Open Educational Resources – A Nigerian Perspective

 Posted by on June 18, 2013  No Responses »
Jun 182013
 

nigeria flag[Reposted from the Afro-Leo blog (CC-BY)] 

From IP commenttator Chijioke Ifeoma Okorie comes another guest post, this time addressing a sensitive cultural and commercial issue with strong copyright overones: the deployment of open educational resources. Writes Chijoke:

Intellectual Property Watch has referred to the recent paper published by the International Publishers’ Association (IPA) which expressed concerns about the sustainability, quality and efficacy of Open Educational Resources (OERs). On sustainability, the IPA argues that there is no motivation to keep OERs updated because they are free to use and adapt. The IPA further contends that the quality assurance mechanisms, which are readily available to ensure that publisher-developed materials are thoroughly researched and designed, are not available for OERs. The IPA also takes the view that there is no reliable analysis which shows how much OERs have improved learning outcomes. Continue reading »

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Open Education Around the World – A 2013 Open Education Week Summary

 Posted by on April 8, 2013  No Responses »
Apr 082013
 

OpenEdWk-300x138[Blog post by Creative Commons, (CC-BY)]  Creative Commons congratulates all those who participated in the second annual Open Education Week March 11-15, 2013. It’s impressive to see how global open education has become with contributors from over 30 different countries showcasing their work and more than 20,000 people from over 130 countries visiting the Open Education Week website during the week. Open Education Week featured over 60 webinars open to participation from anyone and numerous local events and workshops around the world.

We thought we’d highlight a few Creative Commons global affiliate events from Open Education Week and share a list of urls for Open Education Week webinar recordings the Open Courseware Consortium has published. Continue reading »

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California Unveils Bill to Provide Openly Licensed, Online College Courses for Credit

 Posted by on March 14, 2013  No Responses »
Mar 142013
 
State Seal - Edward Headington (CC-BY)

Edward Headington (CC-BY)

[Cable Green, CC-BY, Creative Commons]  Today California (CA) Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (author of the CA open textbook legislation) announced that SB 520 will be amended to provide open, online college courses for credit. In short, the bill will allow CA students, enrolled in CA public colleges and universities, to take online courses from a pool of 50 high enrollment, introductory courses, offered by 3rd parties, in which CA students cannot currently gain access from their public CA university or community college. Students must already be enrolled in the CA college or university in which they want to receive credit. The 50 courses and plans for their assessment will be reviewed and approved (or not) by a faculty committee prior to being admitted into this new online course marketplace. Continue reading »

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Second Annual Open Education Week Highlights Educational Opportunities Available to Everyone

 Posted by on March 11, 2013  No Responses »
Mar 112013
 

ocw croppedOCW Consortium Press Release

Contact: Mary Lou Forward
+1 802 347.1373
mlforward@ocwconsortium.org

Newton, MA (March 4, 2013) – The second annual Open Education week will take place March 11-15, 2013.  Open Education Week is a five-day celebration of the global Open Education Movement, featuring online and local events around the world, video showcases of open education projects, and information. Its purpose is to raise awareness of both the movement and its impact on teaching and learning worldwide. Continue reading »

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Open Education Week: March 11-15

 Posted by on March 7, 2013  No Responses »
Mar 072013
 

Open_Education_Week_2013Open Education Week is taking place from 11-15 March 2013 online and in locally hosted events around the world.  The purpose of Open Education Week is to raise awareness of the open education movement and its impact on teaching and learning worldwide. Participation in all events and use of all resources is free and open to anyone.

If you are new to open education, we recommend you start with the “ABOUT OPEN EDUCATION” section for introductory documents and videos. Once you have a feel for what open education is, there are many ways you can participate in Open Education Week.

MORE ON OPENEDUCATIONWEEK.ORG.

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São Paulo State Governor Vetoes Open Educational Resources Bill

 Posted by on February 22, 2013  No Responses »
Feb 222013
 

rea-brazil logo cropped[Reposted from Recursos Educacionais Abertos. Authored by Carolina Rossini, Priscila Gonsales and Debora Sebriam. Translated by Carolina Rossini (CC-BY)] 

We are sorry communicate that the São Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB) vetoed in its entirety the PL 989/2011, because of a perceived conflict of powers between the Executive and the Legislative branches in the State of São Paulo. PL 989/2011 – which was approved by all committees of the São Paulo Legislative Chamber (ALESP) back in December 2012, aimed to establish the public policy for open educational resources in the richest state of Brazil. This Bill was among a remarkable 90% of all bills that were approved by the Legislature in Sao Paulo state, but rejected by the governor. The bill will now return to the Legislative Chamber where the veto might be overturned – but that is an improbable event. Continue reading »

