After The Deluge: Navigating IPR Policy and DRM in Learning

Object Repositories

Map Image from the University of Texas at Austin

http://trustdr.ulster.ac.uk/

Distributed under a Creative Commons License - Attribution 2.5 UK: ScotlandAuthors John Casey, Jackie Proven, David Dripps

A ‘data deluge’ is hitting our educational institutions. We need to learn how to manage digital materials, understand what is important, what needs to be kept, managed and preserved.

Individuals and institutions have become de-facto digital publishers – enjoying both the legal rights and the responsibilities this brings.

E-learning is linked to fundamental changes in teaching and learning at national, institutional and professional levels. Discussion of the political and economic aspects of this are largely absent from current e-learning discourse. IPR raises these ‘process change’ related issues to the surface - forcefully.

Background

IPR Acts as a ‘lightening conductor’ to bring to the surface many difficult issues:

– ownership

– power

– control

– status

DRM and IPR as Lightening Conductors

Image by Christopher Hollishttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Lightning_strike_in_Tampa_Florida_(modified).jpg

• Trust in Digital Repositories– Funded by JISC– Partnership between Ulster and the UHI– Finished August 2007– Builds on previous work funded by JISC & HEFCE

• Romeo Project by Loughborough• DRM report by Intralllect• HEFCE Guidance to senior management

• Main Output: A Development Pack For Institutional Repositories

• Spin-Offs: A Practical Guide to Implementing Flexible Learning

published by the QAA see web ref

About the TrustDR Project 1

Practical ways of managing IPR in digital learning materials generated by institutions

At the intersection of technology, education and the law

DRM (Digital Rights Management) systems for institutional repositories

not just a technical problem

Digital ……………………..(Technology & Use)

Rights ……………………..(Legal & Social)

Management ……………..(Policy & Culture)

Requires a Systematic and Holistic Approach

About the TrustDR Project 2

• General Aims:To understand the complex problem area of rights

issues in digital repositories of learning objects and to suggest ways of simplifying the problem area in order to find pragmatic solutions

• Specifically:– sharing, reuse and management of learning

materials created within institutions by staff and students

– how institutions can set up and sustain a centrally managed collection of digital teaching and learning materials

Aims of the TrustDR Project

Attitudes to IPR in Education 1

Picture By Stavros Markopoulos @ http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=447602329&size=o

Attitudes to IPR in Education 2

Picture By moose.boy / Moose G. http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=47422069&size=m

• Confusion, lack of awareness, poor practice, contradictory policy and risk aversion currently dominate thinking about this subject at all levels –

particularly amongst senior management

• There is a need for clarity and leadership in this area

The Current IPR Landscape in Education

• The TrustDR Approach– Understand your ‘business of e-learning’ and

develop appropriate IPR solutions– Developed proposals that are situated in the

practical context of implementing a flexible curriculum using e-learning

– Important to be able to understand and identify what is really valuable in ‘your business’ (people? stuff? process? brand?)

The TrustDR Approach

• E-Learning/Flexible learning best understood as part of a changing model of teaching:– From individual to team teaching– From ‘my course’ to ‘our course’– From ‘my stuff’ to ‘our stuff’– Greater reuse and sharing of materials – with

centralised support and direction– More time spent in the design phase to improve

quality and efficiency– Contested visions?

E-learning as Process Change

E-learning as Process Change

Future Practice(sustainable)

Current Practice(subsistence)

Really About Process Change - think of IPR as an enabler

• Where IPR really is important to the underlying business model then IPR policy effectively reflects the ‘political economy’ of that activity. – Thus, the distance learning sector has a relatively mature and

clear IPR regime that is suited to the processes, needs and priorities of those institutions

• In contrast the mainstream education sector has a confused and contradictory IPR regime – despite the fact that teaching is the largest singe source of

institutional wealth.

• The current IPR regime represents a traditional model of teaching – individual, relatively isolated from peers, low levels of sharing

and reuse, a lack of involvement from senior management. It also represents pre-digital attitudes to publishing

Uncovering the Political Economy of E-Learning

• IPR Policy as an Enabler:– A clear IPR policy should support change in the teaching model

by encouraging academics to share their materials with others– Academics and their institutions are accountable for their

actions (and non-actions) in publishing digital materials – part of their continuing journey of accountability to society.

