Re: [WikiEducator] An Ethical Dilemma -- Feeling sad :-)- When publishers don't do what they say they intend to do

Joyce . McKnight Wed, 06 Oct 2010 10:00:34 -0700

I appreciate your input and will explore these options with any future works. In this case I have already spent four years with Allyn and Bacon on this book (long before I knew anything about OER) and feel that I have been well-treated by my editor and by the publisher who have provided ample time, editorial support, a writing advance, and funds and personnel to choose pictures etc. These are all resources I could not have gotten on my own and will save time that I do not currently have. Moreover, the publisher has established distribution channels that I could not access (I was already co-author of a self-published text through Xanedu and know the difficulties of doing all of this for oneself. That book was written in 2001 long before the OER movement took off so I am sure things are much better now. If I write anything else I will probably go the OER route so I thank you for your information. I also plan to be a sort of bridge between the OER world and at least the grassroots of traditional publishing because I believe that win-win opportunities can be arranged.

There are some realities that I have faced...For instance, even though my institution is very supportive of OER, a contract with Allyn and Bacon still "counts" more for than anything done through other means. It is hard to convince colleagues to go the OER route when this is the reality for tenure decisions and promotion.

There are obviously many things involved in this issue...let's keep working together from both sides. Joyce

[email protected] wrote: -----

To: [email protected]
From: Barbara Dieu
Sent by: [email protected]
Date: 10/06/2010 08:38AM
Subject: Re: [WikiEducator] An Ethical Dilemma -- Feeling sad :-)- When publishers don't do what they say they intend to do

 Dear Joyce,

I was recently contacted with a similar offer by the same publisher to
write a chapter in a book . They wanted me to sign-off my copyright to
them. I declined as I wanted to have the right to re-use my own
material with other people, not necessarily those with the money to
buy the whole book.

A friend of mine, who is a very active lawyer in the field of open
licensing, was also approached. Like you, she put the question to the
OER list we belong to. Opinion was divided. Some thought it would be
good to have a chapter on open licensing in a book for people who
probably have not heard about it, even if this meant abdicating from
her rights. Others were adamant such a move would mean discrediting
what she believes in.

My friend wrote back to the publisher explaining the options of
alternative licensing and how they could still profit from their
investment and gave the same arguments Wayne did in a recent mail to
you. They did not accept them. She chose not to write the chapter for
them but published one through people who understood her point and
were willing to be flexible. After all, she had experienced (like me)
the situation of having to ask and wait for publishers' permission to
make copies of her own resources to give to students in her own
class.

Here is a post (among many others) that have started to appear in my field
http://jasonrenshaw.typepad.com/jason_renshaws_web_log/2009/08/elt-authors-and-the-money-they-earn.html
and
http://jasonrenshaw.typepad.com/jason_renshaws_web_log/2010/09/your-place-your-space-make-sure-you-read-the-fine-print-.html

I believe that as educators we should inform ourselves so as to have
the authority, freedom and choice to decide on the kind of rights we
want to apply to resources we author and produce. We should also have
more options regarding how our published work will be distributed
without being forced into a one-way agreement.

There is an excellent paper here, which gives you a good overview of
what open licensing means.
Permission granted: open licensing for educational resources
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/section?content=a909092757&fulltext=713240928

An activist's view
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/31/comment.drm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/oct/05/free-online-content-cory-doctorow

IMHO, what is important is to understand how the Internet works, how
to keep the access and flow open, have the choice to decide and always
remember that the price you pay for comfort is your freedom.

My two cents of real.
Warm regards,
Barbara

--
Barbara Dieu
http://barbaradieu.com
http://beespace.net

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Re: [WikiEducator] An Ethical Dilemma -- Feeling sad :-)- When publishers don't do what they say they intend to do

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