Theorizing

ET Open Education Resources: Like Free Speech, Not Free Beer

By Sheza Naqi ETEC 511 Assignment #1 Date Submitted : June 26, 2012 Prof: Franc Feng

Naqi 1 The next big killer application for the Internet is going to be education. Education over the Internet is going to be so big it is going to make e-mail usage look like a rounding error (Chambers, 1999). Every child deserves a right to an education. In the past global inequalities and lack of funds have made this right difficult to accomplish. But the face of the two-trillion- dollar education industry is changing, and more organizations and business are redesigning this industry with Open Education Resources. Open Education Resources (OER) offer a different reality from the traditional education market, by offering their product (or version of) without a financial cost to the user. This model bridges the gap between the haves and the have-nots; between the tier one countries, and the tier four. By enabling global access, OERs allow users to interface with content on a more equal playing field. The definition of OER most often used is digitized materials offered freely and openly for educators, students and self-learners to use and reuse for teaching, learning and research (OECD, 2012). This includes (Johnstone, 2005); Learning resourcescourseware, content modules, learning objects, learner- support and assessment tools, online learning communities Resources to support teacherstools for teachers and support materials to enable them to create, adapt, and use OER, as well as training materials for teachers and other teaching tools The concept of an open resource is free as in freedom of speech; not free beer (GNU, 2012). This distinction is integral, as free beer is essentially a materialized gift that is consumed by an individual, and when consumed benefits only that individual. Free speech however, is a right that when consumed does not associate any loss to the proprietor. In fact, often when free speech is consumed it benefits both the consumer and the supplier. Resources to assure the quality of education and educational practices

Naqi 2 Foote (2005) denounced a resource as open, when one has the freedom to; In his paper Why We Should Share Learning Resources Siemens (2003), outlines several positive aspects of the open education resource market. It becomes clear, as I have summarized in the chart below, that OERs are a value to society on many levels. Most importantly, they enable local, personalized content, at a reduced cost to the school. Where budgets are strapped, and local content thin, OERs have a greater propensity to make a bigger impact.
Benebits to Sharing Resources and the Open Education Resource Market

access copy modify and redistribute

Reduced Costs: 'free' content and cheaper competitors, thus preserving public education (Siemens 2003)

Personal: contributing to society, personal growth (looked good on the CRV)

Interoperability: stronger learning communities

Standardization of content: in NPOV (neutral point of view)

Customization: make it local

Building and Spiraling: Knowledge is built on knowledge (Siemens 2003)

As constructivist theories of education become more predominant, there is a growing value in the lessons of open source resources; sharing, collaborating, creating, manipulating and building knowledge as a collective whole. By organizations/schools choosing to use these resources, we are teaching these values in our society. There are a number of barriers to the OER market. These range from all levels of the marketplace; users, to producers to analysts. The reality is that this is an emerging market place, so some of the boundaries and rules are yet to be ironed out.

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Barriers to the Open Education Resource Market (UNESCO 2006)

Fear of Lack of Sustainability: 'free' content and cheaper competitors = more competition

Personal: lack of time (volunteers), lack of incentives

EVAs wants Security: can 'open' replace IP?

There is no Global Legal Standard: no 'fair use' principal in Europe

Fear of the loss of content: other institutions might claim ownership and you lose your competitive advantage

There are several different business models for OER projects, and their respective needs and costs vary considerably. Many OER projects are able to develop on small budgets, small infrastructure and generate large communities of volunteers and interested parties. Wikipedia for example, was able to initiate a very large community on a modest starting budget. Others projects might require institutional backing and a professional staff. What type of business model you employ would depend on who your user is going to be. If you are looking for a generalized product that a large volume of people can use, the co-production model might work. However, if you are building something specific to certain users, a more centralized approach might better suit your needs. There are many different variations of these models, but open source projects require a different approach to the traditional in- house production model. There are many models to suggest that ventures in the Open Educational Resources market can be sustainable. Yes there are issues and concerns around the Creative Commons licensing and open sharing of IP, but these are leftover concerns of our

Naqi 4 past traditional education marketplace, and with age these concerns will likely be resolved. The Internet marks a new era. Information can flow freely and enable new possibilities for education. The OER market is a new era of business models, and with some age and development, these methods will drive education into a more collaborative, equal and open sphere.

Naqi 5 References Chambers, J. (1999) Next, Its E-ducation, in New York Times op-ed column Next, Its E-ducation November 1999. Accessed June 19 2012. Foote, T (2005) Wikipedia. Utah: 2005 Open Education Conference. Accessed June 20 2012. GNU (2012) What is Free Software? Accessed June 20 2012. Johnstone, S (2005) Open Educational Resources Serve the World. 2005. Educause Review. Accessed June 22 2012. OECD (2012) Giving Knowledge for Free; The Emergence of Open Education Resources. Accessed June 20 2012. Siemens, G. (2003), Why We Should Share Learning Resources. Accessed June 20 2012.