Thoughts on Open Data, Research, Books, Journals, and Government

Open Data, Research, Books, Journals, and Government, is this a dream or a reality, for the learning institute I work for? What are my thoughts on these topics? First off, as most of these terms were new to me I have briefly highlighted my findings of what each of these are. In the end I conclude by sharing how this will (or can) affect the organization I work for, and what the implications are (if any). 


Open Data, defined by the Open Knowledge Foundation as: “A piece of content or data is open if anyone is free to use, reuse, and redistribute it — subject only, at most, to the requirement to attribute and sharealike.” The readings this week provided an excellent resource to learn about the World Bank Open Data Initiative. 

Open Research which promotes collaboration rather than just the sharing of data, is already active within many online communities. My experience with Drupal, allowed me to observe the vibrant online discussion and the sharing of research (code) which enabled developers to further their own efforts by gaining valuable advice from global experts (free of cost).  

Open Books, a rich resource! My initial exploration of this led me to find a variety of quality books from authors (most of whom I noted were university professors). A portion of the tag line: "top quality books by expert authors"! From learning about sales to how to conduct a successful job search this is a resource worth noting and exploring with fellow learners. 

Open Journals, in particular the Directory of Open Access Journals, is a collection of just that, Open Access Journals and Articles. While this offers a wide variety of resources, perhaps if one knew the name of the author he or she would have a better chance of finding the specific quality resource he or she was looking for. When you have over 781,850 articles to choose from, what would be the most effective way to find the one you needed?


Open Government - what I understand this to be is a drive towards greater transparency and sharing of information from the government to its citizens and other government as well. As the article 'Citizens Love Transparency' highlights, there are notable benefits to this endeavor.


I equate the opportunity for (quick and easy) open data, access, books, journals and government is largely thanks to technology and the internet. Working for an organization that  is not involved in any e-learning initiatives (and I currently do not see these elements within the workplace), I am curious as to how and when these ideals could or would take hold. 


As the workplace has recently quadrupled in size, perhaps managing organizational change has taken the precedence. Still, the organization is looking to solidify and brand their curriculum. Perhaps once this is done it would be shared as an OER (much like other universities or training institutes have done). 


No doubt there are many implications to this, especially as the stakeholders might share varying views. However, I am certain that these changes (if they occur) will take time to be seen.