Video of House testimony
Video of Senate Testimony
Tom Caswell does a nice job detailing some of the concerns with the bill.
I was not able to attend the hearing and testify. If I was there, I would have asked the committee members:
I was not able to attend the hearing and testify. If I was there, I would have asked the committee members:
- If state and federal gas taxes were used to build a road to the University of Washington, should the contractor who built the road (paid for with public funds) be allowed to (a) own the road and (b) charge the public a toll to drive on it?
- Or, should the public that paid for the construction and maintenance of the road have the legal right to drive on it?
- When the public pays for the creation and maintenance of education resources, should the public have access to use the resources it paid for?
- It's the same question: Do you think public tax payers should get what they paid for?
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HOUSE BILL 2336
Frequently Asked Questions
AN ACT Relating to access to taxpayer-funded educational materials
Rep. Reuven Carlyle
What is the problem?
· The public does not currently have free, easy and legal access to the full range of education resources that tax dollars fund.
· While the State is interested in the widespread distribution of the educational resources it funds, it is not maximizing the reach and impact of those resources in an efficient or equitable fashion.
What is the opportunity?
- The Internet, software-as-a-service, mobile capabilities, low-marginal cost applications and technologies, open licensing, and digital education content provide the infrastructure and framework to efficiently and affordably share publicly-funded education resources.
- If publicly-funded education resources are openly shared, more Washington faculty, students and citizens will have access to high-quality education resources.
- Similar to many international, federal, philanthropic and corporate sources, State taxpayers deserve access to the appropriate work products and results of taxpayer funded education resources.
What will this bill do?
- This bill creates a default public policy that is ‘open’ rather than ‘closed’ relative to access to publicly-funded materials.
- It provides a policy framework for higher education to ensure the distribution and management of open educational resources so citizens in Washington and worldwide can benefit from publicly-funded investments in appropriate materials.
What are open education resources (OER)?
- OER are teaching, learning, and research materials in any medium that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others.
- For more information, see A Basic Guide to Open Education Resources (OER): wikieducator.org/A_Basic_Guide_for_OER/A_Basic_Guide_to_Open_Education_Resources:_FAQ
What is Creative Commons?
Creative Commons (CC) is the global standard for allowing creative works to be shared, modified and distributed legally on the web. Specifically, it is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share.[1] The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons licenses free of charge to the public. These licenses allow creators to communicate which rights they reserve, and which rights they waive for the benefit of recipients or other creators. An easy to understand one-page explanation of rights, with associated visual symbols, explains the specifics of each Creative Commons license. Creative Commons licenses do not replace copyright, but are based upon it. They replace individual negotiations for specific rights between copyright owner (licensor) and licensee, which are necessary under an "all rights reserved" copyright management with a "some rights reserved" management employing standardized licenses for re-use cases where no commercial compensation is sought by the copyright owner. The result is an agile, low overhead and cost copyright management regime, profiting both copyright owners and licensees. For example, Wikipedia is using one of its licenses which allows information to be shared globally.
What are the benefits of OER for Washington educators, students and institutions[1]?
- OER provide freedom of access for educators, students and citizens and widens the scope of what is accessible.
- Because faculty can freely adapt them, OER encourages pedagogical innovation and experimentation.
- Because OER are available free of charge, using them lowers costs to students, education institutions and taxpayers.
- Creates opportunities for existing resources to be adapted to fit better the local context – related to culture, access and learning needs – without necessitating lengthy copyright negotiation processes or duplicating development of identical core content.
- Faculty and universities may benefit from potential publicity, which can attract new students and advance institutional recognition and reputation.
- Supports the public service role of public education institutions.
- OER may be helpful to future educators, underserved students and untraditional users.