Category Archives: Open Access Learning

“Could you patent the sun?”

Posted on October 23, 2010 by | Leave a comment

Despite all the ink dedicated to open access as a new publishing model it is in fact an old way. Take for example, Dr. Jonas Salk. Unknown thousands, maybe even you, owe their ability to walk to Dr. Salk. How so? He invented the vaccine for Polio in 1952.  The research, creation, and funding of the vaccine would today be called open access.

When asked who owned the patent, Salk replied:

“Well, the people I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?”

Wow.

Funding for the creation of the drug was raised through a public canvassing campaign called March of Dimes.

Such a revelation would be unlikely in the copyright/patent climate today. The open access movement, however, is attempting to revive the spirit of Salk.

Check out open access medical research groups like DNDI that work with major pharmaceutical companies to help create cures to disease that are unprofitable to cure.

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Posted in Copyright, Open Access Learning, Publish, PublishUpdates, Social Networks, Studying and Collaborating Online, Web Research

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Copyright Cowboy

Posted on October 23, 2010 by | Leave a comment

If you have an interest in copyright law and have not already watched Rip!: A remix manifesto, you need to check it out. The director’s politics are a bit heavy handed but the point is eye opening: copyright law has not always been what copyright law is today. Using mash-up music artist Girl Talk as a case study, the director takes viewers through 86 entertaining minutes of copyright past, present and hopeful future.

The most eye opening revelations in Rip! is how traditional public domain music has been borrowed, shared, built upon and eventually copyrighted by popular acts like the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin who then turned around and said the borrowing stops with them. The Rolling Stones sued The Verve for 100% royalties on their 1990’s hit “Bitter Sweet Symphony,” even though the Stones themselves did not originate the score.

And as if that is not enough to tweak your interest, you can watch members of Metallica threaten downloading teenagers with the best lawyers their musical empire can buy. You can also watch Public Enemy’s Chuck D, crooner of such anti-establishment anthems as Fight the Power and 911 is a Joke, defend the right of to download music and re-mix tracks. Watch the manifesto here.

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Posted in Copyright, Creative Commons Licensing, Media Sharing, Open Access Learning, Publish, PublishUpdates, Social Media, Social Networks, Studying and Collaborating Online

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The rise of on-line cheating

Posted on July 8, 2010 by | Leave a comment

A recent story by the Vancouver Sun said that on-line based acts 0f academic dishonesty have tripled in the past five years at Canadian universities. Using data from the University of Waterloo, plagiarism was highlighted as the most common form of cheating. The revelation is certainly a shock, but it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.

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The real question is whether or not cheating on a whole has increased, or if only the form has changed. I have not come across any study that has authoritatively dived into this. If you have, please let us at Digital Tattoo know.

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I often wonder about such studies as the one referenced in the article and the impact it has on public perceptions of new technologies in the classroom. Yes, the internet makes it easier to cheat by the simple fact that a person can copy and paste entire works into a Word document and call it heir own. But this also has a flip side – it is easier to get caught. A suspecting instructor only needs to re-copy and paste a section of the suspicious material into the google window, and boom, the perpatrator is busted.

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The bottom line is don’t cheat.

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Posted in Academic Honesty, Citing Online, Learn, LearnUpdates, Open Access Learning, Studying and Collaborating Online

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Anonymity tested – Wikileaks under fire

Posted on June 23, 2010 by | Leave a comment

Gone are the days of uncontested truth. Hegel’s thesis – antithesis – synthesis is unfolding in front of our eyes as the continued evolution of the information society unfolds. If we consider media conglomeration and state surveillance as the thesis stage of a new era of social organization, Wikileaks just might be its antithesis for the 21st century.

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If you have not visited Wikileaks, it is about time you did. Any person can post information on Wikileaks (all of which is vetted by staff), but unlike Wikipedia users do not have the ability to edit. Alive since 2007, this past year has been the most high profile for Wikileaks yet. In April 2010, it posted a highly classified video from Iraq depicting the innocent killing of civilians by coalition forces. Listed as ‘collateral’ damage in war briefing rooms, the video undressed the euphemisms of conflict.

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The video would never had made it to the public had it not been for an anonymous whistle blower who had access to the footage and posted it to the site. It is one of many high-profile stories that have been uncovered because of Wikileaks users.

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Journalists, politicians, and activists have had a field day with the leak, though intelligence officials have now identified a possible source of the anonymous leak which could jeopardize public faith in the site. The story unfolds as we speak.

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Wikileaks’ ability to defend its anonymity claims will prove the efficacy or the danger of the site to whistle blowers. And, without sounding too trite, this ‘anonymous’ site is a reminder to all of us at Digital Tattoo that even the highest levels of intelligence and security are vulnerable to their on-line identity.

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Posted in Connect, ConnectUpdates, Creative Commons Licensing, Erase Your Digital Path, Open Access Learning, Protect Yourself, Social Media, Studying and Collaborating Online

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Canada attempts new copyright law

Posted on June 3, 2010 by | Leave a comment

The Canadian government is about to enter round three of amending its outdated copyright legislation after two prior attempts, Bill C-60 and Bill C-61, died on the parliamentary floor.

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It is difficult to wade through the jingo of the proposed on-line copyright changes, but in a nutshell the bill legalizes existing practices like personal format transferring (copying a CD to an ipod – which is technically illegal at the moment), and outlawing cracking of digital devices (with the exception of cell phones) and digital media that has been locked by the producer in order to restrict ‘unlawful’ use and distribution.

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The potential law will also differentiate between file sharers for personal use and file sharers for commercial use. Infamous Canadian file shares like, Geremi Adam, who recently got a two and a half year sentence for film piracy, would still be liable for extensive fines and jail time, whereas little Jimmy sharing with his friends at elementary school won’t face hard time for uploading the latest Hanna Montana single – though little Jimmy could face a fine up to $5000.

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The proposed bill has plenty of critics, as did the last two bills that entered cardiac arrest, and no doubt there will be a fight over this piece of shoe leather just as there was over the last. One proposed alternative to the bill is taxing digital devices, ipods specifially, in the same way as blank DVD’s and CD’s are taxed to make up for lost revenue due to pirating and file sharing.

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Check out the various links in this entry to figure out how the law will affect you, and how it could change the Canadian copyright landscape.

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Posted in Media Sharing, Open Access Learning, Publish, PublishUpdates, Social Media

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