Hal Plotkin
Encyclopedia
Hal Plotkin is the Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary of Education, United States Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...

, which has responsibility for all federal U.S. higher education policies and programs. Plotkin was appointed to his position in the Obama administration in July 2009.

Plotkin is a former member and president of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District
Foothill-De Anza Community College District
The Foothill De Anza Community College District is a community college district headquartered on the grounds of Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California. The district operates Foothill College and De Anza College in Cupertino.-External links:*...

 Board of Trustees and Chair of the District's Committee on Audit and Finance. He is the first graduate of Foothill College to ever serve on its governing board.

In 2003, Plotkin initiated the district's Policy on Public Domain Learning Materials which are now more commonly known as Open Educational Resources
Open educational resources
Open educational resources are digital materials that can be re-used for teaching, learning, research and more, made available for free through open licenses, which allow uses of the materials that would not be easily permitted under copyright alone...

.

Journalist - Commentator - Non-Profit Founder

Plotkin is the founder, Chairman of the Board, and former CEO of the Center for Media Change, Inc., a Palo Alto, California-based non-profit organization that facilitates the creation, development and use of new business models to preserve the economic and professional viability of journalism. Plotkin was the founding editor of the Center for Media Change's first project, ReelChanges, which facilitates crowdfunding of high-quality documentary film projects. The Center for Media Change, Inc. also serves as the parent 501(C)3 non-profit for a similar site, spot.us, which was founded by current Center for Media Change, Inc. CEO, David Cohn.

Plotkin is a veteran Silicon Valley-based journalist and commentator whose published and broadcast work often focuses on technology, business, public policy, education and science. He was a founding editor of public radio's Marketplace program, and a former columnist for CNBC.com and SFGate.com, the website of the San Francisco Chronicle. Plotkin has authored more than 650 articles for a wide variety of publishers, including Barron's Online, Inc. magazine
Inc. (magazine)
Inc. magazine, founded in 1979 and based in New York City, is a monthly publication focused on growing companies. The magazine publishes an annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., the "Inc...

, FORBES.ASAP, Harvard Business School Publishing, California Business, Family Business and International Business magazine.

His essays include "Riches From Rags," which may be the first printed reference to the term "mass customization,""Tear Down the Walls," which made an early case for what has become the Open Educational Resources movement,a description of the new "higher education ecosystem" made possible by the Internet,and the first article ever written about Creative Commons. In addition, Plotkin is also an advocate of crowd-funding for high-quality public media.

In recent years, Plotkin has devoted much of his time to advancing the Open Educational Resources
Open educational resources
Open educational resources are digital materials that can be re-used for teaching, learning, research and more, made available for free through open licenses, which allow uses of the materials that would not be easily permitted under copyright alone...

movement.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK