Personal Blogs

Statement of Assumption

Level of Agreement

Viewpoint

Open scholarship has a strong ideological basis rooted in an ethical pursuit for democratization, fundamental human rights, equality, and justice   

Medium

I am not sure if open scholarship completely supports democracy? Because there are many open access journals, who publish articles and books by asking a writer to pay a hefty amount. In addition, many top open access research journals and books are not yet freely accessible to individuals. I argue, what ethics do they follow? There is also an issue of copyright. Although Creative Commons license allows the user to modify content, there is no complete repository to verify how the previous work of ABC author was used/re-used. In countries such as Pakistan, few publishers have gained access to open books. They print and sell these books. So the lawfulness of CC is quite weak! In addition, many open resources such as a good number of educational videos are banned in some countries such as Pakistan due to socio-cultural barriers.

Coursera offers free access to courses, but now they have started charging a fee to get a certificate against open learning, open practice and open teaching. Business oriented model!

Open scholarship emphasized the importance of digital participation for enhanced scholarly outcomes

Medium

I agree! Through networking, we learn a lot from one another. During the last two modules, my open participation in discussion forums has helped me to learn about new software and learning resources. As mentioned in the article “By maintaining a web presence, scholars may express their opinions, solicit feedback, reflect, share information pertaining to their professional practice, network with colleagues, reach multiple audiences, and cultivate their identity as scholars (Veletsianos, 2012; Kjellberg, 2010; Martindale & Wiley, 2005; Nardi, Schiano, & Gumbrecht, 2004).

However, to be a part of the open scholarship, access to the internet is important.  Digital infrastructure is necessary, which is unavailable in many underdeveloped countries, therefore equal access and online participation are not guaranteed. Many teachers and students lack digital literacy, where technology is made available. Furthermore, cultural elements might restrict an individual’s participation in online networking such as female online participation is not much appreciated by few cultural elements in Pakistan.

Open scholarship is treated as an emergent scholarly phenomenon that is co-evolutionary with technological advancements in the larger culture. 

Neutral

Advancement in technology is creating more complexity among learners and practitioners. The issue of fake news is one of its best examples. We need to teach learners about the proper filtration of online resources.

In my views, open scholarship varies in each context and culture. Example, in Pakistan, academia is not engaged in Open Educational Practices. Few of the reasons are a traditional mindset to receive financial incentive against resource sharing, weak technological infrastructure, lack of digital literacy and awareness about the potentials of open scholarship.

Open scholarship is seen as a practical and effective means for achieving scholarly aims that are socially valuable.

Agree

It has helped many countries such as Africa to gain access to free learning resources, and to network with others for sustenance of knowledge and skills.