Site original : Creative Commons
“Open Culture creates a level playing field by making knowledge accessible to everyone regardless of geography.” In this episode we get more insight into the role technology can play for Open Culture and how society benefits from the curation of open access collections. Our media often keeps information siloed but Open Access and Open Culture can bridge cultures and perspectives.
Open Culture VOICES is a series of short videos that highlight the benefits and barriers of open culture as well as inspiration and advice on the subject of opening up cultural heritage. Christian Dawson is the Executive Director of the MHz Foundation which provides technology tools for GLAM institutions and organizations to improve their open access programs. Christian has worked with numerous organizations which now share their collections openly thanks to the work of the MHz Foundation and Curationist.
Christian responds to the following questions:
Closed captions are available for this video, you can turn them on by clicking the CC icon at the bottom of the video. A red line will appear under the icon when closed captions have been enabled. Closed captions may be affected by Internet connectivity — if you experience a lag, we recommend watching the videos directly on YouTube.
Want to hear more insights from Open Culture experts from around the world? Watch more episodes of Open Culture VOICES here >>
The post Christian Dawson — Open Culture VOICES, Season 2 Episode 7 appeared first on Creative Commons.
My name is Catherine Stihler, and I’m the CEO of Creative Commons.
As a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the sharing and reuse of creativity and knowledge, we strongly support the Internet Archive in its defense of Controlled Digital Lending. Free, equitable, and open access to all knowledge stimulates creativity, is essential for research and learning, and constitutes a bedrock principle of free and democratic societies.
The Internet Archive is leading the fight for establishing permanent access to historical collections that exist in digital format. With Controlled Digital Lending, libraries like the Internet Archive can lend one copy of digitized material from their collection to one borrower for a limited time, just like they would a physical book.
While publishers argue that CDL decreases their profits, studies show that in fact library digitization increases sales of physical editions by about 34% and increases the likelihood of any sale by 92%, particularly for less popular or out-of-print works. At Creative Commons, we believe copyright should encourage Controlled Digital Lending and ensure that legal mechanisms are in place to support this practice that benefits all.
This isn’t a position that we just came to on our own; instead, it came from working hand in hand with cultural and knowledge institutions across the world. Like Communia’s policy recommendations state: “libraries should be enabled to fulfill their mission in the digital environment.” As libraries modernize their services, we need to protect the legal frameworks that support their digital lending practices.
Permitting and protecting Controlled Digital Lending is a key way to help ensure copyright is fit for the modern age. Guided by our strong belief in better sharing, CC will continue to support the Internet Archive’s crucial efforts to ensure the public can access knowledge and culture on a global level.
The post CC Supports the Case for Controlled Digital Lending appeared first on Creative Commons.
Brigitte Vézina, the Director of Policy and Open Culture, has facilitated the CC Copyright Platform for the past three years since the Platform’s relaunch in 2020. This year, the CC legal team—Kat Walsh and Yuanxiao Xu—is taking over the facilitator role for the Copyright Platform.
The Creative Commons Copyright Platform is a collaborative space for people who are interested in copyright policy issues. We work in a transparent, professional, ethical and public manner to undertake projects and activities aimed at fulfilling agreed-upon, collaboratively developed goals and principles.
In 2023, we have a fund of $20,000 to support copyright advocates and practitioners to identify, plan and coordinate copyright law and policy-related activities. We are especially excited about receiving community proposals for funded-activities this year, because it is the first year since 2020 that we are able to support in-person activities. To submit a proposal, please request to join the CC Policy Mailing List, and fill out the proposal form by March 20.
In addition to the funded activities, the Copyright Platform hosts monthly meetings where guest speakers are invited to lead discussions on topics of interest, and Platform members share copyright-related news/announcements from across the globe.
Do you also want to get involved? Don’t hesitate!
The post Calling All Copyright Advocates: CC Copyright Platform Now Accepting Funding Proposals appeared first on Creative Commons.
