Articles:
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Academic Freedom in Online Education
- With Jonathan Rees
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Appeared in Academe: Magazine of the AAUP; © 2021 Jonathan Poritz and Jonathan Rees, released under
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
.
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Last section:
Defending Your Rights
You and your faculty colleagues can take steps now to address these academic freedom issues before they become a problem. Start by making sure that faculty members on your campus have a significant role in selecting the learning management system before a contract is signed (or before it is renewed). Since the selection of an LMS may be the single most important decision affecting all teaching and learning on campus, meaningful faculty involvement should be shared governance 101. If you are able to participate in an LMS contract decision, look at the intellectual property policies. Find out about the degree of customization possible for individual instructors. Ask everyone involved who has access to the day-to-day operations of courses. Set guidelines for when anyone, including information technology staff, can gain access to the work of instructors.
Then enshrine protections in your faculty handbook or collective bargaining agreement. Explicitly extend whatever academic freedom language exists to your colleagues who are teaching entirely online. Protect the right to privacy of all instructors who are using your learning management system. Establish guidelines that spell out under what circumstances materials from inside the LMS can be used in tenure and promotion decisions (such as if the faculty member decides to submit them). Make sure that your handbook clearly supports the academic exception to the works-for-hire copyright doctrine, not only for tenure-line faculty but for all instructional faculty if possible. If your administration refuses to grant contingent faculty the copyrights to their pedagogical materials, as is all too common, it might at least be willing to release all of those materials under a Creative Commons license, to benefit instruction at other institutions and, in the future, at your institution. Perhaps most important, preserve the freedom for faculty to teach using tools outside the LMS or to bypass the LMS entirely.
The traditional prerogatives of faculty members teaching online or using online tools haven’t been tested extensively yet, but at the moment the prospects for the future look bleak on this front. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the popularity of online tools and systems for remote teaching has opened up an opportunity for more unwarranted and centralized supervision of faculty teaching than ever before. As a result, academic freedom is in danger. The extraordinary crises instigated by the pandemic have swamped higher education and made it more difficult to keep up with the threats to academic freedom from countless competing interests. The effects of this particular threat may not be apparent yet, but taking steps now to support every faculty member teaching online could prevent even bigger threats from emerging in the future. - Here is the official version on the AAUP website.
- Here is a local copy: PDF — 246KB
- And here is a post Rees and I made on the AAUP's Academe Blog related to our article:
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Today's Context Demands Use of OER
- Appeared in the Inside Digital Learning newsletter of Inside Higher Ed on 27 February 2019; © 2018 Jonathan A. Poritz [maybe? see Note1, below, for discussion].
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Opening Lines:
Total student debt in the United States stands at approximately \$1.5 trillion — yes, trillion, with a T. It increased by approximately \$37 billion in the third quarter of 2018: that's a quarterly increase by about the endowment of Harvard University or, annualized, by more than the GDP of three-quarters of the nations on Earth.Concluding Lines:
Public institutions of higher education in a majority of U.S. states are funded more — often much more — by tuition than by state support, calling into question the adjective public in that traditional terminology.
Nationally, more than a third of university students, and more than half of those at community colleges, have experienced housing insecurity in the last year and food insecurity in the last month, while 9 percent of university students and 12 percent of community college students were homeless at some point in the last year.
It's not so much that as a society we are eating our seed corn with this treatment of the next generation, it is more that we have set the global climate on fire, skewered our children on pointy sticks and are roasting them like marshmallows.Let me propose four stipulations to replace Casey Green's three:- The cost of higher education imposed on today's students is an almost unimaginable cruelty, and avoiding contributing to this cruelty by using OER is a way faculty can show they have some empathy and understanding of the reality of higher ed today.
- Affordances of OER are known to include both making significant progress in lessening demographic achievement gaps that bedevil higher ed and contributing to open pedagogy, an exciting new movement in education.
