Hi Ben, You're right -- there is a diverse range of opinion on what constitutes OER.
Perhaps we need to develop an "openness" continuum or thermometer with degrees of openness on the gauge <smile>. Adopting the free cultural works definition has been good for us -- There are clear guidelines and requirements specifying what the WikiEducator project considers to be OER -- and these are based on the values associated with the essential freedoms. (http://tinyurl.com/2desspa) Sure there are folk who will disagree or have a different interpretations on what constitutes OER and that's OK. We have the whole Internet were we can all practice and implement our beliefs around OER :-). I'm 150% in agreement that WE should always continue the dialogue with all educators to deepen our collective understanding of freedom when it comes to learning materials and the rite of education. I suspect that we'll be including a module on this important topic in the Open Course Collaboratory project -- an international collaboration to develop postgraduate course materials on OER which will be released as OER. It's a neat project --see http://wikieducator.org/OCC . Hopefully this will help continue the dialogue. Thanks for the post Ben -- Good one! Cheers Wayne On 3 June 2010 00:30, Ben <[email protected]> wrote: > I find it interesting how many different definitions of "open" > actually exist out on the web. I believe it's healthy to continue > having this dialog with others who use the term but do little to > respect it's true meaning. > > Benjamin > http://wikieducator.org/User:Bnleez > > On May 21, 5:58 pm, Wayne Mackintosh <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Hi Janet > > > > Thanks for posting your call for papers for the special issue on OER > > for the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks on the WikiEducator > > list. > > > > Given the dedicated focus on OER, would the Sloan Consortium consider > > releasing this issue of the Journal under a free content license > > (ideally meeting the requirements of the free culural works > > definition.)? > > > > While JALN is an open access journal -- I see from the copyright > > statement of the journal that all rights are reserved :-(. > > > > Many OER practitioners working in the free culture would not consider > > this to qualify as an open education resource. > > > > Hoping the JALN will review their licensing for this special issues. > > > > Cheers > > Wayne > > > > On May 22, 10:39 am, "[email protected]" > > > > > > > > > > > > <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Please share with colleagues:http://tinyurl.com/jaln-OER > > > > > The Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks invites submission of > > > papers for a special issue focusing on Open Educational Resources > > > (OERs). OERs are learning materials that are made publically available > > > for free to be used, modified, and redistributed in original or > > > modified form. > > > Online education and Open Educational Resources are strongly > > > interconnected developments that have both have been driven by the > > > growth of connectivity and content on the Web. In addition, online > > > education is a natural environment for both creation and use of OERs. > > > The growing collection of OERs provides an extensive and varied source > > > of educational material that has great potential to enrich online > > > education. > > > But OERs are not without issues and challenges. Reward systems for > > > instructors do not usually encourage broad sharing of instructional > > > resources. Finding the right resource, at the right level, and with > > > the right packaging can be difficult. Quality is uneven, and quality > > > control is not well-developed. Intellectual property issues are > > > complex and not always well understood. In spite of these and other > > > issues, the same forces that are carrying online education forward > > > also seem to be creating momentum for OERs and it seems clear that > > > developments in this area have just begun. > > > As the era of social media unfolds, the nature of OERs will change. > > > The notion of an educational resource as static and having a single > > > author seems likely to fade away. In the era of Wikipedia, the notion > > > of large scale collaborative construction and sharing of OERs seems > > > likely rather than far-fetched. > > > This special issue will explore the phenomenon of Open Educational > > > Resources. Papers should present a research study, an analysis, or > > > detailed case study of OERs, including data where possible. Papers > > > might focus on the evolution, present situation, or expected future of > > > OERs including implications for online education where appropriate. > > > Greg Hislop will serve as guest editor for this special issue. > > > Submission Deadline: June 15, 2010. To submit a paper, please review > > > JALN guidelines and submit papers tohttp://jaln.sloanconsortium.org/. > > > Greg Hislop of Drexel University and Heidi Ellis of Western New > > > England College will serve as guest co-editors for this special issue. > > > > > -- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > > Groups "WikiEducator" group. > > > To visit wikieducator:http://www.wikieducator.org > > > To visit the discussion forum: > http://groups.google.com/group/wikieducator > > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > [email protected] > > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > Groups "WikiEducator" group. > > To visit wikieducator:http://www.wikieducator.org > > To visit the discussion forum: > http://groups.google.com/group/wikieducator > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > [email protected] > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "WikiEducator" group. > To visit wikieducator: http://www.wikieducator.org > To visit the discussion forum: http://groups.google.com/group/wikieducator > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > -- Wayne Mackintosh, Ph.D. Director, International Centre for Open Education, Otago Polytechnic, New Zealand. Board of Directors, OER Foundation. Founder and Community Council Member, Wikieducator, www.wikieducator.org Mobile +64 21 2436 380 User Page: http://wikieducator.org/User:Mackiwg Skype: WGMNZ1 Twitter: OERFoundation, Mackiwg -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "WikiEducator" group. To visit wikieducator: http://www.wikieducator.org To visit the discussion forum: http://groups.google.com/group/wikieducator To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]
