Point of Clarification: Upon re-reading my post I realize the tone of some sections may be too open to interpretation. I don’t support illegal download and distribution of materials. I simply feel that the illegal downloading and distribution material has increased, in part, to restrictions on content access.

I was hoping to make some time to podcast with my fiancé for my blog post this week, but the timing just didn’t work out. He was one of the reviewers for one of the potential BC Open Textbooks for Chemistry, is writing two chapters for the Open Textbook Project this summer, and may be contributing some videos and other media as well. Hopefully I will be able to sit down with him and record some of his thoughts and experiences being part of this project soon.

Since I won’t be talking about the BC Open Textbook Project, I thought I would talk about some more general thoughts on the free culture movement and copyright.

I have noticed a shift happening in how people my age think about what and how they contribute to the world at large. I feel that the rise of DIY culture, Maker (sub)culture and the free culture movement are all linked in a mutually supportive way. Without people being willing, and excited about, creating or prototyping and then sharing freely and openly, DIY and Maker culture as movements fall apart. For an example, the website Instructables (1) contains thousands of video and image instructions people have generated. On some instructions there are lively comments thinking of better ways to do things, and many “instructables” build on what others have done. There is truly a growth in networked and open learning happening on the Internet – I just don’t think we are seeing it manifest in the PSE sector in a substantial way. I do feel that this way of looking at learning and creating is a true disruption of education, and that disruption will begin to reveal itself soon.

In a society where people are getting more used to networked, free, sharable and editable products and ideas it is no surprise copyright stakeholders are digging in their heels. The ongoing saga of the music industry is easy to point to as an example. Canada doesn’t have the breadth or depth of the music services and content that is accessible in other countries, in part because we are view as “pirates and thieves”(2) that can’t be trusted with cultural content. The content allowed on Canadian Netflix is another example of restrictions places on content in Canada (I’m reasonably certain I am the only one in the country not using a proxy to get the American content).

As a consumer of cultural content, it drives me crazy that even when I am willing to pay a fee to access content I can’t, just because of where I live. The copyright holders have created a self-fulfilling prophesy, in my opinion. Princess Leia told Governor Tarkin in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope: “The more you tighten your grip the more star systems will slip through your fingers” which is a message very applicable to the cultural copyright holders today. People will find a way to get the content they want, so why don’t you give it to them (even if you have to charge them a fee)?The plus side of the seemingly endless copyright legislation issues, is that there are more and more cases of people doing things a little differently. “Indie” creators, makers and artists are fan and crowd funded projects (3). Some artists are even giving things away for free (4) or implementing pay-what-you-can models (5). While this doesn’t represent a true, networked and content-creating open model, it represents another disruption in the way we have been doing things – hopefully leading to bigger and better horizons.

I believe that the world is ready for open and networked learning and creating, and I believe we are starting to move in that direction. I also know there is a lot of disruption happening right now, and the tables have yet to truly turn. I just hope that educators and the PSE industry have the ability to change and thrive when the world shifts.

Links:

(1) http://www.instructables.com

(2) http://ajournalofmusicalthings.com/us-claims-nation-pirates-thieves/ (strong language used!)

(3) Pledge Music http://www.pledgemusic.com/, IndieGoGo https://www.indiegogo.com/, and Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/ are good examples of sites where this is happening

(4) http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/03/15/us-free-idUSN1543936020080315

(5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Rainbows