Question 1: Reading 1--Downes
"Imagine a world in which every single person is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing." -Terry Foote, Wikipedia
What are the advantages of OER? Explain Downes argument concerning the term "open?"
Question 2: Reading 2- B
How has the open source movement affected software development? How has it affected your classroom, your colleagues classrooms or your school?
Question 3:
Find an agrument/statement/quote from one of the articles this week that you did not understand or agree with.
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Welcome to this weeks blog. I just wanted to let everyone know if you are having a hard time finding the articles for Bezroukov you can click on the link for first monday and use the search by author option. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1: Reading 1--Downes
ReplyDelete"Imagine a world in which every single person is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing." -Terry Foote, Wikipedia
What are the advantages of OER? Explain Downes argument concerning the term "open?"
There are a lot of advantages of OER. It’s accessible and quick, but is it a valid resource, and “free”. Not having to wait for a book or paper is a lot easier than planning ahead to get it there in time. Printing off more copies is also a lot easier than waiting in line at the copy machine. Downes argument is that even though it may not cost any money, there may be other stipulations that need to be followed in order for someone to attain the source. I feel that her argument about “open” resources is just that, it’s to open right now. I personally believe that open resources should be used to compliment a classroom and not used as the main source in elementary and high school. However, at the college level I feel that it can be attained due to the fact that there are fewer requirements by the state and school.
Week 10: Free and Open Educational Resources
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1: Reading 1--Downes
"Imagine a world in which every single person is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing." -Terry Foote, Wikipedia
What are the advantages of OER? Explain Downes argument concerning the term "open?"
The advantages of Open Educational Resources (OER) are: users are freely revealing their knowledge, great benefit to the community, increasing value of individual resources and increasing the well-being of the community as a whole.
It’s an “awakening in the educational community.” It is “knowledge made freely available.” Downes quotes many things and examples, so at times it was difficult for me to even know what he believes or what somebody else believes. It is to my knowledge that his argument concerning the term “open” is convenient and available open and free access online.
Question 3:
ReplyDeleteFind an argument/statement/quote from one of the articles this week that you did not understand or agree with.
In the article “The Free Software Definition,” one of the arguments I did not understand or what was meant by it was, “ In order for the freedoms to make changes, and to publish improved versions, to be meaningful, you must have access to the source code of the program. Therefore, accessibility of source code is a necessary condition for free software.” (Page 1)
Another argument from the article, “In Praise of Sharing” by James Hilton, is “But we should be skeptical of the move to reduce creative works and ideas to pure property.” It mentions the difference between creative works and ideas and real property on the other. Then, a second reason to be skeptical is “pure property view is that this concept is new.” (Page 1)
There were other problems while reading these articles, but I am sure my fellow students and moderators will clear the articles up for me. So in class my answers will be answered. I am sure so I am not worried.
Marcus and Brandon have highlighted several of the benefits of OER including the fact that it is free, possibly quicker and easily accessible. I think that these articles may have been a bit confusing so to better understand them, can someone think of an example of OER that may help us during our reading??
ReplyDeleteAlso, Brandon mentioned using OER to compliment the classroom. How can we do this?
There seems to be many advantages to OER, not just for teachers but for students alike. Accessibility is key, the easier something is to access the more it will be used. Everyone hates wasting time, especially looking for some document, opinion or quick fact that just does not want to be found. Teachers are what I like to call “borrowed time,” meaning that there is only a certain amount of time that you can spend on a topic within a classroom, and finding quick and easy sources to use within this “borrowed time” is extremely hard. OER allows accessibility to once was hidden before, giving students across the globe a better grasp of a topic, thus a better shot at understanding. It is also an advantage to have these sources at our fingertips – ready to be copied and multiplied without being scanned or trying to fit it to a regular sized piece of paper (basically there is not fussing with the copy machine now with the use of OER). Contributions from a vast amount of people also help eliminate bias and help build a topics’ validity. For now these things are free, and easy to get, but I am not sure if it will stay that way. But like Brandon said, they should be used to complement the classroom not run every day lessons. These should be the things that teachers use to spice things up.
ReplyDeleteThis could be helpful in the college setting. There are times when an instructor assigns a reading or an article that is not found in the college library. By having OER students can gain accessibility without having to go through the trouble of going to another library.
Response to Question #1:
ReplyDeleteOpen Educational Resources (OER) have many benefits. The biggest and obvious benefit is the free sharing of materials worldwide. This allows for communication and collaboration amongst teachers, students, and parents which fosters effective learning. In the article it also stated that only 27% of research papers get published. An OER allows for more research papers to be shared through this program with out having to go through the publication process. The article stated that the value of research data increases 10 times with an open resource. Authors benefit from it because they will have a bigger audience. More people will be able to read their writing. Readers will benefit because they will have access to more literature and research. Publishers would actually benefit from OER also because they can market their commercial products more. OER would be beneficial for everyone.
