JISC RSC YH Exchange News

Managing Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in Digital Learning Materials: A Development Pack for Institutional Repositories

Authors: John Casey, Jackie Proven & David Dripps

Download from:
http://trustdr.ulster.ac.uk/outputs.php

The pack is aimed at those who are setting up or running digital collections of learning materials that are managed at an institutional level. It is written in a clear and straightforward style that sets out to persuade the reader of the benefits of engaging with the issues associated with IPR in e-learning. The approach taken is based on the idea that the organisation of an IPR policy in e-learning should reflect and support the educational activity instead of hinder it – and that means understanding ‘the business of e-learning’. To do this it paints a compelling picture of an educational sector in the process of changing from traditional ad-hoc models of teaching to a more sustainable, team-based model – driven by increased student numbers, a greater focus on learners needs, and increased requirements for flexible delivery with the increasing use of digital media and technologies.

The authors argue strongly that sorting out the IPR policy for e-learning can be a way of getting senior management to engage more effectively with the educational and organisational changes that are needed to make e-learning work. Clarifying IPR policy therefore becomes an enabler for best practice.

The format of the development pack is a central document of about 70 pages linked to other resources; it is designed to allow the reader to dip in and out or to explore themes in greater depth. The pack functions both as a personal training manual and as an organisational development tool, it includes:

• A Beginners guide to IPR in e-learning
• Discussion of the pros and cons of using Creative Commons licences
• Useful tools to help analyse your situation and development needs
• A collection of common IPR mistakes made by institutions
• Overview of the relevant technical factors
• An introduction and guide to Risk Management
• Discussion of the kinds business models associated with the use of creative commons licences
• Understanding and assessing the value of learning materials
• A practical guide to implementing flexible learning (published by the QAA)
• Tools for understanding and modelling organisational and professional change
• Policy discussion and development documents for use at institutional and national levels
• Scenarios/ case studies

The TrustDR (Trust in Digital Repositories) project was charged with developing practical solutions to the problem of managing IPR in collections of digital learning materials. The work was carried out between 2005 and 2007 and was led by Ulster University, Northern Ireland, in collaboration with the UHI Millennium Institute, Scotland. The project website can be found at:
http://trustdr.ulster.ac.uk/