Calculating (and Acknowledging) the Costs of OER; Inside Higher Ed, July 25, 2018

Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed; Calculating (and Acknowledging) the Costs of OER

"The news releases regularly roll in to the email inbox these days with headlines like "College X has saved students $5 million by adopting open educational resources." Not only have these initiatives made a higher education more affordable, the colleges and universities note, but students who might have forgone buying an expensive textbook in the past are actually getting and using the OER content, ideally contributing to their academic success.

Amid those successes, rarely mentioned is the reality that in many cases, the institution itself is picking up the costs that were formally borne by the students, through some combination of direct subsidies to instructors to create the content and a loss of textbook revenue to a campus store, among other costs.

A session this week at the annual meeting of the National Association of College and University Business Officers addressed that issue head-on, in a way that would be unusual at a conference of OER advocates. It's not that the session took a skeptical view of OER -- far from it. The featured institution, the Pierce College District in Washington State, has fully embraced the use of open resources for affordability and efficacy, among other reasons. But the enthusiasm of the community college's open education project manager, Quill West, was balanced by the even-keeled acknowledgment of Choi Halladay, the district's vice president of administrative services, that OER comes at a price to the institution -- though a price very much worth paying, he said."

Free textbooks? Federal government is on track with a pilot program.; The Washington Post, May 8, 2018

Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, The Washington Post; Free textbooks? Federal government is on track with a pilot program.

"Proponents of open-educational resources have said the investment from Congress could further efforts to save students money on course materials. The cost of print textbooks soared 65 percent in the past decade, although prices are moderating, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Academic publishers have maximized profits from college textbooks by setting high prices to recoup their investment and to offset limited sales.

Against that backdrop, open-source textbooks have emerged as a cost-effective solution for cash-strapped students. Open-educational resources include many of the same digital textbooks, streaming videos, tests and software that are produced by big-name publishers. Students can download the material free or print copies for a nominal price.

OpenStax, a nonprofit tied to Rice University in Houston, is one of the largest providers of open-source books. The company relies on funding from philanthropists, such as the Gates Foundation, to produce peer-reviewed digital textbooks for free and print versions for up to $55."

Over 50 Libraries, Educators, Researchers Call On EU Parliament For Better Copyright; Intellectual Property Watch, February 15, 2018

Intellectual Property Watch; Over 50 Libraries, Educators, Researchers Call On EU Parliament For Better Copyright

"More than 50 organisations representing a range of teachers, students, trainers, researchers, scientists, librarians and others have joined together to call on the European Parliament to improve European copyright reform for education.

The announcement from Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL) is available here and reprinted below:"

Why Students Are Still Spending So Much for College Textbooks; The Atlantic, January 26, 2018

Laura McKenna, The Atlantic; Why Students Are Still Spending So Much for College Textbooks

"Along with the traditional textbooks, many college classes now require students to purchase access codes—which cost $100 on average—to online platforms created by publishers such as McGraw-Hill and Pearson. Homework and quizzes are hidden on the platforms behind paywalls that expire after the semester, meaning students can’t resell them once they’re done with the course...

Publishers and some professors tout the advantages of these new digital assessment tools, pointing to their ability to streamline the academic experience by making it more efficient and customized. The fact that they’re becoming omnipresent on some campuses speaks to instructors’ enthusiasm for them. But as demonstrated in a new report by Student PIRGs, a collection of college student-run advocacy groups that works alongside U.S. Public Interest Research Groups, students are starting to question their merits: The access codes threaten to exacerbate the already-high cost of college materials, undermining the used-book market and reshaping the college experience. As McGrath put it, now “you have to pay to do homework.”

How Did ‘Copyright Piracy’ Language Get Into ESSA, the K-12 Law?; EdWeek Market Brief, August 11, 2017

Sean Cavanagh, EDWeek Market Brief; How Did ‘Copyright Piracy’ Language Get Into ESSA, the K-12 Law?

"The Every Student Succeeds Act is meant to accomplish many things. Hold schools accountable for more than test scores. Unleash new strategies to fix struggling schools. Offer new, more flexible funding to districts.

But language included in the sweeping, 400-page-plus law also lays out another, less expected goal: informing students and parents about “the harms of copyright piracy.”

