Monthly Archives: May 2009

Freedom of Information Act and Self-Archiving

Posted on May 26, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Knowledge Ecology Notes points out a rule within the Freedom of Information Act that stipulates a document requested three times must be put up on its own web page. Their blog post comes as a result of requesting a U.S. Ambassador’s calendar. Peter Suber at Open Access News adds, in part, this commentary:

It’s a very enlightened rule. I’ve long urged an equivalent rule for scholars, and this is a good opportunity to urge it again. If you receive even one request for an email copy of one of your articles, then self-archive the article. It takes about as much time as sending the article as an attachment to your requesting colleague…

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Wikipedia Selects CC License

Posted on May 23, 2009 by | 2 Comments

As a result of a community vote (reported last by OEN), Wikipedia will now switch its license from the GNU Free Documentation License to CC-BY-SA. Wikimedia reports that 75.8% of the community voted in favor of the measure. A number of sites have covered this story including: Slashdot, Creative Commons, Stephen’s Web, and Open Access News. From the user “tepples” at Slashdot:

Like the GNU Free Documentation License, the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license is a free, copyleft license designed for works other than computer programs. It just lacks some of the practical problems that come with the GNU FDL, which was designed specifically for software manuals that run dozens of pages long. Individual encyclopedia articles are much shorter than that, and the ability to incorporate the license by reference is a better match for Wikimedia Foundation’s uses. But the Creative Commons licenses have some of their own practical problems, such as requiring distributors to remove an upstream author’s credit upon request.

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“Myths” about JISC’s OER Program

Posted on May 23, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Lorna’s JISC CETIS blog has a new post addressing criticisms of JISC’s OER program. The “myths” addressed include “It’s just about copying OU and MIT” and “No thought has been given to business models.” From the blog post:

This is a pilot programme. Whether the OER Programme is successful or not in achieving its primary aims and objectives this should be a learning experience for JISC, HEFCE and the Academy. As long as the OER Programme is appropriately evaluated and lessons are learned that inform future decisions the OER Progamme will not be a waste of money.

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DiscoverEd Prototype Slides Available

Posted on May 23, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Slides from ccLearn’s Ahrash Bissell and Nathan Yergler presentation at OCWC Global 2009 are now available. These slides provide an interesting look at the thinking behind DiscoverEd, a search engine for OER. From the slides:

Key Attributes of DiscoverEd:

  • Built on the basis of curators
  • Populated using feeds
  • Integrated full-text indices and structured data indices
  • Open for any querying and data import
  • Refinements are extensible
  • Highly customizable on both front and back ends

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Where is the Open Education Movement Going?

Posted on May 22, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Brian Lamb, along with others such as Dave Cormier, Alec Couros, and Gardner Campbell discuss the future of open education. The discussion took place on EDUCASE Live! and Lamb has a transcript on his blog. From the transcript (one of Alec Couros’s contributions):

I haven’t yet seen a viable open accreditation model either … the problem is, a number of institutions have to get behind it … and in the short term, it may not be in their best interest as institutions. Thus, it needs to come from outside of the institution.

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OCWC Names New Director

Posted on May 22, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Steve Carson at OCW Blog is announcing the appointment of a Mary Lou Forward as the new Executive Director of the OpenCourseWare Consortium. Forward’s previous position was with SIT Study Abroad, where she was Director of African Studies. She replaces Terri Bays of Notre Dame, who was acting as Interim Executive Director. From the blog post:

Mary Lou has her BA in Psychology from Rutgers University (1988) her MA in International Administration from the School for International Training (1994) and is ABD in Environmental Studies. Although not formally joining the OCWC staff until July 15, Mary Lou will be consulting informally with the board and staff over the coming weeks.

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University of Michigan’s Agreement with Google Expanded

Posted on May 22, 2009 by | Leave a comment

The University of Michigan has expanded its agreement with Google in opening up its library, according to The Chronicle of Education: Wired Campus. The move is a result of the ongoing settlement between organizations representing authors and Google. As a result of this new agreement, the public will be able to freely preview 8 million works, with the option to purchase through the U of M. From the article:

Meanwhile, the American Library Association alerted its membership that Google appears to be conducting a charm offensive designed to allay librarians’ fears about the proposed settlement. “Google is reaching out to library leaders, likely in response to an increase in interest in the community and the press about the concerns libraries have raised in response to the proposed private settlement agreement,”

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Vancouver to Consider Open Data Resolution

Posted on May 22, 2009 by | 1 Comment

Peter Suber at Open Access News is reporting that the city of Vancouver is considering a resolution on open source, data and standards. From part of the resolution:

Open and Accessible Data – the City of Vancouver will freely share with citizens, businesses and other jurisdictions the greatest amount of data possible while respecting privacy and security concerns;

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Kaplan Joins OCWC

Posted on May 21, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Clay Whipkey at OCWC Blog is announcing that Kaplan Higher Education is joining the OpenCourseWare Consortium. Kaplan intends on making some of their courses available for free online via the eduCommons platform. The license for these courses is not stated in the blog. From the post:

“We are in the early stages of a ‘quiet revolution’ in higher education,” said Peter Smith, senior vice president of academic strategies and development at Kaplan Higher Education. “OCWC presents a unique opportunity for Kaplan University to be part of a global online, ‘open resources’ community of educators. The research and service opportunities are enormous. Ultimately, this work will change the way we understand learning and teaching. Kaplan University is proud to join the other member schools of the OCWC with the goal of providing free, high quality learning to advance public knowledge.”

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OpenOffice Gaining Greater Acceptance?

Posted on May 21, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Gabriel Gurley at the OpenOffice Marketing blog has a new post asserting that usage of OpenOffice is higher than ever before. Specific statistics are not cited, but Gurley does report increased attendence of educators at open source conferences. From the article:

When you read the educational journals, your local newspaper or your mainstream tech news sites and magazines, you are always left with the impression that very few institutions are using any “alternative” computing platforms or software applications, particularly open source solutions. Yet, the reality is that lesser-publicized applications, particularly open source platforms and software, are quietly being deployed and utilized for instructional purposes in significant numbers.

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