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Today I was updating one of my many Google Sites. I pasted in the text I wanted to add, but when I highlighted (selected) the text to reformat it, every time I clicked on the font selector my highlighting disappeared. After a few tries, I opened my site in Brave

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"We are being pummeled by a deluge of data and unless we create time and spaces in which to reflect, we will be left with only our reactions. I strongly believe in the power of weblogs to transform both writers and readers from "audience" to "public" and from "consumer" to "creator." Weblogs are no panacea for the crippling effects of a media-saturated culture, but I believe they are one antidote."

rebecca blood
september 2000 http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html

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"We’re all living through the enshittocene, a great enshittening, in which the services that matter to us, that we rely on, are turning into giant piles of shit." https://doctorow.medium.com/my-mcluhan-lecture-on-enshittification-ea343342b9bc

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The origin of "enshittification" - Cory Doctorow

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The origin of "enshittification" - Cory Doctorow

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Forthcoming in the January, 2023 issue of Locus Magazine.

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If you are new to the term Open education, this is a quick guide.

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I am delighted to see more educators engaging with OpenEducation or at least taking a greater interest in things "open" but I think it would be helpful to have a sort of beginner's guide to the many forms of open which are relevant to educators. I do not profess to be an expert in all things open but, as chair of the Open Education Special Interest Group and as an open education practitioner, I feel I could contribute a little to demystifying some of the terminology which comes under the banner "open". Here goes.

Open Access:

Probably the first term most academics engage with as it relates to academic publishing. Essentially this is a category of publication which is accessible to anyone rather than being restricted to those who are registered with a university. Some publishers require APCs (article processing fees) in order to make publications available to a wider public. For more detail see Jisc's useful guide. Librarians are often experts in this area.

Open Source:

A term that applies to computer software and how the coding has been created. Open source software is usually created by a community and the source code is shared openly so that developers can build on it. Contributors to open source are not always paid, some do the work as a passion project. There are many examples of open source software which practitioners may encounter such as Moodle, H5P and others. Here's a more in depth article which explains why open source is helpful for teachers and learners.

Open Educational Resources:

Often referred to as OERs, these are resources which are shared openly on the internet usually under a Creative Commons licence. UNESCO provides information here about the origins and place of OERs in education. Many practitioners and institutions create OER as part of a mission to broaden access to learning, such as these from the University of Edinburgh. Practitioners often share their own resources, known as Little OER (Weller,M) through sites such as Slideshare or social media free of charge, expressing their sharing preferences through a Creative Commons licence.

Open badges:

Open badges are digital artefacts which can be created and issued to recognise participation or activity according to the criteria defined by a badge issuer. They are made up of a digital image which has hard coded data "baked in". Open Badge platforms build on a shared standard which enables portability of badge display for earners and, when used in a learning context, can allow the creation of an ecosystem of badges to support educational aims. Here's the handy badge wiki site to find out more.

Open educational practice (or praxis):

OEP, or the act of working openly as an educator, may include creating and sharing OER, using social media to connect and collaborate with learners or other practitioners online, maintaining a digital profile which is visible to anyone online and curating digital resources. This is an emerging activity which is described in more detai l here (Cronin,C) and is clearly connected with achieving the aims of open education.

There are other "open..." terms in use out there - for example open data, open pedagogy but these are related to the ones mentioned above so I think this may be enough for a primer! However, here are some additional resources should you wish to know more.

Open Education is a route to addressing the many inequalities suffered by our populations around the world which have only deepened during the pandemic.

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Image by Pexels from Pixabay I am delighted to see more educators engaging with OpenEducation or at least taking a greater interest in th...

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My publications are viewable here

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ORCID record for Teresa MacKinnon. ORCID provides an identifier for individuals to use with their name as they engage in research, scholarship, and innovation activities.

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You are welcome to post your thoughts here and share your online profile or blog if you wish.

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You are welcome to post your thoughts here and share your online profile or blog if you wish.

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Published online in 2012, this chapter describes my hopes and challenges for open language learning online

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Breaking out of the walled garden online book chapter

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Although the recording is no longer available, I still have my session notes with links.

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Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that's simple, beautiful and fun.

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My introduction to existing legal framework for sharing.

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Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that's simple, beautiful and fun.

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Call / Plea / Beg for Responses: What If Creative Commons Certifications?

