Hi Kim, Thanks for sharing your feedback on the Cape Town Open Education Declaration with our list.
When all is said and done -- I do think the declaration is a positive development for the free knowledge community. At the very least, we will be able to get a sense of the levels of support for these ideals within the education community byu counting the signatures. I must say that I found it strange that the first draft of a declaration on Open Education was developed behind closed doors! To be fair to the developers -- they are accepting comments and suggestions for improvement. I think that they would end up with a better document if this was done the wiki way <smile>. At a personal level - I have already signed the declaration as a signatory for the launching of the document. While I would have preferred more direct language on some of the issues like open formats, the spirit of open formats is still captured in the document. I sense that there is an element of "political correctness" in the choice of language. For me that's OK -- I think its more important to encourage wide support for the vision of the free knowledge community rather than alienate folk who may not understand the values of open formats, free software etc. You are absolutely right - quality can only be determined and defined by the co-contributors and users of free knowledge. That said I do believe the striving for relevant quality is equally important for both free content and closed content models. Kim knows well that I am entirely supportive of the values underpinning Libre knowledge <smile>, and we both have first-hand experience of the "free as in beer" syndrome and confusion that exists around the English concept of "free". That said - I don't have any quibbles with the use of "free" to refer to liberty. After all it is part of the English language. I leverage this "confusion" as opportunities for learning among friends who are deepening their knowledge about this things <smile>. Great work Kim - I don't know where you find the time to analyze these documents and respond with such decisive and meticulous feedback . Viva Libre, Viva. Wayne On Dec 3, 1:29 am, Kim <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > http://www.capetowndeclaration.org/ > > Hi all, > > It is great that this document has been shared. > > I offer one comment relating to the "Most importantly ..." sentence, > and some "wrong forest" statements. > > Suggestion: change the "Most importantly" sentence to take cognisance > of these points: > > i. Whose opportunity? (recall "enabling people to empower themselves > with knowledge" -http://communities.libre.org/) > > ii. Quality can only be defined in local terms (by the users). > > So, reword the sentence to > > "Most importantly, hundreds of millions of people around the world > will be able to improve their lives dramatically through the > opportunity to participate in this global (libre) knowledge society." > > Optionally clarify with something like: "Participants have the freedom > to use knowledge resources (or any parts thereof) for any purpose, the > freedom to co-create, adapt, enhance and share knowledge for > collective benefit." > > (the reference to quality becomes implicit - 'adapt' includes > localisation) > > This apparently minor change is actually highly significant and points > to a possible systematic bias in the "open education" movement - see > "wrong forest" below. > > WRONG FOREST > > From the libre knowledge (conocimiento libre) perspective > (http://communities.libre.org): > > QUESTION: Does the declaration work towards our higher aims? > > * "knowledge for all, freedom to learn, towards collective wisdom" > > * "enabling people to empower themselves with knowledge" > > [Collective wisdom is an implicit reference to sustainable development > incorporating simultaneous consideration of social, economic and > environmental concerns. UNESCO's goal of fostering a culture of peace > falls under Social]. > > ANSWER: To some extent (I think the writers of the declaration mean > "libre" when they say "open"). > But it falls short and might grow one of our biggest challenges: > eliminating the misguided "property" and "ownership" mindset. > > Suggestions and points to ponder: > > 1. The word "open" will never capture the essence of what we are > really trying to do (ultimately) - liberate learning towards knowledge > for all for effective participation in the global knowledge > society ... in turn towards collective wisdom for sustainability (in > the true sense of the word). > > The word "free" may be confused with "gratis" (or free of charge). > Say "Libre" and take this movement to the next > level:http://communities.libre.org/philosophy/saylibre- > discuss:http://www.wikieducator.org/Say_Libre > > 2. Tactics 1 - 3 in the declaration are important components of a > strategy, but it is unclear towards what goal? - Promoting the OE(R) > movement? Improved and appropriate educational practices for a > connected world? Motivating fundamental changes to copyright law ... > towards a free culture? Or some higher aim around quality of life for > millions of people? > > 3. The most promising tactical note in the declaration is '1 Educators > and learners'. This draws attention to the people with passion for > their field of interest. Here you will find success stories of sharing > and collaboration across institutions independent of the "OER > Movement". Learn from these and grow the energy while serving their > needs for specialised collaborative learning resources. > > 4. As with most "open" movements, the emphasis is on encouraging > "owners" to "open" up existing resources for societal benefit. > Although this needs to be done, there is something more fundamental > that needs to change - a rejection of the notion of "owning" knowledge > and liberating learners in the copy-modify-mix-share culture. > > 5. Funders (see 3 above): support more bottom-up initiatives around > needs-driven co-creation of knowledge resources and sharing (to > augment the top-down institutional intiatives). > > 6. Consider renaming the declaration to the "Libre Learning > Declaration" and redrafting it to include some of the principles and > values of Libre Knowledge. Here is a draft declaration for libre > knowledge: > > http://www.wikieducator.org/Declaration_on_libre_knowledge > > Kim > > ---------------- > > PS Alternative venues for continuing this angle of the discussion: > > *http://www.wikieducator.org/Say_Libre(the discussion page) > > *http://www.wikieducator.org/Libre_knowledge- includes links to a > draft libre knowledge declaration and some ideas around a libre > license. > > ----------------- > > PPS I will post these comments widely to stimulate some discussion. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "WikiEducator" group. To post to this group, send email to wikieducator@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/wikieducator?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
