Topic 5: Reflection

Open Access . . . utopian dream or unstoppable force? . . . Consensus was clearly difficult!

Exploring the topic of open access and reading – watching – listening to a range of peer perspectives, it was apparent that open access is still one of high debate.

Anna’s prezi for Topic 3 inspired me to push myself one last time:

Sophie’s vlog on access to open materials which covered MOOCS’s and other non-academic matters was fantastic! As she was involved herself, it was encouraging to hear about her experiences and the benefits of globalised learning [as demonstrated in this week’s collaboration with #MANG2049]. It was a useful reminder in Sophie’s vlog, that open access is not always an academic matter. It was shocking to hear that “within 3 years, 90% of online content will be held behind a paywall”, as highlighted by her online newspaper examples. While I still recognise the importance to businesses, publishers, researchers, journalists in the need to switch to paid content. I did however wonder, and question Sophie, whether the internet is now a barrier to our fundamental rights such as online news? Or are paywalls necessary to preserve reputable online companies/sites and readership?

What hadn’t been brought to my attention was Dominic’s music inspired blog. It was interesting to read how topical open access in the music industry is. Commenting, it was interesting that mine, Charlie and Adam’s comments all highlighted the key concern of piracy. It was not surprising to see that similar issues of fake journals/fraudulent publications were present among the academia world. Both, Cheexiuxhen and Yu Ting highlighted this in their comments on my blog . . .  All in all, as reflected in Topic 4, I believe that many of these issues are because individuals are contradicting their own moral/ethics beliefs online.

Coinciding with the #MANG2049 group, it was an invaluable experience . . .

My ‘Swift’ ‘Taylor’ing of a discussion with Yvonne, put a new swing on things as we discussed the value of music, and Taylor Swift’s decision to remove her music off Spotify.

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It was concluded that, the internet has not destroyed the value of music, rather opening up new ways to access online music. Yvonne’s response was great as she argued that “the Internet has made it so easy for us to connect with music, I believe it has not destroyed the value of music. Consumers still purchase albums directly from artists to support them”. Likewise, Adam’s comment on Dominic’s similar music inspired blog, resonated with her view, which was interesting to see the similarity in opinions across the two modules.

It was also great to have the same enthusiasm by the #MANG2049 students on my blog . . .

All in all – ‘Living and Working on the Web’ is one of complexity and diversity but carries many benefits to the user. While all topics covered in this module #UOSM2033 have been different, one could argue that they overlap and share many common themes!

[Words: 471]

 My Comments:

#UOSM2033

1. Sophie’s Blog: http://sophiecatherinecollins.wordpress.com/2014/12/04/access-to-online-materials/comment-page-1/#comment-1

2. Dominic’s Blog: http://uzoweblife.wordpress.com/2014/12/07/is-the-entertainment-industry-going-to-die-out/comment-page-1/#comment-2

#MANG2049

1. Yvonne’s Blog: http://yvonneblogs.wordpress.com/2014/12/09/free-music-boooooo/comment-page-1/#comment-1