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Like I’ve done in the past, to some degree of success, I am asking for people to help out on a project with a video response to questions related to my new project with Creative Commons, help…

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This blog post by Alastair Creelman gives his perspective on the way ahead.

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At last there seems to be some serious resistance to the monopolistic dominance of big tech, the empires of the tech billionaires. The term enshittification, coined by Cory Doctorow a few years ago has now gained mainstream acceptance: read more about this in a post I wrote a couple of years ago, The "enshittification" of the internet - we know it's bad for us but we're hooked. Digital platforms and services that initially offered genuinely useful and attractive services for users have been slowly and deliberately degraded (for the users) by increasingly promoting adverts and paid content at the expense of the useful functions the user originally signed up for. Once users and advertisers are locked in then the companies add subscriptions for previously free functions, increase fees for advertisers and sell user data to the highest bidders. They hold users and advertisers hostage since the platforms are so big and powerful that you simply can't afford not to be there. If competition comes along big tech just buys them creating de facto monopolies. The unprecedented global power wielded by the Big Five (Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Apple) mean that users, companies and governments are all helplessly trapped in their walled gardens. You and all your content can be instantly removed from the platform without explanation or right to appeal. Indeed it's hard to appeal when you don't know what you have done wrong as I found out a few weeks ago. We are no longer customers and the concept of customer service beyond an exasperating chatbot is becoming extremely rare.

But maybe a backlash is coming. The Norwegian Consumer Council, together with other similar bodies in Europe, has released a report on the dangers of enshittification with concrete policy recommendations for the EU and European govenments, BREAKING FREE - Pathways to a fair technological future. They define the issue thus:

Enshittification is the result of a dysfunctional market, where companies have been able to get away with mistreating and exploiting consumers. Consumers are trapped in digital services, potential competitors are shut out, and policymakers and regulators are unable or reluctant to clamp down on anticompetitive, illegal and otherwise abusive behavior. In practice, a handful of tech companies have become so powerful that they do not have reason to fear any consequences.

To make people realise how far this phenomenon has gone they have produced a satirical video showing how companies make their products increasingly "shitty".

We are becoming trapped in the walled gardens of big tech and it's very hard to escape. In recent years I have tried to at least reduce my dependence by using a European browser (Vivaldi), a non-tracking search engine (Duckduckgo), an alternative music streaming service (Tidal), a European storage, calender and mail service (Proton) and an open source office suite (LibreOffice). But here I am blogging on Google's Blogger platform, I still use Google Maps, YouTube, Instagram, Whatsapp etc. My banishment from Facebook should have been a relief but I really miss my communities and network there. As in the old Eagles song: You can check out any time you want but you can never leave.

An alternative suite of social media services, the , has existed for several years with built-in portability and interoperability. These include Mastodon as an alternative to X, PeerTube for YouTube, Pixelfed for sharing images and many more. They work but the problem is how to move all your own contacts into those services.

AI is of course a key element in this process. Big tech owns the tools and are integrating AI into almost everything, in many cases as a feature that you cannot remove and certainly can't ignore.

Generative AI is to a large degree driven either by the incumbent big tech companies or by companies with strong financial connections to these companies. It is also evident that big tech companies want to lock users into their generative AI services, to capture an emergent market and further entrench their dominance.

Our search requests are now reliant on AI, often leading to misleading or biased results. Our "smart" devices from TVs and fridges to cars and homes are AI-enabled allowing big tech to harvest vast amounts of personal data on users' lives. All devices require frequent updates and standard functions can suddenly become premium features at an extra expense as shown amusingly in the final part of the video. Whether you like it or not you are forced to become reliant on AI and even more helpless to work things out for yourself. The days of fixing your car in the garage at weekends or mending electrical appliances in the home are well and truly dead. Everyday life without an app-ridden smartphone is virtually impossible.

The report is well researched and provides many examples and references. The final chapter proposes a number of recommendations that offer the hope of an alternative internet with interoperability between platforms and services and freedom for users to change platforms without losing their contacts or content.

1. Rebalance power between service providers and consumers.

2. End dependence on big tech. To lay the groundwork for innovative products and services and pave the way for alternatives to big tech, competition in digital markets must be restored.

3. Double down on the enforcement of existing laws.

Innovation and competition have been effectively stifled as it is impossible to challenge big tech's dominance. The report recommends that governments invest in new solutions that are based on openness, interoperability and portability. There are indeed regulations and guidelines in place to combat monopolistic practice but they are poorly implemented and the tech giants can easily avoid taking any responsibility - they are too big to care basically. The report urges European authorities to seriously challenge big tech and implement regulations vigorously.

