Collaborative Technologies Virtual Research Lab

Faculty Research Forum

January 27th 2006

Tera

Open Research?

• Free Software (Stallman, GNU - 1984)• Open Source (Debian, Linux – 1997) • Open Courseware (MIT 1999)• Open Knowledge

• Why not?

IDEAL

• It is an ideal that flows from the MIT Faculty's passionate belief in the MIT mission, based on the conviction that the open dissemination of knowledge and information can open new doors to the powerful benefits of education for humanity around the world.

OCW – Who?

• 152 Chinese universities• ParisTech OpenCourseWare project with 11

Engineering institutions• 6 Japanese univrsities• MIT, John Hopkins, Utah State, Tafts

Free Software and “Open Source”

• Stallman's premise is that people should have more freedom, and should appreciate their freedom (Bruce Perens, 1999)

• OSI - The basic idea behind open source is very simple: When programmers can read, redistribute, and modify the source code for a piece of software, the software evolves. People improve it, people adapt it, people fix bugs. And this can happen at a speed that, if one is used to the slow pace of conventional software development, seems astonishing.We in the open source community have learned that this rapid evolutionary process produces better software than the traditional closed model, in which only a very few programmers can see the source and everybody else must blindly use an opaque block of bits.Open Source Initiative exists to make this case to the commercial world.

Open Knowledge

• Wikipedia (Jimmy Wales, 2001)• Merlot (California State University, 1999)

– MERLOT's mission is to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning by expanding the quantity and quality of peer-reviewed online learning materials that can be easily incorporated into faculty-designed courses

Open Research - CTVRL

• People improve it, people adapt it, people fix bugs… (Open Source Initiative)

• People need each other – who but academe can be the model?!

• Matching needs and offers• The “whole” is bigger than the sum of its parts

Facing the Future

• Port to “Mambo” an open source, knowledge management platform

• Recruit an academic committee• Form “licensing” and ethics policies• Promote in OSI, OCW communities and higher

education institutions• Share….

People need people

• Canada is known and honored as a steadfast and skilful advocate for international collaboration, reconciliation, and the promotion of peace.

• Adrienne Clarkson