After
reading all the articles and browsing through the websites this week, I feel as
if there is a better understanding for open content, creative commons, and
electronic books. Although these tools
of the internet are spreading like a virus to millions of people around the
world, there are still positives and challenges in applying them to teaching
and learning.
Open content has brought a new age
of how information is disseminated to the learner. They allow for customizable documents to be
shared within classrooms, which ultimately increase the adaptability of a
classroom. All of this comes to the user
for free, which significantly increases the chances of usage. Open content also allows the students to find
new works, evaluate the information provided in front of them, and put this
information to use (Johnson, Adams, & Haywood, 2011, pg. 23). This allows a new form of learning for the
students and engages them in different learning styles. Although the teacher should create lesson
plans, it also helps them in reducing their own workloads within the
classroom. All of the materials for a
lecture can be downloaded and modified for any lecture. It is very surprising that the open content
also gives credit where credit is due, which in any academic institution hold
many accountable for their work. It is
amazing how companies such as Creative Commons have increased this awareness
for open content using specific licensing options. After looking at their website, I was very
shocked to see the number of companies that participate in open content. Since health is my background, I was amazed
that GlaxoSmithKline surrendered a malaria data set. This allows for other users (primarily people
who love stats) to work with this information and create a publication from it,
allowing more people to see research at its best. Open content and the technology surrounding
it will be important for our future as educators wherever we end up.
Electronic books are also very
important as we continue to digitally enhance everyday living. With the invention of the Kindle, Google E-reader,
Apple iPad, and many other electronic devices, it literally has changed the way
we read books. “Publishers are beginning
to explore richly visual interfaces that include multimedia and collaborative elements”
(Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine, & Haywood, 2011, pg. 8). This allows the reader to interact with what
is being read in the e-book. Instead of
blankly reading Shakespeare, the reader can now engage interactively with
others in understanding a lost genre of literature. Electronic books also help with the amount
that can be carried. Since the
electronic books can store hundreds of books on one tablet, it reduces
potential health risks that might occur due to carrying a heavy load of books. They also allow the use to stop in the middle
of a page at the computer and pick up again from a mobile device, as long as it
has internet access ("Google ebooks: Overview ," ). With such an advanced piece of technology at
our disposals, it can only make our lives easier in the classroom as well as
our personal lives.
Even though open content is starting to
gain notoriety across the world, there are still some challenges that must not
be overlooked. Academia thrives on
publications and many of the journals that professors and students submit to
have a strict peer reviewed process.
Unfortunately, open content lacks within this area and within the
scientific community and many don’t recognize it as quality information. Additionally open content needs more research
and work on the models for citation of any new content that is published
(Johnson, et al, 2011, pg. 23). Again
looking at the academic world how does one cite from an open content writing
and is it valid and reliable. Another
problem that may hinder the expansion of open content is the amount of
materials that are available. After
perusing through some of the websites, I noticed that one site had limited
options available to the user, while another had a variety of options. There is not consistency when looking for
information on the websites. I also
noticed that many of the publications were from an earlier date (in the health
field) and not very recent in nature.
This can cause a problem, if users are trying for up-to-date
information. Even after all of these
challenges, it can be safe to say that open content will be a dominant force in
education within the next ten years.
Electronic books also have their
problems because there still isn’t enough research out on them yet. Since E-books rely on a power source, many of
these readers need to be charged and can pose problems if they aren’t
connected. There haven’t been clear
studies that show the long term effects of using an E-reader. Eventually something new will come out and it
has the potential to become obsolete, like its predecessor paperbacks. With so many unanswered questions, there has
to be a caution for its usage until they can be determined as a low hazard
risk. E-books are still going to be
around as long as people are going to use them, so even though there are
unanswered questions, it will take some time to figure it out.
References
Google
ebooks: Overview .
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://books.google.com/help/ebooks/overview.html
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.