I was a little confused when Downes talked about the definition of “open.” What I understood from the reading was that he feels “open” means free to use. There isn’t a little cost because that makes it affordable. Open means free, there is no cost at all. His analogy with the gumballs made me feel he believes there should be no cost if it’s open. However he states that it doesn’t mean with out conditions. A user may be entitled to give back to the resource for how many hours they used it. There may also be limitations set by the author on what you can do to the material.
In response to Stephanie's comment:
ReplyDeleteI love how you said teachers are "borrowed time." That is so true! We have very limited time and have to find the quickest and easiest way to teach children. OER would be very helpful for teachers in the "time" department. It would be quicker and easier for students to get access to a lot of material on a topic. OER allows for more publication on a topic and more communication among other people. However, teachers need to use this as a tool like you said because having it "open" to anyone you need to make sure it's accurate info. OER would be very helpful for college students, especially me! I have such limited time, getting to a library and searching through books is difficult for me. Being able to easily find multiple articles and papers online that have different perspectives and views on topics would make my life so much easier! That is why I love how Dr. Shufang puts all of our reading articles in links on the class wikipage for easy access.
Question 1:
ReplyDeleteStephen Downes informs us that the definition of "open" in OER is indeed open to varied interpretation - that it can be very broad, going beyond technology and the technological, and that it will vary according to the context for which the resource is intended.
Because of the wide range of interpretation possible, I am tempted to repeat the old adage, "I may not know a lot about art, but I know it when I see it."
Probably the greatest advantage of open educational resources to me as an educator, is the ready accessibility of information for my teaching and students. The Internet itself may be the most ubiquitous OER. It is "convenient, effective, affordable, and sustainable and available to every learner and teacher worldwide." [Walker (2005) as quoted by Downes]
I use the Internet all the time, but of course there are others, many (most?) of which reside on the Internet. They include: Wikipedia, on-line dictionaries, a meeting scheduler, Enchanted Learning, Toolbox Pro (free to me anyway), and others.
I find that I rarely look for information to inform my teaching anywhere outside of a couple of district-adopted texts (have to), my peers and Internet sources. I use dictionaries less & less often, atlases rarely, and encyclopedias never. OER sources are just far to convenient, and digital filing of documents is so much easier than my old file cabinets.
I may not be a digital native, but I want to stay.
Thanks, Tammy - I love that too ;-) Like Stephanie, Tammy, Phil and others, I am an/a advocate/big fan of OER. These two quotes from Downs (Reading #1) illustrates my ideals well:
ReplyDelete“The Open Courseware concept is based on the philosophical view of knowledge as a collective
social product and so it is also desirable to make it a social property”
“Imagine a world in which every single person is given free access to the sum of all human knowl- edge. That's what we're doing.”
Hey, folks, what does Downe mean when she said “So while 'open' on the one hand may mean
'without cost', it does not on the other hand, means 'without conditions'?”
What are some of the OER do you (or your colleagues) use or plan to use in classrooms?
Come on, folks, to post your ideas/opinions to support this weeks Blog Leader Bridget…
I had the <"without cost," not "without conditions"> quote highlighted - it seemed an important point.
ReplyDeleteUsing the familiar Wikipedia as an example: Though anyone may write original articles or edit others' articles, you must first join (a condition). You are then expected to maintain certain standards, or face losing your privileges (a condition). In order to take a more responsible position in the oversight of articles, you must have been a contributer for a certain amount of time, or authored a certain number of articles(also conditions).
Stephanie, Tam5382 and Phillip have all made great points for what advantages OER offer.
ReplyDeleteStephanie-
When reading your post the comment “ It is also an advantage to have these sources at our fingertips – ready to be copied and multiplied without being scanned or trying to fit it to a regular sized piece of paper” made me think a lot about what it was like for teachers 10 or 15 years ago. It seems, in a way, that we are spoiled being able to have easy access to all types of resources. (Literally, at our fingertips.) When teaching about the U.S. constitution I was able to find a copy of the constitution on the internet, copy, cut and paste the portions I wanted to use and press the print button and my lesson was complete! It makes me think how limited past educators were.
If anyone has been teaching for more than 5 years can you talk a little about how your teaching has changed because of technology?
Tam52382
ReplyDeleteI thought you made a great point when discussing how more research would be available despite not having been through the publisher. (27% seems like a very slim percentage.) You also described advantages to this research being available as an OER but could there be possible downfalls with this too? Could too much information be a bad thing?
Philip,
ReplyDeleteThanks for helping us better understand Downes definition of “open.” Anyone else want to take a stab at it?