- OER (and FLOSS) are free like a free dragon's egg: yes, there is a lot of hard, scary work in the future, but it will be amazing!
- There is little actual reason to believe that commercial textbooks are of higher quality than OER — in fact, there is good evidence that they are not, at least by all reasonable metrics of quality — and to believe this is to have merely blind faith in a form of free-market fundamentalism that doesn't even apply in the failed market of textbooks.
- Here is the official version on the IHE website.
- Here is a local mirror of that official version: PDF — 105K
- And here is the version I prefer, with a different approach to footnotes, etc., also in editable file formats:
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Blockchain Pixie Dust
- Appeared in the Inside Digital Learning newsletter of Inside Higher Ed on 11 September 2018; © 2018 Jonathan A. Poritz [maybe? see Note1, below, for discussion].
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Opening Lines:
One week ago, Inside Higher Ed and "Inside Digital Learning" published the essay "What Every College Leader Should Know About Blockchain," by Daniel Pianko, managing director of the investment firm University Ventures.Concluding Lines:
One of the first commenters on the article, DavidT, complained, "I still don't know what blockchain is."
Let's calm DavidT's demons by describing some of the key features of this much-admired technology. Unfortunately, with understanding comes sadness: there is really is no there there.I used to be optimistic about the eventual outcome of the blockchain bubble. I thought it would soon pop, leaving us all a little poorer (except for a few of the more charismatic charlatans, who would be much richer), but we would at least all be forced to understand public key cryptography and the value of a good PKI.
As time goes on, though, I am getting more pessimistic: I fear putting more of our economy -- and even our educational systems -- "on the blockchain" hardwires an extremist neoliberal worldview into the very code of our society. And, of course, code is law. - Here is the official version on the IHE website.
- Here is a local copy: PDF — 5.8M
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Ivanka's Syllabus
- Appeared in the Inside Digital Learning newsletter of Inside Higher Ed on 11 October 2017; © 2017 Jonathan A. Poritz [maybe? see Note1, below, for discussion].
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Concluding paragraph:
The AAUP has long maintained -- and the success of American higher education gives weight to this assertion -- that instructors' expertise offers unique insight from which they can design curricula to benefit students. This implies that teacher autonomy and control of ed tech should have absolute priority. These examples show the benefits of this approach and the dangers of abandoning it.
- Here is the official version on the IHE website.
- Here is a local copy: PDF — 5.8M
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Academic Governance on the Virtual Shop Floor
- With Jonathan Rees
- Appeared in the May/June 2017 issue of Academe: Magazine of the AAUP; © 2017 American Association of University Professors
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Conclusion:
It is sometimes said that technology is neutral. Whether it is good or evil depends on how it's used. Edward R. Murrow could have been speaking of the Internet and not television when he said:
"This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and even, it can inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise, it's nothing but wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. This weapon of television could be useful."
Had he known about modern information technology, Murrow might have added surveillance to the three adversaries he named in the great battle. Certainly we practitioners must have a share in governing how technology is used in our colleges and universities. We must do the hard work of educating ourselves and our students in how to use this tool for illumination and freedom. Otherwise, as Murrow said at the beginning of that famous speech, "this just might do nobody any good."
Thanks to free software, faculty can even own the means of digital education production if they put their minds to it. While the echoes of Marx and Engels in this suggestion may make some people uncomfortable, faculty taking control of the tools we use in our digital labor is our best bet for preserving our role in academic governance and the quality of education on the emerging virtual academic shop floor. The advantages of choosing this path far outweigh any individual fears of learning how to operate new technologies or in departing from the traditional ways in which some of us have chosen to teach. The only things we have to lose are our virtual chains. At the same time, we have a whole new world to win.
- Here is the official version on the AAUP website.
- Here is a local copy: PDF — 14M
- And here is a post Rees and I made on the AAUP's Academe Blog related to our article:
- The Tenured IT Expert? Technology experts should have the academic freedom to speak on behalf of what's best for education, not just a university's bottom line.
