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		h1 About FinalsClub.org

		p The Internet has facilitated unprecedented levels of communication, collaboration, and access to knowledge. Open Courseware (OCW) has expanded access to high quality educational resources. Wikipedia has coalesced the effort of millions to create a worldwide database of common knowledge. Social networks have helped us form vibrant online communities. While new forms of online engagement have revolutionized music, journalism, elections, advertising, and encyclopedias, they have yet to transform the classroom... until now. FinalsClub.org, a 501c(3) non-profit organization with funding from the Hewlett Foundation and National Science Foundation (pending), is striving to change the academic status quo.
		p Though there is a growing interest in shared educational resources, no single platform currently serves young scholars seeking to collaborate and share knowledge freely. Either existing tools (such as Google Docs) must be tweaked for educational use or students must participate in environments where others seek to own and profit from their intellectual property. With initial success to craft content and share twenty-seven Harvard courses (2008-10) online, FinalsClub.org is now developing tools specifically for college student to collaborate, learn, and share knowledge freely.
		p Pilot tests of two existing projects, Etherpad and Backchan.nl, have led to the development of a real-time workspace for college student collaboration. Focus groups have unanimously reported that collaborative note-taking tools along with a forum to ask, rate, and respond to each other?s questions ?would be awesome? and ?a game-changer? for the classroom. Since initial tests have involved separate open source projects, FinalsClub aims to reconcile those tools into an integrated environment for the specific needs and interests of college students.
		p Given that most college students bring a computer to class (and often participate in side chats on Facebook or GChat), there is an opportunity for FinalsClub to network their collaborative capacity to create superior notes alongside an engaging live discussion forum. In the virtual environment currently under development at FinalsClub, students will have an unprecedented ability to share knowledge within and without the classroom.
		p With a full launch planned for Fall 2011, FinalsClub will open its collaborative platform for a private beta at four schools: Harvard, Yale, Brown, and Columbia. We will open our code as a free and open source software project for use in education and industry environments. With early support from the Hewlett Foundation and National Science Foundation, FinalsClub will seek additional funding to scale its project to other campuses in 2012 and beyond.
		p Given the innovative nature of these tools, we plan to undertake an agile development process based on constant feedback from student users to create an optimal and scalable environment for students. As they organize on FinalsClub, students will not only create valuable content but also establish best practices for online social learning. Based on quantitative and qualitative feedback from high-achieving early adopters, FinalsClub will strive to improve the student experience and abolish the privileged boundaries of the ivory tower for the benefit of curious learners everywhere.