Philip stated that he rarely uses information outside of his district texts, internet and peers. Are we all in the same boat?
As a new teacher I find myself eating up as much information I can about topics I am teaching however, I am not in the library reading books, I am on the internet. I can’t remember the last time I looked up a word in an actual dictionary. ( I’d be more inclined to use my blackberry to look up a word.)
I know the reading are somewhat dense this week so if you’d rather respond to one of the questions I’ve posted in response feel free to do that too!
Question 3 (though somewhat vaguely):
ReplyDeleteI will respond to Nickolai Bezroukov's "critique of vulgar Raymondism" article as a whole rather than selecting a particular statement.
Though I feel that Bezroukov makes some valid points about an unbridled, non-critical enthusiasm regarding open source software (characterized by Eric Raymond), I find myself insufficiently familiar with ongoing discussions in the field to follow all the allusions he makes, or to analyze critically some of his statements.
Response to Bridget, [March 28, 2009 10:54 PM]:
ReplyDeleteI have been teaching for about 10 or so years. When I started, we had computers, but programs were resident on the machines and were primarily skill practice type programs. They were not used much for communication or research, now their primary uses (for both students & teachers). Teachers did a small amount of word processing.
Things changed very quickly in the first few years. Computers were upgraded, as was the Internet connection. Though most teachers in my elementary school do not have projectors for their computers, some do - as does the lab. Displaying lesson materials/images from the computer is becoming much more common. Almost all official communication is conducted by e-mail. Copy machines and some printers are now networked to the computers, allowing Internet documents, images, etc. to be printed in quantity.
Of course, one of the main differences is the mind set of staff and students. I don't think I'm alone in my move away from printed resource materials [my comments of March 28, 2009 7:29 PM]. Most of us now look first to the computer for our information and to communicate. That was not true a decade ago.
What are the advantages of OER? Explain Downes argument concerning the term "open?"
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be controversy over the true definition of what is considered "open". Downes states that it is easier to break it down to commerical and non-commercial. One of Downes sources was cited as saying open should be considered by the 4 A's The 4 As: accessible, appropriate, accredited, and affordable." There is no concrete definition of open at this time. The benefits of oer is put very well in the quote you posted with the question "Imagine a world in which every single person is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing." -Terry Foote, Wikipedia. OER is extremly beneficial as many new sources become available more people will be able to access them for free or at an "affordable" price. whereas, with commercial sources, you must pay to use their selection of sources and then you have to pay another site or company to use their sources.
Question 1: Reading 1--Downes
ReplyDeleteI definately think the advantages to OER is how easily accessible it is to all. It makes it an additional resource to help you and your students. I still feel that OER shouldn't be the only resource students and teachers use. Maybe it is because of the way I was taught, but I feel old fashion research and library work is a valuable part of research for students. The students in school today like instant answers from the internet, but they also need to learn how to find information in other ways. As I say this I must also say that when I am looking for infomation in my classroom the first place and many times the only place I look is the internet. It is convenient and easy.
I think one of the concerns about "open" were it's sustainability. He had several ways you could sustain an open source, but some had pitfalls. It seems that the term "open" is used rather loosely. It doesn't always mean free and there are sometimes stipulations on using or viewing it.
Phil -
ReplyDeleteI did not realize that you can actually lose your privileges on wikipedia. I guess those are in the terms and conditions that every one just checks the box without reading. That is an excellent point that you brought up.
Q:1: Downes article: while 'open' on the one hand may mean'without cost', it does not on the other hand, means 'without conditions'.
ReplyDeleteI think this statement sums up what I believe he meant by open. Although "Open" implies free of cost and any one has access to it, their are certain limitations. The limitations depend on the type of open source being used. While some might be totally unlimited and open to all there are certain instances were this is not and should not be the case.
Further, to Bridget's last question about to much information. I could see this as being a problematic if certain safeguards are not in place. With research it is essentail to understand basic statisically methods. I understand that feedback could be offered at a faster rate, but what is that research truely telling us. If proper safe guards are not in place, the research provided could be questioned.
In response to Brandon (March 27, 2009 12:24 PM)
ReplyDeleteYou make an excellent point about oer being more convenient. Not having to plan weeks ahead to make sure you reserve the right book and that the book or article is even available when you are looking to use it is an advantage to oer. I also really liked your point of using these sources as an add on to your lesson not making the oer source your complete lesson. Using the sources to add some "spice" to your lesson maybe even showing students how sometimes two different sources have varried information (that is a whole lesson in itself.)
Responding to Phil's (March 29, 2009 12:00 AM)
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statements about computers in your school. It seems that in my school many teachers are trying to ask for upgrades, projectors, smart boards for their classrooms, but you then have the teachers and administrators who resist it. Even when we do get some new software or technology they complain and resist before ever even trying it. for me, as a teacher that want change, it is frustrating that they think that change is bad. They don't even see how they could use it to enhance what they are already doing.