– IPR legal compliance in the creation of learning materials needs to be viewed as an essential part of academic integrity and institutional quality control

– Developing a clear IPR policy should enable a revaluation of the teaching and learning model, what is valuable, the direction of change to be pursued and the role of materials in the teaching and learning process

Turning the IPR Problem Around

•IPR & DRM gets easier if you:– Understand your business– Know where the value is– Are clear about what you are trying to do– Adopt a ‘systems’ approach to e-learning

•If you can’t prove your rights or ownership then no amount of technology will help

– simple record keeping, administration, policy and procedures are the foundation of successful DRM in any sphere

– Linked to a clear expression of your rights this might be enough

– Accurate & sufficient metadata is key - it’s a human thing!

Use Policy to Simplify the ‘Problem Space’

• No technical panaceas – automated DRM solutions are only suitable for simple and

frequent transactions these are not the sort of characteristics of a learning object reuse lifecycle

• It is an Institutional Info. management problem– A policy thing, so needs senior manager involvement and drive– Needs the involvement of info management specialists - don’t

leave it to the techies!– Don’t leave it to the commercialisation office etc - they have the

wrong IPR regime– Be realistic about the value of your materials (yes really!)– Be as clear as possible about what you are trying to achieve

Tips

References, Guides & Provenances

van der Klink, M., & Jochems, W. (2004) Management and organisation of integrated e-learning in Integrated E-Learning: implications for pedagogy, technology and organisation, Jochems, W., van Merriënboer, J., and Koper, R., Routledge & Falmer, London,

Pollock, N. & Cornford, J. 2000. Theory and Practice of the Virtual University: report on UK universities use of new technologies. In ARIADNE issue 24. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue24/virtual-universities/

Twigg, C (2005) Keynote Summary: Improving Learning and Reducing Costs - New Models for Online Learning in the ALT-C 2005 conference, ALT-C, UK. http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2005/keynotes.html#carol

Twigg, C. (2002) Improving Quality & Reducing Costs, The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education.

Goodyear, P., et al (2001) Effective Networked Learning in Higher Education: Notes and Guidelines, by The Centre for Studies in Advanced Learning Technology Lancaster University Commissioned by JISC and available at http://csalt.lancs.ac.uk/jisc/guidelines.htm

Friesen, N. (2004) Three Objections to Learning Objects and E-Learning Standards. In McGreal, R. (Ed.) Online Education Using Learning Objects. London: Routledge. Pp. 59-70. Draft version online at: http://www.learningspaces.org/n/papers/objections.html

Ramsden, P. 1991. Learning to Teach in Higher Education, Routledge, London

Laurillard, D. (2002) Rethinking University Teaching. London: Routledge.

Casey, J., Wilson, P., 2006, A Practical Guide to Providing Flexible Learning in Further and Higher Education, Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education Scotland Committee, Glasgow, 2006 http://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/documents/flexibleDelivery/FD_Flexible_Learning_JCaseyFINALWEB.pdf

Kuhn, T. 1996 The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, University of Chicago Press.

Casey, J. (2004) Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in networked e-learning: a beginners guide for content developers. JISC Legal Information. Available at http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/publications/johncasey_1.htm [Accessed 14.04.06]

 

Casey, J. and MacAlpine, M. (2002) Writing and Using Re-useable Educational Materials: a beginners guide, CETIS Educational Content Special Interest group {Online} www.cetis.ac.uk/educational-content

References, Guides & Provenances

PicturesOstrich:

Ostrich Photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=447602329&size=o

By Stavros Markopoulos

http://www.flickr.com/people/markop/

Rights to to use - Under an Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic Licence More at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/

Donkey:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=47422069&size=m

By moose.boy / Moose G.

http://www.flickr.com/people/alces/

Rights to to use - Under an Attribution 2.0 Generic Licence

Licence terms at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

References, Guides & Provenances

Compass in a wooden frame. On wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Compass_in_a_wooden_frame.jpg

Taken from stock.xchng: "There are no usage restrictions for this photo." Photographer's (Murat Cokal, Umitkoy, Ankara, Turkey) user page set no usage restrictions.

Map of Samoa from the University of Texas at Austin collection of maps – free to use and adapt

Lightening Image by Christopher Hollis under a CC ‘BY’ licencehttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Lightning_strike_in_Tampa_Florida_(modified).jpg

Image from Effective networked learning in higher education: notes and guidelines, Lancaster University & JISC JCALT, implied licence for educational use. Available at http://csalt.lancs.ac.uk/jisc/

Learning Object illustration by John Casey, taken from L2L project training materials http://www.daice.stir.ac.uk/l2l/

Clip Art from Microsoft Word

All other images by the TrustDR Project

References, Guides & Provenances