“Open Culture gives joy!” What a great message from Siobhan. In this episode we learn about Open Culture in public institutions in New Zealand, how public works are reused in a variety of ways, and what governments can do to promote open policies and copyright laws around the world.
Open Culture VOICES is a series of short videos that highlight the benefits and barriers of open culture as well as inspiration and advice on the subject of opening up cultural heritage. Siobhan is a volunteer for various Wikimedia projects including Wikicommons, Wikidata, and Wikipedia.
Siobhan responds to the following questions:
Closed captions are available for this video, you can turn them on by clicking the CC icon at the bottom of the video. A red line will appear under the icon when closed captions have been enabled. Closed captions may be affected by Internet connectivity — if you experience a lag, we recommend watching the videos directly on YouTube.
Want to hear more insights from Open Culture experts from around the world? Watch more episodes of Open Culture VOICES here >>
The post Siobhan Leachman — Open Culture VOICES, Season 2 Episode 6 appeared first on Creative Commons.
Open Education Week offers a global festival of open education efforts. As we take stock of the offerings, it’s heartening to look at how individual efforts can feed into larger system’s change. In our Open Education Week 2023 blog post, we highlight community members’ approaches and tools, opening access to education and knowledge. Below, we share how a recent CC Certificate Bootcamp strengthens open education in California Community Colleges.
This January, Creative Commons led a CC Certificate Bootcamp, or condensed training for 12 faculty and staff from 11 California Community Colleges implementing Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) degree programs. Building on a successful pilot ZTC Pathways program, the California Legislator invested $115 million to expand Zero Textbook Cost degrees and OER within the California community college system. The California ZTC programs reduce the overall cost of education and reduce the time to degree completion for California community college students. With the average costs of course textbooks estimated at $100/student/course, ZTC programs have the potential to save students nearly a billion dollars in the coming years, offering a more than 800% return on investment, according to SPARC.
The CC Certificate Bootcamp provided needed training and tools for ZTC program staff to legally and effectively implement the open licensing requirements of the $115 investment.
But, beyond open licensing lessons, the CC training strengthened a network of open advocates. The week offered engagement with copyright lawyers, and open advocates, space for collaborative brainstorming, play, and iterative problem solving. From participant-focused brainstorms emerged three clear interventions to address needs in the ZTC program development and expansion. Participant work kickstarted (1) a guide to support faculty in using and integrating LibreTexts OER in Canvas; (2) a ZTC Conversion Faculty Resource guide, sharing resources for both OER liaisons and interested faculty supporting the process of ZTC course development; and (3) the outline of wholistic considerations and needs for roadmapping ZTC programs efficiently and effectively, as the Michelson 20MM Foundation highlighted. In less than two months since the bootcamp, faculty and staff have continued to collaborate and champion for OER in their institutions, by:
CC Bootcamp collaborations moved beyond the initial goals of supporting cost savings for students–faculty and staff worked toward interventions addressing barriers to teaching and learning in their systems. As Cailyn Nagle notes, OER are worth more than their cost savings. “They have the power to free, to be liberatory. When educators are able to craft the ideal materials their students can use without barriers, and librarians are able to curate that knowledge for everyone’s benefit, we come closer to the promise of Open.” We applaud California Community Colleges increased collaborative work–strengthening a foundation for that freedom.
As we revel in the offerings of Open Education Week and our collaborations, I hope we can draw from the energy of California Community Colleges’ faculty and staff, striving toward increasingly liberatory structures in the future.
CC thanks the Michelson 20MM Foundation for generously funding the bootcamp.
Special thanks also go to the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges for their liaison work, expertise and support, to Skyline College for hosting the event, and to Fresno Pacific University for providing professional development credits to faculty.
At Creative Commons, we offer an array of learning and training opportunities to support our global community in developing open licensing expertise and a deeper understanding of recommended practices for better sharing. Visit the CC Trainings page to learn about our workshops, consulting options, lectures, and our CC Certificate courses.
The post Creative Commons Bootcamp for California Community Colleges appeared first on Creative Commons.