Open Access shared CC by AJC1
I have a few more substantive posts brewing, but until I get a few minutes and a few more brain cells to rub together…
I want to offer my congratulations to the team that has put together UBC’s contribution to the global event Open Access Week. The schedule of talks taking place here next week covers the gamut from open scholarship, to open data, to open source, to open government, to yes, open educational resources. And it’s all free of charge and open to the public.
Too many highlights to mention here, but a few of the sessions I won’t be missing:
* An introduction to open access and other open movements by Joy Kirchner, who has done as much as anyone to pull the UBC program together. Joy is just one of the Library people here doing heroic duty to promote openness in higher education.
* Dr. Michael Brauer will discuss the Cycling Route Planner, an essential resource for Vancouver cyclists that I previously blogged here.
* If that’s not enough open data goodness, Heather Piwowar, will be discussing open research data in the academy. And G. Sayeed Choudhury from Johns Hopkins will make The Case for Open Data and eScience.
* Novak Rogic and Will Engle will be showing off the UBC Wiki, which I rave about constantly.
* John Willinsky, Meike Wernicke, Reilly Yeo will be discussing “Scholarly Rights and Responsibilities in the Digital Age”… As longtime readers of this blog already know, I consider Dr. Willinsky to be one of the very best speakers in the business, I never tire of listening to him. I’ll never forget the meeting we had shortly after I started at UBC, from which I emerged an incorrigible open access zealot.
* I’m pleased to have Martha Rans come to UBC to discuss copyright issues as relevant to educators. Martha is Vancouver Project Lead for Creative Commons Canada, and as blogged here previously does indispensable work as Legal Director of the Artists Legal Outreach at the Alliance for Arts. Our intention for this session is to provide a clear overview of the impending Canadian copyright Bill C-32, with special focus on its implications for educators. While Martha is with us, I’ve asked her to discuss Creative Commons from her insiders perspective… and we’ll be sure to leave lots of time for the many thorny, nasty questions that always come up when we discuss this stuff.
* UBC students Goldis Chami and Gordana Panic will discuss “Student Advocacy for Open Access at UBC and Beyond”…
And there’s much, much more open yumminess! Looking at the breadth and quality of local talent strutting its stuff next week, it’s hard not to feel humbled, excited and hopeful at the prospects of UBC doing great things in this space in the years to come.