- Appeared in the Views section of Inside Higher Ed on 20 September 2016; © 2016 Jonathan A. Poritz and Jonathan Rees.
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Concluding paragraph:
Without extending tenure to IT professionals, campuses will continue to spend money on expensive commercial IT systems and the inferior ed-tech tools that generally come with them. Moreover, the people who tend those systems will not be the kind of innovative individuals that institutions generally try to hire for positions on their regular faculty. Since IT professionals will play an ever-growing role in educational decision making in our increasingly wired campuses, giving them the same protections as regular faculty members is both economical and logical. To do otherwise is to risk forfeiting all the educational benefits that technology can bring.
- Here is the official version on the IHE website.
- A local copy is here: PDF — 61K
- Open Access to Technology: Shared Governance of the Academy's Virtual Worlds
- Appeared as Journal of Academic Freedom 5 (2014); © 2014 American Association of University Professors
- Abstract:Information technology (IT) — hardware, software, and networks — is enormously important in the daily lives of everyone on college and university campuses. Yet decisions about academic IT are usually made by a small administrative team with almost no faculty input. This can lead to policies and priorities which poorly serve pedagogical and scholarly needs, and is often actually an inversion of the traditional academic division of responsibilities as set out, for example, in the 1966 AAUP Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities.
This essay examines some of the assumptions and traditions behind the IT governance structure currently prevalent on so many campuses and suggest some different perspectives on these issues. These alternative ideas then suggest a new approach — similar to, and in fact supporting, the Open Access movement for scholarly products but centered on the openness of the IT infrastructures themselves of college and universities.
To clarify the foundations of this new model of shared IT governance in academia, this essay states two important new principles: the principle of academic network freedom and the principle of shared academic network governance. These principles can clarify the appropriate roles of the various actors in university governance and give guidance about how to implement new governance models.
- Here is the official version on the AAUP's website.
- A local copy is hosted here: PDF — 544K
- Universal Gates in Other Universes
- Appeared in G.W. Dueck and D.M. Miller (Eds.): RC 2013, LNCS 7948, pp. 155-167; © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
- Abstract:I describe a new formalization for computation which is similar to traditional circuit models but which depends upon the choice of a family of [semi]groups — essentially, a choice of the structure group of the universe of the computation. Choosing the symmetric groups results in the reversible version of classical computation; the unitary groups give quantum computation. Other groups can result in models which are stronger or weaker than the traditional models, or are hybrids of classical and quantum computation.
One particular example, built out of the semigroup of doubly stochastic matrices, yields classical but probabilistic computation, helping explain why probabilistic computation can be so fast. Another example is a smaller and entirely $\RR$eal version of the quantum one which uses a (real) rotation matrix in place of the (complex, unitary) Hadamard gate to create algorithms which are exponentially faster than classical ones.
I also articulate a conjecture which would help explain the different powers of these different types of computation, and point to many new avenues of investigation permitted by this model.
- The final publication is available at link.springer.com
- Here is my personal version: PDF — 256K
- Sharing the Power Over, and the Responsibility for, Information Technology Decisions in Academia
- Presented at the October AAUP Shared Governance Conference
- © 2016 Jonathan A. Poritz
- Abstract:Information technology (IT) — hardware, software, and networks — is enormously important in the daily lives of everyone on university campuses. Yet decisions about academic IT are usually made by a small administrative team with almost no faculty input. This can lead to policies and priorities which poorly serve pedagogical and scholarly needs, and is a clear violation of the AAUP Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities, hence violating academic freedom. I propose here a different model of shared IT governance in academia and suggest that the first step towards realizing this new model is for faculty to educate itself a little about real IT alternatives.
- Here (PDF — 192K) is the version I shared at the conference.
- Information Technology Wants to Be Free
- Appeared in the September/October 2012 issue of Academe: Magazine of the AAUP; the AAUP released it under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US licence
- Abstract:The free-software and open-source communities, dedicated to the open exchange of research and to the idea that knowledge is a public good, are the natural allies of academic faculty.
