Topic 5: Open access to online materials for all – utopian dream or unstoppable force?
Please read these notes and check out the links below, before preparing and posting your answer to the set question. This document should be regarded as just the start of the discussion, which is then developed over the next two weeks through the conversations themselves and sharing of further relevant links.
Relevant articles/videos
Introductory video: (8 minutes)
Should online content be free? Is anything really free? How should authors be rewarded for their work? Is traditional copyright legislation fit for purpose in the digital age?
Dramatically Bringing down the Cost of Education with OER: How Open Education Resources Unlock the Door to Free Learning, by David Wiley
Forbes article: Education finally ripe for radical innovation by social entrepreneurs
More background reading on Scoop It
Question for Topic 5:
Explain the advantages and disadvantages to a content producer of making their materials freely available online
Deadline for posting your answer to the set question is 4/5
Deadline for your comments on the work of others is 7/5
Deadline for posting your reflective summaries is 11/5
Then we have our final module wrap up session at 11am on 12/5 in 67/2011 (where the intro session was held)