It is open access week and this year I had the honour of delivering the keynote address at a terrific open access event co-sponsored by the Ryerson University Library and Archives and the University of Toronto Libraries. My talk – which can be viewed in full here or from the embed below – starts with a review of the remarkable success of open access over the past 15 years, but quickly shifts toward the continuing connection between balanced copyright and open access.
Post Tagged with: "oer"
BC Government Launches Open Textbook Initiative
The BC government has become the first Canadian province to launch an open textbook initiative, committing to 40 new online, open textbooks for 40 popular post-secondary courses. The open texts can be freely accessed and modified and could be in use for the 2013-14 academic year.
UNESCO’s 2012 Paris OER Declaration
UNESCO held the World Open Educational Resources Congress in Paris last week with delegates releasing a declaration in support of OERs and open licensing frameworks.
The Future of Education Is Here, It’s Just Not Evenly Distributed
To borrow from Gibson, in recent weeks it has become increasingly clear that the future of education is here, though it is not evenly distributed. My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes the emerging model flips the current approach of expensive textbooks, closed research, and limited access to classroom-based learning on its head, instead featuring open course materials, open access to scholarly research, and Internet-based courses that can simultaneously accommodate thousands of students. The concern is that other countries are becoming first adopters, while Canada lags behind.
The Future of Education Is Here, It’s Just Not Evenly Distributed
Appeared in the Toronto Star on May 13, 2012 as Is Canada Lagging Behind in Online Education? William Gibson, the American-Canadian science fiction writer who coined the term cyberspace, is well-known for having stated “the future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed.” The quote succinctly points to […]