Implementing OA Mandates in Europe: OpenAIRE Study
Iryna Kuchma, Birgit Schmidt, OpenAIRE, January 17, 2013

This is a detailed listing and description of funder and research institution open access policies in Europe (including Norway, Switzerland and Turkey), publishers’ self-archiving policies, and implementation startegies and initiatives. It is hence an essential reference for researchers working in the field of open access. More...

The Open University releases ROLE eBook
ROLE - Responsive Open Learning Environments, January 17, 2013

The Open University has released a book on ROLE. This is good, as ROLE - Responsive Open Learning Environments - is a major project covering many aspects of recent work in fields such as Personal Learning Environments (which some of us in MOOC-mania haven't forgotten). Unfortunately, I can't provide a review, since I'm in the office and hence using my PC Desktop, not an Apple or iPad, and the book was deveped, as neatly as I can tell, exclusively for the Apple platform. More...

Stanford Makes Open Source Platform, Class2Go, Available to All; Launches MOOC on Platform Today
Dan Colman, Open Culture, January 17, 2013

Open Culture covers "Stanford’s Class2Go. The platform is open, meaning that you can grab the code base for free and run it on your very own server. Class2Go is also portable, giving schools the ability to move documents and media to other platforms if they so choose. The Stanford platform is interoperable in the sense that it builds on existing software (MySQL, Github, Piazza, MySQL, Python Django, etc.). And, unlike some other platforms, Class2Go gives educators immediate access to valuable data, allowing them to make refinements to the educational experience." I read some thing about how great Python is and how that's why they used it to develop Class2G. More...

Yes, You Can Make Money with Open Source
Igor Faletski, Harvard Business Review Blogs, January 16, 2013

I am constantly asked to make this case in my day job, despite overwhelming evidence in the form of Apache, MySQL, Moodle and so much more. The most recent request for 'a case' came in the morning email. Here are the ways listed in this article:

• Paid support is one of the most common sources of revenue - annual service contract or a la carte.
• Package more substantial (and expensive) professional services with open source software.
• Sell commercial versions of popular open source - quality-tested versions; license management; code maintenance.
• Augment it, make significant improvements, and then sell it under a more restricted license.

Not that I haven't mentioned all of these (and more) in the past. More...

500 Open Courses on UMW Blogs
Jim Groom, bavatuesdays , January 15, 2013.
Jim Groom points to 500 courses on the system free and open to anyone hosted at UMW. No doubt someone will have something to complain about - the courses, say, aren't perfect, aren't completge, are only in blog form, aren't always read all the way to the end, or don't guarantee academic success. More...

Open Access in India: Q&A with Subbiah Arunachalam
Richard Poynder, Open, Shut?, June 10, 2014
Credit where credit is due. "Today the world is awash with OA advocates," writes Ricahrd Poynder, "But it was not always thus." One of those early open access (OA) advocates in India was Chennai-based information scientist Subbiah Arunachalam. More...

La France a soutenu depuis le début des années 2000 la réalisation de milliers de ressources éducatives libres produites en particulier grâce à la mise en place ;

• des réseaux disciplinaires propres aux Universités Numériques Thématiques
• de Canal-U
• de FUN-MOOC lancé en 2013

La formation sur ces sujets est assurée à travers les formations aux compétences numériques (C2i devenu PIX). Pour parfaire l'internationalisation de ces projets, ces ressources sont documentées avec un langage scientifique accessible via un moteur de recherche spécifique sur le portail Sup-numérique. Plus...

‘Closed’ v. ‘open’ systems of knowing
Scott Mcleod, Dangerously Irrelevant, March 20, 2014
Just to add yet another definition of 'open' to the mix: "A closed system is one in which the knowables are fixed. Examples of this kind of system would include any in which most of its answers are either yes or no, right or wrong, clearly and without any other possibility." Cited by Scott McLeod, this is from Teaching As a Subversive Activity. More...

Memorandum of Understanding on Open Educational Resources
Various authors, Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, March 23, 2014

By email from Paul Stacey: "The Premiers of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan (the three most western provinces) have released a Memorandum of Understanding on Open Education Resources, which will see the three provinces work together to make higher education more affordable by developing Open Education Resources within their advanced education sectors." As he say there's not much to it (the third page of the PDF is completely blank) but it of course serves as the sprringboard for further activities and initiatives. More...