Response to Marcus [March 27, 2009 1:13 PM]
ReplyDelete“But we should be skeptical of the move to reduce creative works and ideas to pure property.”
My take on this (creative works/ideas vs. pure property) is simply that if I steal your car (your "pure property"), you no longer get to drive it. You can't sell it or rent it out. It is completely gone from your possession. However, if I download your hit song (your musical idea, your creative work) without paying, you still own it. I have deprived you of the revenue you deserve, but you still get to play it and you can still sell copies to others.
James Hilton article:
ReplyDeleteHilton states:
"Traditionally, scholars have published specifically to lose control of ideas."
and:
"...with sharing [when credit is given] comes rising prestige, attention, and other coins of the academic realm."
While this is largely true, universities have very jealously guarded some proprietary information. Example: Cornell developed the technique for producing honey butter. By refusing to patent the process, by keeping it as a trade secret, Cornell was able to license the method privately, generating surprisingly large amounts of cash for the school.
This hoarding of academic information may not be the rule, but neither has it been at all rare.
Like DStarr said i feel that OER should only be used to "spice" up the lesson, and not used as the complete source of the lesson. However, if the teacher wants to take a spur of the moment opportunity to teach something within the lesson, showing the students how to properly look for valid OER's on the web.
ReplyDeleteJkittle: I 100% agree that students need to learn how to find information in other ways other than the internet. Although with things so easily accessible it seems that student first choice would be to immediately go to use this resouce because it is so easy
ReplyDelete.
In what ways are you making sure you’re students are learning how to get information from other sources??
Dan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for responding to that question about questionable research. That was exactly the point I was getting at. It would seem that publishers are in place for a purpose and when anyone can post research they’ve done on the internet there could be a question of authenticity.
Jessica (in response to your response) [March 29, 2009 9:39 AM]:
ReplyDeleteI think the fear of change comes from a few sources. Most teachers I know feel a very real time pressure. They (we) feel as though we are being asked to teach ever more material in the same amount of time. Then they look at a new piece of equipment or program or curriculum piece and think, "Now they want me to put untold hours into learning this. It may not improve my teaching or save me any time. And as soon as I get used to using it, they'll want me to switch to something else."
It's a somewhat cynical view, but understandable. I think that many teachers are distrusting - sometimes with good reason - of new technology or curriculum imposed by administrators or State Ed. Anyone who has been around for a while has seen a number of great new, "this is going to solve all our problems" programs come and go, sometimes to be cycled back again under a new name a decade later, sometimes gone forever.
And you're right, they don't see how they can use it to enhance their teaching. It doesn't feel natural to them, because they didn't grow up using it (digital aliens - tourists at best). "If it isn't natural," they think subconsciously, "how can it be more effective than the perfectly 'normal' way I've been doing it."
In my school, there are two or three tech savvies who regularly assist others on an informal basis. This is done without remuneration.
Once I was offered pay to help support a new report card program developed in-house, but when administration discovered how much help people needed (time & money), the offer was withdrawn.
Philip brings up some very good points about how different generations teach. Are we all regularly using technology in our classroom and are we a small minority in our school?
ReplyDeleteMy experience has been split. I have seen some teachers who have embraced technology and saw how important it was, for their students, to incorporate it into technology. But I have also seen some older teachers who have finally traded in their VHS for DVD players and that is the only technology they are using.
Question 1: Reading 1--Downes
ReplyDelete"Imagine a world in which every single person is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing." -Terry Foote, Wikipedia
What are the advantages of OER? Explain Downes argument concerning the term "open?"
The term open in the sense of OER is one that is frequently debated. According to Downes 'open' does not mean that their are no limitations at all. Downes stresses the point that while open can mean no cost, it does not mean without conditions. Authors may not want their works to be commercial. This can prohibit from copying and redistribution of the document.
As devil's advocate, I ask:
ReplyDeleteIf a teacher is a master (using traditional methods) at conveying information, at inspiring students to be life-long learners, readers, doers, are we doing what is best for the students by forcing this teacher to adopt technologies or methods with which s/he is not comfortable?
Not answering a particular question per say.
ReplyDeleteI remembered the amount I spent on buying books during my school years. I was always frustrated by the fact that teachers often assigned books that they only needed a chapter out of. Sometimes they did not even use it. OER makes it that teachers can assign a particular chapter, an article that all student can access without spending hundreds of dollar on books.
respond to Philip last post.
unfortunately we are living in a fast pace world,I see the whole thing like a train; you either hold on to the fast moving train as hard as you can or let go and get lost in the tumble.
You may not want to be forced in the train, just
be mindful that you will be left standing most likely alone.
stephanie W.