said.

Professor Aluko said the development followed meetings on September 19 and Oct 11 of representatives of the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, led by CVC Chairman, Prof. Hamisu of ATBU and ASUU Representatives led by its President, Dr. N. Fagge with the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Arc. Namadi. Sambo, Minister of Education Barr. N. Wike and others.

Of great interest to stakeholders, Vice-President Sambo, appealing to ASUU to call off the strike, apologized for the “take-it-or-leave-it” comments credited to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the onset of the strike. The Minister did not seem to have been involved in either meeting, perhaps as the government’s way of soothing the feelings of the university teachers.

Other points of agreement at the meetings include the following:

Project Prioritization: Universities will now be allowed to determine their priorities and not be “rail-roaded” into implementing a pre-determined set of projects with respect to the NEEDS assessment. Decisions are not to be centralized.

TETFund Intervention: Government assured that the operations of the TETFund will not be impaired, and that the regular TETFund intervention disbursement to Universities will continue, unaffected. So the NEEDS assessment capital outlays are in addition to regular TETFund intervention.

Project Monitoring: A new Implementation Monitoring Committee (IMC) for the NEEDS Assessment intervention for universities has been set up to take over from the Suswan Committee. The new one is under the Federal Ministry of Education and chaired by the Honorable Minister of Education. In addition, to build confidence and ensure faithful implementation and prevent any relapse as before, the Vice President will meet quarterly with the IMC to monitor progress.

Blueprint: ASUU was mandated to submit a blue print for revitalizing the Universities to the Vice President.

Prof. Aluko further stated that a signed document will soon be issued to itemize the full issues on which the consensus he had outlined here, as brokered by AVCNU, was reached.

Iyanya pockets US$220 000 in new deal!

Iyanya has signed a new endorsement deal with phone company Solo Phones. The one year deal is reportedly worth $220 000 plus the latest Toyota Prado.

In other good news, the "Kukere" singer has also recovered his Twitter account which was recently hacked. 

It’s Wande Coal’s BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!

When you hear the kick…

Excuse us peeps! It’s Wande Coal’s BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!

Yes. He is a year older and here’s wishing him a happyyyyyyyyyyyy birthday.

Feel free to celebrate with the ‘Rotate’ crooner by dropping your birthday wishes in the comment box.

By the way, this is a good time to get ‘The Kick’ as callertunez on the MTN Callertunez Store. Send 702731 to 4100 to activate it for N50 only.

Happy Birthday Wande.

ALL TO NOLLYWOOD: Davido Takes On The Role Of “Baby Sitter” On MTN TV Commercial (WATCH VIDEO)

The pop star is one of the brand ambassadors for Nigerian telecoms giant MTN & in a TV commercial that is currently airing on local Nigerian TV, the singer takes on the role of a baby sitter. Don’t you think Davido will make a good actor? Watch the video below..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hEKjuNkepo

Wizkid Jaiye Jaiye ft Femi Kuti Video coming soon...

Jaiye Jaiye Video looks mad!!!!!!! Directed by Sesan!!! awa frosh!!!!! we no be smellos! hahaha!

LESBIANS? Rihanna Grabs Nikki Minaj Bum (PICTURED)

This should not come to you as a suprise , Rihanna and Nicki Minaj have been opened about being bisexual. But what we are interested in is to to know if they are the newest couple to watch.  See pics after the cut:

Meet Wizkid’s Pretty baby mama(Photos)

For those who don’t know,Oluwanishola Ogudugu is the pretty lady who bore Wizkid’s first son Bolu..He takes after her alot and she looks like a nice girl…..More photos below

Cossy Orjiakor marks 29th birthday in red hot lingerie

wish her happy birthday and many more years to come...

”S*xual Harassment Chased Me Out Of The Movie Industry” – Nigerian Singer Reveals

Gospel singer, Gloria Doyle, back in the days, made more name because of her outrageous dress style than her music.

She talks about her failed marriage and her music career in a recent interview;

You are now marketing a hotel; have you left your music career?

No. I have not left it. A friend of mine runs the hotel and I only help out to market it. We are trying to create awareness.

Now that you are into hospitality business, is it not taking your time?

If I tell you that it is not taking my time, I would be lying. It is taking my time but I am enjoying it.  I will still go back to the studios. My fans are saying that they need something from me.

There was a time your outrageous dressing stood you out. Is that chapter closed?