Wording that urges school officials and parents to explain the importance of preventing the illicit use of copyrighted material is improbably found in a couple sections of the law, alongside more predictable school policy language on literacy, professional development, and student achievement.

Which raises the obvious question: How did it get in there?"

UM System announces plan to adopt open educational resources; Missourian, June 21, 2017

Gabriela Velasquez, Missourian; UM System announces plan to adopt open educational resources

"Open educational resources are published with open access copyrights, are free for students and can be distributed and used for little to no cost. Instructors also can write and add chapters to tailor textbooks to specific courses. They are accessed online, usually as PDFs, and can be revised and updated fairly quickly, according to previous Missourian reporting.

The UM System and MU will partner with OpenStax and with faculty members to develop open educational resources for students."

As Computer Coding Classes Swell, So Does Cheating; New York Times, May 29, 2017

Jess Bidgood and Jeremy B. Merrill, New York Times; 

As Computer Coding Classes Swell, So Does Cheating

"In interviews, professors and students said the causes were not hard to pin down.

To some students drawn to the classes, coding does not come easily. The coursework can be time-consuming. Troves of code online, on sites like GitHub, may have answers to the very assignment the student is wrestling with, posted by someone who previously took the course.

“You’ve got kids who were struggling with spending a third of their time on their problem sets with the option to copy from the internet,” said Jackson Wagner, who took the Harvard course in 2015 and was not accused of copying. “That’s the reason why people cheat.”

Complicating matters is the collaborative ethos among programmers, which encourages code-sharing in ways that might not be acceptable in a class. Professors also frequently allow students to discuss problems among themselves, but not to share actual code, a policy that some students say creates confusion about what constitutes cheating."

Penn State joining Open Textbook Network to support affordable course content; Penn State News, 1/31/17

Penn State News; 

Penn State joining Open Textbook Network to support affordable course content

"Penn State University Libraries is joining the Open Textbook Network to help support Penn State faculty’s use of and students’ availability to free, openly licensed academic course content.

“Penn State’s membership in the Open Textbook Network supports faculty and students’ access to a large volume of free, openly licensed course content, available online, to help reduce students’ overall cost of attendance,” Joe Salem, the University Libraries’ associate dean for Learning, Undergraduate Services, and Commonwealth Campus Libraries, said. “Joining the Open Textbook Network was one of the recommendations of the University’s Open Educational Resources Task Force as part of a multi-faceted approach to supporting open and affordable course content throughout the curriculum.”

The Open Textbook Network (OTN) helps support colleges and universities’ instructional use of open textbooks and practices. Its Open Textbook Library is the premiere resource for peer-reviewed academic textbooks, all of which are free, openly licensed and complete, according to its website...

Penn State is among the largest universities to join OTN, which was established in fall 2015, and an early supporter among its peer institutions. Other Big Ten Academic Alliance members participating in OTN include the University of Iowa, the University of Minnesota, Ohio State, Purdue, Rutgers, and the Milwaukee and Stout campuses of the University of Wisconsin system."

Not Everyone’s Hero; Inside Higher Ed, 11/11/16

Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed; Not Everyone’s Hero:

"Course Hero has in the past banned users for repeatedly violating its honor code -- which states, “[Don’t] use Course Hero materials or tutors to complete assignments when instructed not to use outside help” -- and its terms of service, though Mork did not say how many times users can violate those policies. The company also uses technology that detects and blocks students from posting content that has previously been removed in response to a DMCA takedown request.

The technology doesn’t detect copyright violations before the material is posted, however. In Gollin’s case, for example, each page of the homework assignment was marked with copyright language."

The benefits of studying copyright law? They're patently obvious; Guardian, 5/14/15

Oli Palmer, Guardian; The benefits of studying copyright law? They're patently obvious:

"Copyright law is at the forefront of a changing technological world. It moves incredibly fast in unexpected capacities, which makes it a fascinating subject to study at university...

Studying copyright law forces you to become creative. This form of law is relatively young, which means there are many grey areas you’ll have to make decisions on. In effect, you become the judge.

Studying copyright law can also help you to acquire skills many law firms and other businesses desire, such as an acute attention to detail...

