The Ontarion - Conversation On ‘Opening Up’ Educational Materials

"On Feb. 11, the Institute for Community Engaged Scholarship (ICES), a group housed within the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences (CSAHS), held a small learning circle devoted to exploring the implications of “opening up” educational materials – course slides, syllabi, etc. – to the public, online and free of charge. The philosophy behind sharing educational materials is broadly the same as the one that underpins the free sharing academic research – a movement known as ‘open access.’ But there are compelling reasons why academics are wary of divulging their educational materials, according to Gavan Watson, an Education Developer with the U of G’s OpenEd office and one of the learning circle’s co-facilitators ..."