I am almost a grandmother. I am now a minister who ministers in churches. I now tell people that I have been there before. I am more mature now. Then, I think of my kids too. I need to put them into consideration as well.

Back then, you didn’t care at all, you didn’t consider these stuffs you are mentioning now.

I no even ‘send anybody’ even at the moment. It is just that I am more mature now.

How come you never acted?

Actually, I was auditioned last month. I was in the movie industry a long time ago. I did quite a number of movies before I left the industry because of sexual harassment. It was terrible. Some people felt I left because I couldn’t act. But that was a lie. I did some very good movies. Producers would tell me they would want to star me in a particular movie but I should come to a hotel first. I felt these were people I ordinarily wouldn’t have anything to do with them if not because of entertainment. They were now calling the shots and because you were desperate to become a star, you would give in. But I couldn’t do that. If you know your worth, you would definitely scale through. However, I invested my time writing movies. I am not a desperate person. I have the face. I was able to make my name. But I didn’t get to this level out of desperation. My greatest concern now and which has made me proud are my kids.

Do we see you getting married again, ever?

I am going to be a grandmother soon. Honestly, I was discussing this with somebody the other day. The person was telling me that I need to get married. My family tells me that I need to get married. Everybody is telling me that I need to get married. If you get me a husband, I will get married. I am not going husband-hunting. Some people carry it like a placard ‘I am looking for husband’ written on it. But that is not me. I am not desperate. I don’t want to do things out of desperation. If husband will come, he will come. For now, it is not my priority.

But we learnt you were getting married to a younger lover last year, didn’t it work out?

It was a lie. It was a joke that spread like a wild fire. I don’t know where they saw the picture of me and the young man.

Are you saying you have not had any offer of marriage since?

If I say that, I would be lying. I always consider my kids. They are Igbo, since their father is an Igbo man. I remember there was a picture I posted on Facebook some time ago; I was with a friend of mine in that picture. My daughter read the story about me getting married to a younger lover. She sent me a mail asking me if I was really getting married. With the way she asked it, she obviously meant it could never be true that I was getting married.

But would it have been a bad idea?

I want my children to come of age. I want them to be on their own and to be able to take care of themselves. People get married and you find out that the children they had in their previous marriage would be a problem in the current marriage. It might even get to a stage the woman would be asked to choose between her children and husband. I can’t subject my children to that. My being single is still for a purpose. It is a sacrifice I took because of my children. It is not easy to be a single mother. When you have been married before and you find yourself taking sole responsibility of your kids’ welfare, it is not an easy thing.

What really happened to your marriage?

I got married at the age of 19. I was very young. I faced tribal problems. Then again, my husband was really older than me. I needed a friend. It is usually a problem when you don’t get married to your friend. If you just marry a husband, you will not enjoy the marriage. You play, quarrel, make-up, gist and have fun with your friend. But with a husband, it is usually not so. You would be meant to kill a goat or fowl to appease him when he feels you insulted him. He will call a family meeting for you. In all, when I look at my kids, I don’t regret my marriage.

Some might say you were wild and that was what made your marriage not to work…

I am not wild. I have never been wild. It was just that my dressing was wild. Oh yes, I agree, I could wear anything. I looked up to Toni Braxton. Anything she wore, no matter how outrageous, I wanted to wear it.

Looking back now, do you regret dressing those ways?

No. I don’t regret it. But I bring my pictures and I show the young girls of these days and I tell them I have been through this stuff they are doing now. I tell them that I did it then because of showbiz and not as they are doing it now to attract men and sell their bodies.

WHO PUTS THE EDUCATION INTO OPEN EDUCATIONAL CONTENT?

