[Oer-community] On-line education is using a flawed Creative Commons license

[Wayne Mackintosh]

On Sat, Dec 1, 2012 at 12:39 PM, Stephen Downes <stephen at downes.ca> wrote:

> That's all I ask. That's all I've ever asked. That's what NC means to me.


And I would suggest that the majority of OER practitioners and institutions
would honour your wishes and intent. I'm an optimist, I still faith in
humanity ;-).

As a pro free cultural works institution, this why we don't embed any NC
materials from Stephen Downes in OERu courses or WIkiEducator, but rather
use an external link by pointing to your website (unless of course we
obtain express written permission from you to use a free cultural works
approved license as we did for your outstanding
contribution<http://wikieducator.org/Educators_care/Video_Signpost_-_Stephen_Downes>to
the OCL4Ed workshop - -thank you).

While I don't agree with the use of the NC restriction because it doesn't
meet the requirements of the free cultural works definition, institutions
and individuals should head Steven's warnings about the risks of enclosure
particularly when access is restricted by putting OER behind a password
(even when no-fees are required).

At the OER Foundation we are very serious about ensuring that the OERs we
host will not be locked behind password to ensure access in perpetuity.
 All OERu course materials are hosted on WikiEducator which can be accessed
without password and the parallel LMS versions which integrate WikiEducator
content of OERu courses all allow guest access without the need to register
an account on the LMS.  Learners who chose not to make use of the formal
assessment services on a fee for service basis from our partners will still
have unrestricted access to all OERu course materials without the need for
password. This is not a matter we take lightly and its embedded in the
registered constitution of the OER Foundation.

A last thought about the NC restriction regarding the OER Foundation's work
on open policy.

We work actively in encouraging governments to adopt open policies on the
grounds that taxpayer funded content should be accessible for citizens. We
are aiming to achieve a level playing field for both the non-profit and
commercial sectors. It would not be fair to the corporate sector to insist
on the NC restriction for taxpayer funded content as the corporate sector
also contribute to the tax revenue base. In the open policy scenario, I
believe that fewer restrictions are likely to produce a more equitable
solution for all sides of the table.

Kudos to Susan and her team at AU for hosting what has been one of the most
productive discussions on licensing alternatives and their implications.
Now how do we map this?

W




-- 
Wayne Mackintosh <http://wikieducator.org/User:Mackiwg>, Ph.D.
Director OER Foundation <http://www.oerfoundation.org>
Director, International Centre for Open Education, Otago Polytechnic
Commonwealth of Learning Chair in OER, Otago Polytechnic
Founder and elected Community Council Member,
WikiEducator<http://www.wikieducator.org>
Mobile +64 21 2436 380
Skype: WGMNZ1
Twitter <http://twitter.com/#%21/Mackiwg> |
identi.ca<http://identi.ca/waynemackintosh>
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