Open Content and Ethics

When one thinks about ethics in education, they may not immediately think about the various ways to unintentionally take what is on the web and use it  unethically.  As many may not understand the limits of work on the web, it seems very tempting to take what you want.  As I reflect upon this topic, I see it from many different perspectives.  First, as an artist who enjoys making 3d projects and placing them on the web for others to enjoy, and then as an instructor who uses content found on the web to not only inspire me, but to provide for my students.  There are so many reasons why one would find the Internet to offer the worlds largest selection of graphics and images that one could use for both inspiration and material bases for other art.

After reviewing the readings for this week, my eyes have been opened to the various aspects of open content and the use of media for education and personal use.  I begin by elaborating on the concept of Creative Commons.  Even after I watched the posted video on what CC was, I still had many questions.  To me, this sounds like just another grey area that can confuse someone.  It wasn't until I entered the CC site and looked around that I found a few more videos that spoke in layman's terms. As I can appreciate artists who make their work available to others for a variety of reasons, I can't bring myself to feel the same.  I spend endless hours working on projects that I would hate to see someone take and possibly ruin.  On the other hand, I am a hypocrite because I like viewing the web and using others work for inspiration.

I now would like to specifically look at this topic as an instructor and the benefits of using open content within the classroom.  I think about the amount of time I put into course development each year.  Especially when one works in a field that changes year to year, the preparation time needed to stay current is often not considered in the teacher responsibilities, and no compensation is offered for those who need to keep updating due to technology.  As stated in the NMC Horizon Report on page 23, "Sharable materials reduce teacher workloads as they do not need to be recreated from scratch".  For me, this is the main reason I often use information from the web.  I believe however that one challenge of using this process can be determining if the content is correct or true.

I was next incredibly interesting in our reflection upon the use of Electronic Books in education.  As I have not really thought about this yet, the use of interaction and networking sounds to be a great way to engage in text based instruction. I guess what surprised me was how the devices that offer electronic reading were not the focus of the 2011 Horizon Report.  As noted on page 8, "What makes electronic books a potentially transformative technology is the new kinds of reading experiences that they make possible".  As one who works with developing media for mobile devices, I have been hung up on the idea of the tool, and not necessarily the end product. As a students in a doctoral program, having access to electronic journals could have a positive impact on research during various studies.  The days of renting a truck to take home all of your reading from the library could be coming to an end. 

As I conclude for this week, I reflect upon the opportunities an educator has by using the various resources stated earlier in this blog.  It is however important to understand the limitations and guidelines of choosing content that would be used to enhance learning.  An educator who is looking to improve instruction of become more efficient in course development must take the time to become familiar with copyright and creative common standards before simply pulling content off the web and giving it to the student.  An educator must also be familiar with these standards so that they can teach their students about the various ethical issues that can arise by using content that is not intended for such use.