This blog is to support my learning in the OCL4Ed course which is open from 5 February to 25 February 2014. From this course I hope to be able to understand more about online learning and how I can then support my students in their own journeys.
Having worked through the first session I have found my thoughts and ideals re-enforced. What can people use freely? Yes we are moving to 24/7 learning society and this is great. Educators can communicate with their students in more engaging and innovative ways which results in students being more engaged, enthused, interested in what they are learning. Educators have the ability to share their work easily with their own communities or globally. However, the concept that everything should be freely available for educational purposes is wrong. What happened to the basic principles of earn your rights you have responsibilities associated with them.
I think that people still have the right to post/upload information/images etc to the internet for others to look at so that the owner can create more sales/promote their business etc. This is not freely available, that was not the purpose it was put there. There is plenty of resources available that is freely available now under Creative Commons that students and educators do not need to revert to using copyrighted material in class activities without permission. As an educator I feel it is important that we work to changing the mind set of those around us who persist in using any image they want etc. Just my little band wagon :)
I agree with you Sharon, that there are some areas where you do have to draw boundaries, and creative work/artistic work is one of those. If I was a photographer, who made a living through my photography and my work was displayed on the web as my shopfront, I think I would have clear ideas about what other people can and can not do with that work. However, with learning materials/content, educational resources I think there should be far more flexibility than there is now. In the end the educational value is less in the resource than in the application of it.
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