Josh Levy has announced the open video contest. The contest is to create a 60-second or less video that explains why open video is important. The top winner will receive a free trip to SXSW 2010. From the post:
Our panel of judges (including web luminaries like Mitchell Baker, Jimmy Wales, and Jesse Dylan) will pick the best and most creative entries.
Posted in Open Education
Tagged commons, google, Google's Settlement, policy, public domain
Samson C. Soong has published an article asserting that open access papers are cited more than closed articles. From the article:
This article describes a study, involving a set of articles published in scholarly journals by faculty members of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) that have also been deposited in the HKUST Institutional Repository. The study was conducted to measure the actual effect of their open accessibility on citation rates. More importantly, the study suggests another quantitative method, and it is hoped that the study will inspire more effective methods of measuring the net impact of open access.
Thanks to Gavin Baker for the link.
Antonio Fini has published an article in the most recent issue of The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL). The article reports on survey results from the Connectivism and Connective Knowledge (CCK08) course. From the abstract:
Findings from a survey of CCK08 participants show that the course attracted mainly adult, informal learners, who were unconcerned about course completion and who cited a lack of time as the main reason for incompletion. Time constraints, language barriers, and ICT skills affected the participants’ choice of tools; for example, learners favoured the passive, filtered mailing list over interactive but time-consuming discussion forums and blogs.
Posted in Open Education
Tagged commons, online learning, open accreditation, open content, Open Education, open learning, open-teaching, openness
David Wiley has a new post attempting to define open. Wiley argues that openness is a continuum, not a binary concept. From the post:
A door can be wide open, completely shut, or open part way. So can a window. So can a faucet. So can your eyes. Our commonsense, every day experience teaches us that “open” is continuous. Anyone who will argue that “open” is a binary construct is forced to admit that a door cracked open one centimeter is just as open as a door standing wide open, because their conception of the term is overly simplified and has no nuance.
David Porter has posted a diagram done by Lisa Rogers showing an “agile” OER workflow. From Porter’s post:
While searching using “simple, easy, agile” and other adjectives to describe “OER workflow,” I finally got a hit that made sense.
Thanks to Stephen Downes for the link.
Posted in Open Education
Tagged higher education, ocw, oer, online learning, open content
Gavin Baker at Open Access News has a new post outlining the implications of the revised Google Book settlement for open access. From the post:
…the Unclaimed Works Fiduciary apparently does not have the ability to make orphan works OA without the agreement of the Registry board (which is composed of publisher and author representatives)
Posted in Open Education
Tagged google, Google's Settlement, journal, library, OATP, open access
Andy Lane has published a new article in the recent issue of The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL). Lane reviews social, cultural and other factors that inhibit people from taking advantage of openness. From the abstract:
…while in principle there may be greater degrees of openness available in higher education it does not mean in practice that many people can still readily avail themselves of these new opportunities to learn, not just because they do not have access to digital technologies but personal circumstances mean they also lack the necessary skills and the confidence to use such technologies in general or for education in particular.
Posted in Open Education
Tagged commons, ocw, oer, open content, Open Education, openness
Richard Poynder has a new post interviewing Lars Fischer. Fischer is science journalist who has submitted a petition to the German National Parliament for open access. From the interview:
Open access offers a fundamental challenge to scientific publishers. But the current trend toward Open Access is driven by technical innovation and economic realities, not by petitions.
Posted in Open Education
Tagged higher education, journal, library, OATP, OATP.new, open access
FOSSLC has posted video of Rory McGreal (Associate Vice President, Research at Athabasca University) speaking on the future of open educational resources.
Posted in Open Education
Tagged conference, ocw, oer, online learning, open content, Open Education, presentation
