In an article by Casewell et al. (2008), the authors state that "reproduction costs [of distance education] are almost non-existent." While considering this along with open access and creative commons - this statement has stuck with me for a few reasons.
1st - Could creative commons, or any other general sharing of resources, revolutionize academia into those who creator content and those who delivery content. With an abundance of material, is there a need for so many faculty at so many institutions? Some individuals with the highest accolades in research and discovery may prepare content. Those who are especially skilled at delivering content would serve as instructors. I suppose this may exist in academia already with different roles. Will it be like medicine, will their be an increase in other providers such as nurse practitioners and physician associates in place of more expensive physicians? Less full faculty and more adjuncts. This article published by College Post suggest a decrease in tenured faculty. How does academic freedom fit in with open access, Web 2.0, and social media shares.
2nd - Is the statement true? Are reproduction costs minimal? Should they be? In three years, I produced a second edition of an OER text. The online simulations I have used in courses over many years have, unfortuntely, become out of date and not updated. Does the expectation of minimal reproduction investment increase concerns about the quality of these educational materials?
3rd - What about digital trash? This article by Stephan Schmidt of United Nations University discusses the growing digital waste cloud. How can we best dispose of old information? How do we "take out" the trash. In 2019, I oversaw a continuing education event on campus. It took us months before we could find and delete links to the program (so we could focus on promoting the upcoming one instead). Does this make tagging even more important? Will it become difficult feel you have completely researched a topic or that you have the most current and accurate information?
More questions than answers at the start of this week. What do you think?
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