Andy Lane The concept of open content was first mooted by David Wiley in 1998.1 Although he was referring to all types of content, he was mainly thinking of educational content because of his interest in enabling easier construction of educational materials from a repository of learning objects. When MIT decided in 2001 to make freely available on the web, under an open license, much of the content used or produced by its faculty to support their teaching, it chose the term OpenCourseWare for that content (see http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Global/AboutOCW/our-story.htm). In 2002, the term open educational resources (OER) was adopted at a UNESCO forum2 and is becoming the term used most often for this phenomenon. What Is Open Educational Content? Whatever term may be applied to this phenomenon, open content is largely digital stuff (music, images, words, animations) created by somebody who has attached an open license to it. (I recognize that analogue versions of open content can exist and be used by people but the reuse of such content under the open license is extremely curtailed by their analogue format.) In other words, the content is openly available (it can readily be found or discovered), is openly accessible (it is in a form in which others can take it away), and is openly reusable (the user can easily modify it and is allowed under the license to do certain things with it without having to ask the creator’s permission first). This is in contrast to full-rights-reserved copyright, where reuse is always closed to users unless they seek and are granted permission, and where rights holders normally restrict the content’s availability and accessibility in many different ways to avoid illegal use of the material. That is almost all I will say on the rights issues around open content because I am more interested here in exploring the conditions under which any content, open or closed, may be educational, before looking at the additional implications of open content. Who Creates Educational Content? The creators of any digital stuff (my wider term for content) will have had in mind at least two purposes for the stuff: what they expect users of the stuff will use it for (entertainment, information, education, and so forth) and what they themselves want to achieve through creating it (personal fulfillment, reputation, income, influence, and so forth). The users of the stuff also have at least two purposes for it: what they personally want to gain from it as it stands (entertainment, information, education, and so forth) and what else they might want to do with it for themselves or to share with others (which may be the same set of purposes that the primary creator had in mind). While this same argument applies to closed, or fully copyrighted, stuff, the effect of an open license is that users are not just primary consumers of the stuff, they are also enabled to use the stuff as feedstock for creating their own stuff (as secondary creators) without seeking the direct permission of the primary creator. This principle of a community of users, all creators and consumers at different times, underlies the whole philosophy of the creative commons, where everyone (in theory) can build upon the work of others for the greater benefit of all by creating more stuff that helps the wider economy and is not locked away or underexploited. It follows that open content becomes an open educational resource for which the creator, most likely a teacher in some form, had education as a major purpose or intent for that open content. It also follows that users of open content, learners or teachers, can declare it to be an open educational resource if they also are primarily using it for educational purposes, even if the primary creator did not have that in mind. In principle, all stuff can be given an educational purpose. So, what makes it effective at educating or enabling someone to learn from it as it stands—whether as a learner, to learn the subject matter, or as a teacher, to learn how that subject matter has been structured or presented as educational material? To explore this further I will use the simple idea that content is a mediating object between a teacher and a learner, with each interacting separately with it. In many open or distance learning situations, and especially with OER, all the mediation occurs through the content as object. In face-to-face or computer-mediated-conferencing teaching and learning situations, there is the added benefit of interactions between the teacher and the learners and between fellow learners around that content as a mediating object. Teacher–Content Interaction The first aspect to consider is the degree of meaning associated with the content. Thus, content can be primarily concerned with simple data or information (for example, that dogs have fur), through more complex information or knowledge (for example, why dogs have fur and why different dogs have different types and amounts of fur), to the drawing out of generalizations from the particular (for example, the conceptual reasons why all mammals have fur and the general models or hypotheses that enable predictions to be made for new examples of mammals). This external knowledge, where information and experience taken from the world have already been transformed, analyzed, tested, evaluated, and stored in some form, is the basis of education. An educational resource is one in which the creators have made sense of the existing public information and experiences of others to create something that embodies their own interpretation of that information and experiences in a structured way. An effective educational resource is one in which the structure or design of the resource is aimed at increasing the chances that inexperienced or less knowledgeable learners can both internalize that external knowledge and be able to demonstrate their own interpretation of that knowledge (I deal further with the learner’s capabilities below). The second aspect is the degree of engagement and interaction that learners are encouraged to have with the structured digital content (detailed reviews of interaction in online learning or computer-mediated higher education are given by Wallace3 and Godwin4). This engagement and interaction can be achieved by the creator’s inclusion of specified learning outcomes (that is, statements that set out what the creator is expecting the learner to learn from engaging with the educational resource) as well as inclusion of activities within the resource that are aimed at getting the learners to demonstrate (to themselves at least) that they have probably learned what was expected of them. This is a basic tenet of learning design that has been well explicated by Dyke and his colleagues,5 but it is important to recognize how limited are the opportunities for creator-designed learning activities if the interaction is solely by the learner with the content, and not also