Citizen science is the powerful idea that communities should be empowered to participate in the process of scientific inquiry, investigating the world around them and creating societal change in the process. One of the most prominent projects within the citizen and civic science movement is Public Lab, a community of individuals using inexpensive DIY techniques…
In March we hosted the second Institute for Open Leadership. In our summary of the event we mentioned that the Institute fellows would be taking turns to write about their open policy projects. This week’s post is from Fiona MacAlister, OER Specialist at Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa. I was privileged to attend the…
The National Cancer Moonshot Initiative seeks to make ten years of progress on cancer research in half that time, with a goal to end cancer in our lifetime. The project—led by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden—recently called for ideas to help shape the cancer research priorities for the Moonshot. They received over 1,600 comments and…
The vision of the Creative Commons project is universal access to research and education, and full participation in culture to drive a new era of development, growth, and productivity. Collaboration, sharing, and co-operation are in our nature — building community, co-operating towards common goods, and creating shared benefits are at the heart of who we…
In March we hosted the second Institute for Open Leadership. In our summary of the event we mentioned that the Institute fellows would be taking turns to write about their open policy projects. As a Ugandan science educator with a background in computer science, I have witnessed thousands of kids dropping out of school because…
Final arguments in the case against Diego Gomez will be presented on August 10. Gomez is a Colombian graduate student who shared an academic paper without permission online and received a criminal copyright complaint from the author. If convicted, Gomez faces a 4-8 year prison sentence and a significant monetary fine. Over the last year, we’ve highlighted…
In March we hosted the second Institute for Open Leadership, and in our summary of the event we mentioned that the Institute fellows would be taking turns to write about their open policy projects. By way of some background, I am currently the digital publishing manager at the African branch of Cambridge University Press (CUP),…
June was a big month for OER in the United States, so here’s a quick roundup of some highlights, including a new open copyright policy from Hillary Clinton’s campaign, the launch packet for districts incorporating open educational resources into their curriculum, and new funding for OER degrees in California! US Department of Education: #GoOpen Launch…