diff --git a/licensing/index.md b/licensing/index.md index cbe1036..c5ed787 100644 --- a/licensing/index.md +++ b/licensing/index.md @@ -37,6 +37,12 @@ should be available for other creators to remix and redistribute as part of futu educational innovations, as well as for scholars to leverage as part of their educational research programs. +*Simply making your work available somewhere online does not clearly communicate to +students and teachers that they have the right to use your work or archive/redistribute +your work in case it becomes unavailable later. It also does not facilitate community +investment in your product, as there is no mechanism for co-creators to build upon +your product, or contribute improvements back to you.* + To that end, we encourage our community members to not only make their works available online, but to explicitly **open-license** and **open-source** their works using **open platforms**. @@ -52,12 +58,53 @@ IP was created as a requirement of their official duties, such as part of an ext sponsored grant. This may vary by organization and the type of IP created (e.g. software may have different rules); your faculty handbook may have more information. -Either way, the copyright owner may choose to apply an open **license** on this IP that -allows non-owners to use this property for their own purposes. +Either way, the copyright owner may choose to apply a **license** on this IP that +allows non-owners to use this property for their own purposes. Examples of specific licenses +we suggest (depending on the product) are below, but in general, an **open license** is +one that provides the public the right to use, remix, and redistribute IP, modulo +some requirements such as attribution of the original author. + +An open license provides the public the *legal* right to use your work, but in order +to give them a *practical* ability to do so, creators must also consider open source +and open platforms. ### Open Source -### Open Platforms +While it is possible to open-license a complete product and make this finalized work +available to the public, this is not enough for the product to be considered **open source**. +An open source product not only has its finalized work made available to the public, +but also all the source files and materials necessary to rebuild this finalized work. +As a simple example, an author may make their textbook available as a PDF under an open +license, but without also distributing the source text/Word/LaTeX document that was used +to create this PDF, they have impeded the practical ability of other creators to create +derivative works. This means not only that typos stay typos, but it may end up easier +for other creators to "reinvent the wheel" rather than use the create materials you've +already developed. + +Open-sourcing your work can be as simple as hosting the source files for a product +alongside the finished work, but creators that adopt version control systems such as +[Git/GitHub](https://g4m.clontz.org) benefit from tooling that not only dissiminates +their source code, but also provides co-creators mechanisms to contribute back their +edits, communicate about the development of the open-source work, and so on. + +### Open Platforms and Vendors + +A final consideration for open-source educational resources are the platforms and vendors +used to create, distribute, and implement these works in the classroom. This is particularly +important in an era with many freely-available websites that not only host educational +resources, but allow for the creation and dissemination of new educational works. However, +if these web applications are themselves proprietary, what happens when they add a paywall +restriction, or go offline altogether? While the content creators may retain copyright +over their works built for such a service, and may choose to open-license and open-source those +works, there is little benefit for having a license and source code that's only compatible +with a service that is not available for students or teachers to use in the classroom. + +To that end, [the PROSE Consortium](https://prose.runestone.academy) +is dedicated to supporting the creation of educational +technologies and resources that are not locked into any particular platform or vendor, +even our own. By using open-source software to create your educational product, +and disseminating it using open-source services, you are investing in the longevity of +your work and its impact on the broader community of STEM education research and practice. ## Two Major Kinds of Educational Products