This is very admirable and I hope the report has some effect but in today's toxic political climate I am not confident that much will change. The EU is far from united on any issue and many governments are either governed by neoliberal right-wing parties and their allies or are too afraid to challenge those parties and their followers. Big tech funds and embraces the march of Trump-inspired authoritarianism and will fight to prevent anyone from threatening their dominance. The report urges the public sector to lead the change by moving away from dependence on big tech. Indeed, there are already examples of municipalities that have switched from Microsoft to open source software.

For example, Denmark, Germany and Austria are trying to swap out their proprietary (Microsoft) software for the open-source alternative LibreOffice. The German state administration of Schleswig-Holstein estimate they will save 15 million euros by not purchasing Microsoft licenses annually, whereas the open-source alternative is a one-time investment of nine million euros.

Vast savings could indeed be made but logic is sadly lacking in modern politics. We seem unable to imagine an alternative to the existing order, even if we see how harmful it is for us. This applies not only to technology but also on a global scale to our lifestyles that are accelerating us towards catastrophic climate change. But all signs of resistance must be applauded and encouraged and I would love to see this report stimulating serious discussions in the media and in politics. I am not confident but try to hope for better times.

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Escaping the clutches of big tech - initiative from Norway

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Photo by Nicolai Berntsen on Unsplash At last there seems to be some serious resistance to the monopolistic dominance of big tech, the emp...

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The Norwegian Consumer Council Report

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Made to ensure your presence and creations are shared according to your wishes

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Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that's simple, beautiful and fun.

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Access all things Creatve Commons.

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Better Sharing, Brighter Future

"Twenty Years of Creative Commons (in Sixty Seconds)" by Ryan Junell and Glenn Otis Brown for Creative Commons is licensed via CC BY 4.0 and includes adaptations of the multiple open and public domain works. View full licensing and attribution information about all works included in the video on Flickr.

Creative Commons is an international nonprofit organization that empowers people to grow and sustain the thriving commons of shared knowledge and culture we need to address the world's most pressing challenges and create a brighter future for all.

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The nonprofit behind the licenses and tools the world uses to share

For over 20 years, Creative Commons has supported a global movement built on a belief in the power of open access to knowledge and creativity. From Wikipedia to the Smithsonian, organizations and individuals rely on our work to share billions of historic images, scientific articles, cultural artifacts, educational resources, music, and more!

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55+ million articles

Every one of Wikipedia's 55 million plus articles are shared openly and freely using a CC license.

The Met

492,000+ images

All images of public-domain works in the Met's collection are openly available under Creative Commons Zero (CC0).

Khan Academy

100,000+ lessons

Many of the lessons found on Khan Academy are openly licensed under CC-BY-NC-SA.

Wikipedia

55+ million articles

Every one of Wikipedia's 55 million plus articles are shared openly and freely using a CC license.

The Met

492,000+ images

All images of public-domain works in the Met's collection are openly available under Creative Commons Zero (CC0).

Khan Academy

100,000+ lessons

Many of the lessons found on Khan Academy are openly licensed under CC-BY-NC-SA.

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Open Culture
Cropped, Open Culture Strategic Workshop by Filipa Alfama, CC BY 4.0

One year after Creative Commons (CC) hosted an exploratory Open Culture Roundtable, in Lisbon, Portugal, which initiated the Towards a Recommendation on Open Culture (TAROC) global initiative, nearly 50 stakeholders from all continents gathered again for a strategic workshop, in Lisbon in May 2024. In this blog post, we share a snapshot of key highlights.

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Le Sortie de l'opéra en l'an 2000 by A. Robida - Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division - Public Domain.

" An Original Theory or New Hypothesis of the Universe. Plate XXXI. ". By Thomas Wright. Public Domain

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CC staff photos are licensed under CC BY 4.0. Gratitude to Sara Jordan Photography.

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Creative Commons is an international nonprofit organization that empowers people to grow and sustain the thriving commons of shared knowledge and culture we need to address the world's most pressing challenges and create a brighter future for all.

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What do you know about online, open sharing?

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What do you know about online, open sharing?

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A short, anonymous quiz to check what you know and learn more.

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A short interactive way to see what you know about using CC