One of the challenges of an open education movement is expanding the conversation outside of the open education echo chamber. A recent article entitled Understanding the Ins and Outs of Open Content Licensing within Digital Directions, an online publication for K-12 educators and administrators, highlights the practical challenges faced by educators as they attempt to understand and incorporate openly licensed content into their classrooms. As noted by Jim Klein, director of information services and technology for Saugus Union school system near Los Angeles, California:
Licensing costs are one of the largest ongoing expenses in K-12. As budgets tighten and technology demands increase, educators are beginning to understand the benefits and embrace the opportunities found in open technologies … The biggest challenge for educators is their own education—understanding the need for appropriate licensing and the impact of the choices they make when selecting a license.
The article highlights the learning curve facing students, educators, and administrators, such as knowing how to chose the “right” license, how to mix content of difference license types, and how to tag and store content for effective and efficient aggregation. For most people, these are all very foreign concepts and procedures. Addressing these practical day-to-day obstacles will be key to expanding open education outside of the echo chamber.
