This Is Why I Wasn't Excited About 2 Billion For OERs
2 min read
There was a buzz among the intarwebz last week at the news that the US Departments of Labor and Education were putting 2 Billion dollars toward the development of Creative Commons licensed materials.
I've noted in the past that Secretary Duncan's language around open content sounds like little more than free R and D money for textbook developers.
And, it turns out that there is a catch to this current round of funding. All content must be SCORM compliant. You can see the requirement spelled out on pages 4 and 8 of the Solicitation of Grant Applications (pdf download).
In short, all the content that is developed will be locked in an outdated, unevenly implemented standard, making reuse and recontextualization far beyond the reach of most schools, and certainly beyond the reach of most individuals. Textbook publishers and large corporations, who will be able to consume SCORM content, will be able to modify the content slightly, claim a derived copy, and - aside from attributing the original source - the content will no longer be freely available.
If we wait for useful open content to come from government funding streams, we'll be waiting a long time. Personally, I'm not waiting.
Hat tip to Stephen Downes for highlighting this information.