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OER Law Passes in São Paulo, Awaits Governor’s Signature

 Posted by on December 20, 2012  No Responses »
Dec 202012
 

On December 20, the state of São Paulo approved PL 989/2011, which establishes a policy of Open Educational Resources.  Article one holds that educational resources developed by the government “should be made available in these institutions or [on the government's] electronic sites… and licensed for free use, comprising copying, distribution, downloading and redistribution,” on the conditions attriution and noncommercial use.  Resources covered by the law include “textbooks, instructional materials, multimedia content, educational games, scientific articles, research, theses, dissertations and other academic pieces.” Continue reading »

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Some Examples of Resistance to Open Education

 Posted by on November 16, 2012  No Responses »
Nov 162012
 

Image by Jonathasmello (CC-BY)

Open Education has a long history, and recent developments in open licensing and technology have taken the movement to a tipping point. “Open” has become the buzz word in many educational communities, and Open Textbooks especially has generated wide interest. Pilot programs like this one in Washington, have demonstrated tremendous cost savings potential compared to traditional textbooks. Entrepreneurs are investing more in innovative technologies, and in turn increasing the interactivity and distribution potential of open education platforms. These developments have led to what some call an “educational renaissance”, and has even prompted some states and the federal governments to incorporate OER in to the public education system.

The losers in this story are the publishing industry and their supporters, who have relied on a monopoly on copyrighted textbooks for profit. Their resistance to the flurry of OER efforts throughout the nation is perhaps the best illustration of the shifting landscape in education. The following are some prominent examples of this struggle: Continue reading »

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Governor Brown Signs Legislation to Create Free Open Textbooks

 Posted by on October 1, 2012  No Responses »
Oct 012012
 

On September 27, California Governor Jerry Brown signed two bills into law to provide open access textbooks to students in the University of California university system. SB 1052, establishes the California Open Education Resources Council, which will guide the development of textbooks for fifty core college courses.  The second bill, SB 1053, creates the California Digital Open Source Library where the free texts will be housed. The textbooks will be available for free online under a Creative Commons Attribution license.  Students wishing to buy hard copies will be able to do so for around $20. Continue reading »

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California Legislature Unanimously Passes Legislation to Create Open Access College Textbooks

 Posted by on September 10, 2012  No Responses »
Sep 102012
 

The California legislature has unanimously passed two bills sponsored by Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg aimed at developing free textbooks for students the state university system. Students should eventually be able to access the books for free online, or pay $20 for a hard copy.

In a press release, State Sen. Steinberg said: “This is a great victory for students and middle class families struggling with the ever-increasing costs of higher education. Many students are paying more than $1,000 every year on their textbooks, sometimes having to choose between buying the books they need or paying for food and other living expenses. This is a major step toward using technology to cut costs for students while enhancing the quality of higher education in California.” Continue reading »

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Open Access Textbook Legislation Advances in California

 Posted by on June 4, 2012  No Responses »
Jun 042012
 

Darrell Steinberg

The California Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill (SB 1053) that would create an digital library of openly available textbooks, and would allow students to buy hard copies for $20.  The textbooks will be published under creative commons licenses, allowing faculty to update them as necessary, and to tailor them to fit their courses. A companion bill, (SB 1052) creates guidelines for the creation of the texts as open educational resources. The textbooks will be published under creative commons licenses, allowing faculty to update them as necessary, and to tailor them to fit their courses.

The legislation was introduced by state Senator Darrell Steinberg, who noted that the cost of textbooks from publishers have become “exorbitant” – over $1,000 a year, on average.  The bill now moves to the full legislature. Continue reading »

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New Website for OER-Brazil Project

 Posted by on April 2, 2012  No Responses »
Apr 022012
 

Last week, Carolina Rossini announced a new Open Educational Resources project website:  “we aim to provide vast information on OER for Portuguese speakers. We have developed a large FAQ, pointed to reference documents, media, etc. We have also listed projects from Brazil and the world (let us know if you suggest other projects that we can include in the near future), pointing to their license scheme. We have also pointed to the current bills that aim to promote OER in Brazil if approved, and hope to engage society in the discussions and improvement of such policies. Soon we will have the main navigation links also in English.” Click here to visit http://rea.net.br/

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