Open Content and Ethics

            The way that information is disseminated at will without verification through the use of the internet is enough to give any good educator a second thought before incorporating this material into their classroom environment.  Another part of the dilemma with utilizing internet resources in the classroom is the copyright/infringement issue that can occur.  In today’s society, there are so many new technologies that are engaging people in information sharing for not only social but also educational materials- with the ability to protect their information and the safety to use the information they are “borrowing.”  Open content is one of the new “hot topics” in education, the concept of sharable materials on the web for educator use for FREE is one way to reduce teacher workload and in turn hopefully also teacher burnout (Johnson, Adams, & Haywood, 2011, p. 23).  “The movement toward open content reflects a growing shift in the way academics in many parts of the world are conceptualizing education to a view that is more about the process of learning than the information conveyed in their courses.  Information is everywhere; the challenge is to make effective use of it” (Johnson, Adams, & Haywood, 2011, p. 22).   Content is available for many subjects and at various levels, kindergarten-college.

An excellent website that addresses one of the main issues with open content (copyright) is Creative Commons.  Creative Commons offers an excellent resource for people to “share, use, and even build upon a work you’ve created” under the security of a Creative Commons license that allows you to modify the work to suit your needs.  This website protects the research, education, and culture that are on the web though a set of copyright licenses and tools that work alongside with traditional copyright laws.   Many well-known websites such as Google, Public Library of Science, and Wikipedia utilize Creative Commons licenses to help protect their work.

I played around with the open content site Connexions and examined the Human Anatomy and Physiology resources.  I was amazed to see that it was materials designed for two-semester anatomy and physiology course, and available free online! The table and print versions were available for a low cost also.  I spent some time “flipping” through the chapters and interactions, I am amazed by not only the credentials on the list of contributors but by the book layout, content, and activities.  

Another application of technology that is becoming more widespread in the classroom is the development of electronic books.  “Electronic books have the potential to transform the way we interact with reading material of all kinds, from popular title to scholarly works” (Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine & Haywood, 2011, p. 8).  Electronic books are just what they sound like: books that instead of paper are read on the computer, tablet, e-reader, or smartphone, which not only saves space in the book bag but enhances convenience.  Early obstacles in the way of widespread adoption, especially in academic institutions include: “scarcity of academic titles, lack of necessary features in electronic readers to support scholarly work, a restrictive publishing model, and digital rights management issues” (2011, p. 9), but have been minimalized or diminished over time.  Electronic books are now able to incorporate graphs, figures, illustrations, vides, and interactive elements; as well as, offer the capability to annotate, comment, and link with the touch of a button or finger swipe (2011, p. 9).  The copyright issues and formatting problems that troubled this concept early on in the game have seemed to have resolved and e-books are being more widely used in all arena’s, simply because they offer more in the way of learning than traditional print books do.  Everything (interactive activities, assignments, graphs, etc.) being in one place truly mainstreams and organizes the teaching and learning.   To me as a student and avid reader, the capabilities of electronic books have way surpassed what I could ever imagine with my printed textbook, saves my back too from that heavy book bag!!

 

References:

Johnson, L., Adams, S., and Haywood, K., (2011). The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.

Johnson, L., Smith, R., Willis, H., Levine, A., and Haywood, K., (2011). The 2011 Horizon Report. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.