“A student who wishes to acquire commercial awareness would find the study of copyright law extremely useful for his or her professional development.”...

But the best thing about copyright law is how enjoyable it is and how applicable it is to everyday life, which is bizarre when you consider the intangible nature of its rights.

Rachel Metcalf, 22, who studied copyright law at Durham University, says: “My studies gave me an awareness of why the law should be appreciated by all, not just lawyers.”

Merely reading this article is interacting with copyright. So is watching back-to-back episodes of Breaking Bad on Netflix, or listening to your Friday night Spotify playlist. Why not begin to read between the lines?"

Big Data Comes To College; NPR, 7/4/14

Anya Kamenetz, NPR; Big Data Comes To College:

""So academics are scrambling to come up with rules and procedures for gathering and using student data—and manipulating student behavior...

Yet another set of concerns arises because a lot of the new educational data collection is proprietary. Companies like Pearson, Blackboard and Coursera each have information on millions of learners.

"This is not a new problem for science," Stevens says, pointing to pharmaceutical and medical research. "But it is a new fact in the field of education research."

A fact that raises big questions: Who owns this data? The student, the institution, the company or some combination? Who gets to decide what is done in whose best interest?"

MPAA Sends Letter to Thousands of Colleges About Copyright Rules; Wired Campus, 12/6/10

Jeff Young, Wired Campus; MPAA Sends Letter to Thousands of Colleges About Copyright Rules:

"The Motion Picture Association of American began sending letters to thousands of colleges and university presidents today, alerting them that the industry group will start notifying colleges whenever it detects illegal trading of Hollywood films and hit TV shows on their campuses."

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/mpaa-sends-letter-to-thousands-of-colleges-about-copyright-rules/28552

Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age; New York Times, 8/2/10

Trip Gabriel, New York Times; Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age:

"“This generation has always existed in a world where media and intellectual property don’t have the same gravity,” said Ms. Brookover, who at 31 is older than most undergraduates. “When you’re sitting at your computer, it’s the same machine you’ve downloaded music with, possibly illegally, the same machine you streamed videos for free that showed on HBO last night.”"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/education/02cheat.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=copy%20paste&st=cse

Universities Struggling To Deal With Law Requiring Them To Fight File Sharing; TechDirt, 6/19/09

Mike Masnick via TechDirt; Universities Struggling To Deal With Law Requiring Them To Fight File Sharing:

"Well, the MPAA put out a report claiming that 44% of "losses" from file sharing came from college campuses. Of course, the number (like so many out of entertainment industry lobbyists) was entirely made up. In fact, it was so ridiculous that even the MPAA came out and publicly admitted the numbers were bogus and apologized! "

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090618/0337155278.shtml

EFF Launches 'Teaching Copyright' to Correct Entertainment Industry Misinformation; Electronic Frontier Foundation, 5/27/09

Via Electronic Frontier Foundation; EFF Launches 'Teaching Copyright' to Correct Entertainment Industry Misinformation: New Curriculum Gives Students the Facts About Their Digital Rights and Responsibilities:

"As the entertainment industry promotes its new anti-copying educational program to the nation's teachers, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today launched its own "Teaching Copyright" curriculum and website to help educators give students the real story about their digital rights and responsibilities on the Internet and beyond.

The Copyright Alliance -- backed by the recording, broadcast, and software industries -- has given its curriculum the ominous title "Think First, Copy Later." This is just the latest example of copyright-focused educational materials portraying the use of new technology as a high-risk behavior...

The website at www.teachingcopyright.org includes guides to copyright law, including fair use and the public domain.

"Kids are bombarded with messages that using new technology is illegal," said EFF Activist Richard Esguerra. "Instead of approaching the issues from a position of fear, Teaching Copyright encourages inquiry and greater understanding. This is a balanced curriculum, asking students to think about their role in the online world and to make informed choices about their behavior."