by the learner with a teacher and the learner with other learners, as explained by Moore.6 Of course, more knowledgeable and sophisticated learners are able to instantiate their own “learning activities” by which they internalize new (to them) knowledge. The major limitation for learning activities that a teacher embeds within educational resources is that any feedback to the responses that learners make to an activity has to be either predetermined or left to the learners to judge for themselves. This is even the case with many “intelligent” computer-based systems, because such sophisticated feedback systems are still based on predetermined responses to the learner’s behavior, albeit a greater range and more styles of responses. In this sense there are no direct opportunities for the learners to use dialogue with someone else to help recommunicate or negotiate their own interpretation of what they have learned. This can hinder less confident and inexperienced learners who have yet to develop their metalevel skills in learning to learn and managing their own knowledge in a specified field. This distinction in the way educational content is structured for different purposes can be clearly seen in the differences between OpenCourseWare in the style provided by MIT (http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html), consisting largely of educational resources without pedagogic structure or learning design that require sophistication in the user (which can be expected in other educators and graduate-level students, who are their primary targets) as compared to many of the open, distance, and e-learning style resources seen on OpenLearn (http://www.open.ac.uk/openlearn) from the UK Open University (UKOU), where the resources are designed to help less sophisticated learners readily engage with them (which matches the UKOU’s aims to widen participation in higher education). The majority of OER developed so far have been of the MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) type. These are basically resources derived from and supporting a classroom-based approach to teaching, where there is a single teacher or tutor involved in teaching a course. This approach (which I have called OER 1.0) has many entailments. First, it is interesting to other teachers and lecturers because it relates closely to what they have to do, providing lesson plans, reading lists, and so forth from acknowledged leaders in their field. Second, it is of interest to current MIT undergraduate students choosing their next course, prospective undergraduate students who can more clearly see what they will be signing up for, and students from other higher education institutions who can compare these resources with what their institution provides. Third, however, OCW is not as readily accessible and understandable by those lacking confidence and formal qualifications and is not ideal for self-study unless you are a skilled self-studier or independent learner. OCW constitutes a set of resources, not pedagogically designed open learning materials. Fourth, while OCW is translated, used, and adapted by others, it is largely on a bilateral basis between individuals and the originating institutions and between two institutions. The software support environment does not easily facilitate the collaborative development of OER because each wants to have a highly localized version rather than work on a single common version. In a similar vein, there is no supporting environment for learners to engage with each other over the study of these resources. The second major approach to OER (OER 2.0) is that of creating self-study materials whereby the content has been designed to be more accessible to study without significant prior educational experience or qualifications in that subject and has been placed in a learning environment that does encourage some learner–learner interaction and possibly learner–teacher interaction, thus adding to the range of activities and tasks that can support learning. This approach brings in additional entailments that I deal with below. Learner–Content Interaction The abilities and motivations of learners are much influenced by their previous educational experiences, often measured by their success in gaining educational qualifications, the value placed on learning by their families and social/cultural group, and the amount of time and space that can be afforded to learning within their work and home commitments. Further, there is the distinction between formal learning, where achievement is recognized through assessment practices and has value in the labor market, and nonformal learning, where self-assessment is a bigger feature and provides self-gratification but where it is harder to demonstrate that “success” to others, particularly employers. All these features can influence how much time an individual learner will take to achieve the given or self-set learning goals. With educational materials, the presumed level of understanding involved in terms of the complexity and sophistication of the ideas presented and need for prerequisite knowledge is mixed up with the form in which such material is presented to the learner, in particular the levels of interactivity and integration.7 To some degree, where there are stated learning outcomes, these provide another measure of knowing when learning has been achieved; where there are not learning outcomes, the task becomes more open ended. Even so, different media influence the style and amount of information that can be absorbed and then processed by the learner.8 Learning can arise from the interaction between the learner and the content and is a property of the learner, a change in their “knowing” about the world as they interpret it. Whether the content is static (for example, text) or dynamic (for example, animation), is linear (for example, audio) or nonlinear (for example, a concept map), it becomes interactive only when a learner engages with it. It is through interaction that learners make sense of what they are interacting with, reconfiguring their mental map of how things fit together and the nature of the links between them. The degree of sense making resulting from these interactions, whether it is surface learning or deep learning, depends on the abilities and capabilities of the learner. With content that is designed for educational purposes, then, the creator has already provided a sense making structure to the material and learners are either accepting this given sense making structure or adding new sense making structures of their own, that is, providing a new interpretation or formulation, either internally as part of their mental map or externally in the form of a new piece of content (most obviously as their own notes or as the product of a given assignment). Teacher–Learner and Learner–Learner Interactions It is this testing or assessment element that can most enhance the educational effectiveness of content, because