Ownership of traditional courseware is vested in the faculty. In the digital forum, however, under the Copyright Act of 1976, case law, and institutional policy ownership may be vested in the institution.

Attitudes are changing in education globally to promote the open sharing of educational courses and resources. The aim of this study was to explore staff awareness and attitudes towards "open educational resources" (OER) as a benchmark for monitoring future progress. Faculty staff (n = 6) were invited to participate in semi-structured…

Open educational resources (OERs) represent a new frontier in education. There are several examples of individuals and institutions providing open educational resources; this openness is also specifically manifest in the field of Christian higher education. Different levels are discussed in which OERs can be "open" and the implications of these…

Like many universities worldwide, the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa has joined the open educational resources (OER) movement, making a selection of teaching and learning materials available through its OER directory, UCT OpenContent. However, persuading and then supporting busy academics to share their teaching materials as OER…

This article traces the development of the OpenCourseWare movement, including the origin of the concept at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the implementation of the MIT OpenCourseWare project, and the idea's spread into the global educational community, ultimately resulting in the formation of the OpenCourseWare Consortium. The…

Solutions to concern over computer software copyright infringement include seeking a licensing agreement with the software publisher or negotiating with a supplier for discounts on multiple copies of a program. The best sourcebook for guidance is "Software Quality and Copyright: Issues in Computer-Assisted Instruction," by Virginia Helm. (DCS)

This essay regards the licensing of digital content in universities. The author states that the academic community has overwhelmingly adopted course-management software systems such as Blackboard to distribute electronic course materials to students. She argues that such use presents a significant problem: the absence of any institutional…

Whether by choice or necessity, colleges and universities are in competition with each other for the burgeoning web-based course market. Spurred by the growth of the for-profits such as the University of Phoenix, institutions have reasons, both practical and philosophical,"...to secure a position in ownership and control of faculty-produced…

This study describes an investigation of the intellectual property policies of a stratified random sample of public and private Carnegie Doctoral Research-Extensive Universities. Current copyright law was reviewed as well as the status of the "academic exception." University policies were examined to determine whether or not they…

This document contains three position papers concerned with copyright, cataloging, and software standards for educational software. In the first paper, "Cataloguing Educational Software: Is There a Problem?" R. N. Tucker advocates the cataloguing of educational software in the same way and in the same place as other materials in a…

Describes Electronic Software Delivery System (ESDS), which allows teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District to access and preview software stored at a central location. Hardware used in the system is explained, and security of programs stored on the system is emphasized as the key to its success. (LRW)

Criteria for software resource centers drafted by the International Council for Computers in Education focus on the responsibilities of: (1) centers, which should serve as links between publishers and educators; (2) software publishers, who should assist educators in previewing instructional software before purchase; and (3) schools, which should…

The two interconnected problems of educational quality and piracy are described and analyzed in this book, which begins with an investigation of the accusations regarding the alleged dismal quality of educational software. The reality behind accusations of rampant piracy and the effect of piracy on the quality of educational software is examined…

The role of distance education is shifting. Traditionally distance education was limited in the number of people served because of production, reproduction, and distribution costs. Today, while it still costs the university time and money to produce a course, technology has made it such that reproduction costs are almost non-existent. This shift…

Some school systems are recognizing their responsibility to check software piracy, and a few publishers are responding to schools' needs and offering discounts on multiple copies of software to schools with policies protecting software copyright. Includes a model policy example. (MD)