The Teaching Copyright curriculum was developed with the input of educators from across the U.S. and has been designed to satisfy components of standards from the International Society for Technology in Education and the California State Board of Education.

http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/05/27

Google Hopes to Open a Trove of Little-Seen Books, New York Times, 1/5/09

Via New York Times: Google Hopes to Open a Trove of Little-Seen Books:

"Some scholars worry that Google users are more likely to search for narrow information than to read at length. “I have to say that I think pedagogically and in terms of the advancement of scholarship, I have a concern that people will be encouraged to use books in this very fragmentary way,” said Alice Prochaska, university librarian at Yale.

Others said they thought readers would continue to appreciate long texts and that Google’s book search would simply help readers find them.

“There is no short way to appreciate Jane Austen, and I hope I’m right about that,” said Paul Courant, university librarian at the University of Michigan. “But a lot of reading is going to happen on screens. One of the important things about this settlement is that it brings the literature of the 20th century back into a form that the students of the 21st century will be able to find it.”

Google’s book search has already entered the popular culture, in the film version of “Twilight,” based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer about a teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire. Bella, one of the main characters, uses Google to find information about a local American Indian tribe. When the search leads her to a book, what does she do?

She goes to a bookstore and buys it."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/technology/internet/05google.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=google&st=cse

Judge says BU can't turn over infringers' IPs in P2P case, ARS Technica, 11/26/08

Via ARS Technica: Judge says BU can't turn over infringers' IPs in P2P case:

"The music industry's requests for more personal information regarding the identity of several accused file-sharers have been shot down by a federal judge. Judge Nancy Gertner quashed a subpoena this week in the infamous London-Sire v. Does 1-4 case, saying that the IP addresses of three anonymous Boston University students could not be handed over because the university had "adequately demonstrated that it is not able to identify the alleged infringers with a reasonable degree of technical certainty."

The legal system has been chipping away at the London-Sire case all year, starting this spring when Judge Gertner said that making files available on a P2P network does not equal copyright infringement."

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081126-judge-says-bu-cant-turn-over-infringers-ips-in-p2p-case.html

Billion Dollar Charlie vs. the RIAA, Boston Globe, 11/18/08

Via Boston Globe: Billion Dollar Charlie vs. the RIAA:

"[Charles] Nesson and his [Harvard Law School] students have decided to "litigate in the court of public opinion," as well as in the courtroom, and they are putting on quite a show. Legally, they are arguing that the RIAA is using civil litigation to punish alleged criminal activity, which they say violates the Constitution. Moreover, Nesson et al have posted all manner of fascinating materials at the CyberOne website of Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society."

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2008/11/18/billion_dollar_charlie_vs_the_riaa/

Tennessee Adopts $9.5 Million University Piracy Measure Despite School Layoffs, Wired.com, 11/18/08

Via Wired.com: Tennessee Adopts $9.5 Million University Piracy Measure Despite School Layoffs:

"Just-signed legislation requires the 222,000-student system to spend an estimated $9.5 million (.pdf) for file sharing "monitoring software," "monitoring hardware" and an additional "recurring cost of $1,575,000 for 21 staff positions and benefits (@75,000 each) to monitor network traffic" of its students.
Tennessee's measure, (.pdf) approved Wednesday by Gov. Phil Bredesen, was the nation's first in a bid to combat online file sharing within state-funded universities. The law, similar versions of which the Recording Industry Association of America wants throughout the United States, comes as the Tennessee public university system is increasing tuition, laying off teachers and leaving unfilled vacant instructor positions to battle a $43.7 million shortfall."

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/11/tennessee-adopt.html

Law professor fires back at song-swapping lawsuits, Yahoo.com, 11/17/08

Via Yahoo.com: Law professor fires back at song-swapping lawsuits:

"A Harvard Law School professor has launched a constitutional assault against a federal copyright law at the heart of the industry's aggressive strategy, which has wrung payments from thousands of song-swappers since 2003.

The professor, Charles Nesson, has come to the defense of a Boston University graduate student targeted in one of the music industry's lawsuits. By taking on the case, Nesson hopes to challenge the basis for the suit, and all others like it.

Nesson argues that the Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999 is unconstitutional because it effectively lets a private group — the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA — carry out civil enforcement of a criminal law. He also says the music industry group abused the legal process by brandishing the prospects of lengthy and costly lawsuits in an effort to intimidate people into settling cases out of court."

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20081117/ap_on_hi_te/tec_music_downloading