Open Content
Environmental Impact on the World
What is Open Content?
Open content describes a creative work that others can copy or modify. These are defined by the five R's: retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute.
Besides having a social, work-related, and educational impact, open content has many positive environmental effects.
Educational Impacts
Online textbooks and web sites such as Khan Academy, which provides free educational videos for all subjects and grade levels are considered open content because they allow for reuse. This is true of all online classes, which contain all 5 R's. These online courses eliminate printed resources which in turn save trees and prevents factory pollution. It also eliminates pollution by decreasing the amount of times both students and teachers need to drive to school. Maintenance costs are lowered because there would not be as much need for electricity, air conditioning, and heat. In the long run we might not need to build new schools, preventing construction related pollution.
Media Impacts
Media sharing web sites are open content because they possess the traits to retain reuse, redistribute, and remix. Examples of these websites include flickr, pixabay, and stockvalut. They allow users to use images without printing. This saves paper, which in turn saves trees, rain forests, and other natural habitats.
Wiki Impacts
All wikis are examples of open content. Wikis are collaborative web resources for sharing information. They contain all aspects of the five R's. Some examples of wikis include Wikipedia, WikiSpaces, and WikiAnswers. Wikipedia, for example, is a free online encyclopedia that receives billions of views per day, as well as revisions. This allows for textbooks, encyclopedias, or other written resources to be printed, therefore saving trees.
Recreational Impacts
Entertainment can be categorized as open content. For example, a vide online that teaches a new skill is open content. This can range anywhere from workout videos, sports skills, dancing techniques, and hair and makeup tutorials. YouTube is a popular video sharing website. On this site you can find channels such as Blogilates, which uploads Pilates videos you can do at home and Bethany Mota, otherwise known as MacBarbie07, who is a beauty guru. They both receive hundreds of thousands of views per video. These online videos eliminate the need for people to drive to, say, a gym, salon, or make-up counters. This enhances the environment by eliminating gas pollution and roadkill and the need to pave new roads.
Overall
Open content has many positive impacts on the environment. This ranges from the unintentional, such as printing less text books, to the intentional, such as driving less. Open content is shaping a healthier, cleaner environment.
Works Cited
"Defining the 'Open' in Open Content." Open Content. Web. 11 May. 2014.
Hylén, Dr. Jan. "Open Educational Resources: Opportunities and Challenges." N.d.
PDF file.
"Use Open Content." Use Open Content. University of Michgan, 2008. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
Reynolds, Rob. "The Future of Open Learning Content Hinges on Ease of Use."
e-Literate. N.p., 13 Mar. 2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
Dickson, Sydnee. "Utah State Office of Education to Create Open Textbooks." 25
Jan. 2012. PDF file.