it is the testing of the meaning of new knowledge against existing knowledge within a learner’s mental map that is a key aspect of learning. That is why assessment activities (show me what you know and can do) need to be tied to learning outcomes (what I want you to know and do) and often why less experienced learners benefit a lot from discussion with teachers or other learners, as they test their understanding of new knowledge against the understanding of the teacher and other learners. Until recently, open educational materials tended to be print based, but the essence of digital OER is that computer- and web-based technologies provide greater scope for learners to be able to interact with more than just the content if they are informal distance learners and not part of a structured, taught course. There is a greater opportunity to shift from informal learning being a private, individual activity to a public, more social activity. Thus, a key feature of open educational resources is that they have the capability to be dynamic rather than passive in nature, are supportive of communication between users rather than simply information sharing, and move away from just individual interaction with the content to more social engagement with a shared discourse.9 A consequence of the increased opportunities for sharing and creating new content, whether that is new versions of existing content or new material supplementing or augmenting the existing content, is not only that the creators (teachers) need to think carefully about the learning design of their materials but also that users (learners) need to think about or be helped to understand their own learning processes as well as collaborate or cooperate in that learning design. In effect, both creators and learners need to realize that content is merely a mediating object between all those involved in education and is not itself the repository of learning. Individual learning lies in the minds of people and is demonstrated in the sense making that lies within the content they produce by themselves, but social learning10 can be expressed through the collective, additional sense making that user-generated content by a community of practice enables.11 Ensuring Quality of Open Educational Content I have articulated some basic design principles that teachers can use for creating effective educational content, but how do I know it is good quality teaching material as a (naïve) learner (or even teacher)? Building upon what I have said already, there are three main features of quality that need to be considered when answering this question: Is the material academically sound in that it appropriately covers the body of knowledge and meaning for that topic? Is it pedagogically robust in that the way the material has been structured matches a stated pedagogical model and sets out appropriate learning outcomes and ways of assessing those outcomes? Is the way the material is presented through the chosen media helpful in enabling learners to meet the learning outcomes? For many OER the quality assurance is carried out by the originating institution since the materials are derived from mainstream teaching activities that are already subject to quality assurance processes. Some aspects, such as academic and presentational quality, may be left to other authorities to manage, for example, publishers of textbooks. In essence, the overall quality of OER sourced from universities comes from existing procedures of small-scale peer review within the university community and the institution acting as a gatekeeper. This is different from those OER that are derived from the efforts of either individuals (as in the Connexions site) or a broader community (as in Wikiversity), where the overall quality of such OER is judged using open peer-rating or -reviewing mechanisms. In some cases the nature and form of the authoring and publishing environment means that the presentational quality and some parts of the pedagogic quality can be reasonably assured. It is the academic quality that has to be earned, either through the existing authority of the originator or by proving oneself to be an authority by the ratings of this broader peer community. What Makes Open Educational Content Effective (Again)? I have argued above that the effectiveness of open educational material is usually improved where there is a clear sense making structure, a narrative that relates to explicit learning outcomes. It also helps to have formal or informal assessment tasks or learning activities linked to those learning outcomes. A single image or video clip will usually lack an explicit narrative or learning outcome and therefore places much greater demands on the users to construct their own narratives and implicit learning outcomes without the help of a mediator (teacher). Ideally, OER should be presented in an environment that allows different users (learners and creators) to communicate with each other, to develop a discourse that adds another sense making layer to that present in the original material. Evaluating the effectiveness of just the assets cannot be done without taking into account the context in which they are used. First, OER can be a replacement for closed educational resources, that is, ones developed by teachers for their own use. Second, they can also be a supplement where educational resources are scarce. In both cases they can make a difference to teachers because in principle, institutionally quality-assured and/or collectively developed resources should be much better than those individuals can develop on their own (the wisdom of the crowd). This will free the teacher from being a major developer of resources (teacher-centered) to devoting more time to being a supporter of learning (learner-centered). This may lead to greater levels of achievement by the learners, but a more significant measure will be teacher and student satisfaction levels with both the learning resources and the teacher support. The happier they are, the more conducive will be the learning environment. Some learners can still achieve whatever the environment, but others need support. Open educational resources do not ensure that overall standards will be higher, that a greater proportion of students will achieve the highest grades, but they can increase the absolute numbers of people participating and provide a greater range of ways for people to learn, to give them more control of when and how they learn rather than having to fit in with selective, predetermined opportunities. So who puts the education into open educational content? At the moment the teachers do most of this, but they also need the learners to play their part. And if we accept that there is a large informal and nonformal side to education that can be nurtured by OER, then in theory, and hopefully in practice, everyone can be a teacher as well as a learner and put the education into their own open educational content.