- This is the official web version.
- While this is the official version as it appeared in print.
- And here are two guest posts I made on the AAUP's Academe Blog related to my article:
- And here is a version with my own typesetting, more graphics, and an extra paragraph of text: PDF — 820K
- On entropy-preserving stochastic averages
- With Alan Poritz
- Appeared as Linear Algebra and Its Applications 434(6) 1425-1443 (2010); © 2010 Elsevier Inc
- Abstract:When an $n\times n$ doubly stochastic matrix $A$ acts on $\RR^n$ on the left as a linear transformation and $P$ is an $n$-long probability vector, we refer to the new probability vector $AP$ as the stochastic average of the pair $(A,P)$. Let $\boldsymbol{\Gamma}_n$ denote the set of pairs $(A,P)$ whose stochastic average preserves the entropy of $P$: $H(AP)=H(P)$. $\boldsymbol{\Gamma}_n$ is a subset of $\mathbf{B}_n\times\boldsymbol{\Sigma}_n$ where $\mathbf{B}_n$ is the Birkhoff polytope and $\boldsymbol{\Sigma}_n$ is the probability simplex.
We characterize $\boldsymbol{\Gamma}_n$ and determine its geometry, topology, and combinatorial structure. For example, we find that $(A,P)\in\boldsymbol{\Gamma}_n$ if and only if $A^tAP=P$. We show that for any $n$, $\boldsymbol{\Gamma}_n$ is a connected set, and is in fact piecewise-linearly contractible in $\mathbf{B}_n\times\boldsymbol{\Sigma}_n$. We exhibit two finite decompositions of $\boldsymbol{\Gamma}_n$. We derive the geometry of the fibers $(A,\cdot)$ and $(\cdot,P)$ of $\boldsymbol{\Gamma}_n$. $\boldsymbol{\Gamma}_3$ is worked out in detail. Our analysis exploits the convexity of $x\log x$ and the structure of an efficiently computable bipartite graph that we associate to each ds-matrix. This graph also lets us represent such a matrix in a permutation-equivalent, block diagonal form where each block is doubly stochastic and fully indecomposable.
- The definitive version is available at LAA's web site or through the doi:10.1016/j.laa.2010.10.014
- The text of the following is the corrected, final (published) version,
however without the journal's formatting:
PDF — 256K
- Who searches the searchers? community privacy in the age of monolithic search engines
- Appeared as The Information Society 23(5) 383-389 (2007); © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
- Abstract:Privacy has largely been equated with every individual's right to privacy. Accordingly, current efforts to protect privacy on the Internet have sought anonymity by breaking, where possible, links with personally identifiable information (PII) — all uses of aggregated data stripped of PII are considered legitimate. This article argues that we need to use a broader concept, general or group identifying information (GII), because even aggregated data stripped of PII violate privacy at the community level. The search engine companies, or anyone else with access to their log files, can use these data to generate a moment-by-moment view of what is on the collective mind. Such a view can be used in a variety of ways, some with deep economic and even political impact. In order to frame this discussion, it is necessary to examine some of the realities of the search engine-mediated associative interface to the World Wide Web. While this interface has enormous benefits for the networked world, it also fundamentally changes a number of issues underlying various current debates about Internet governance.
- PDF — 184K
- Intrusion-Tolerant Middleware: The Road to Automatic Security
- With Christian Cachin, Yves Deswarte, Nuno Neves, David Powell, Robert Stroud, Paulo Verissimo, and Ian Welch
- Appeared as IEEE Security & Privacy 4 (2006) 54-62; © 2006 IEEE
- Abstract:The pervasive interconnection of systems throughout the world has given computer services a significant socioeconomic value that both accidental faults and malicious activity can affect. The classical approach to security has mostly consisted of trying to prevent bad things from happening–by developing systems without vulnerabilities, for example, or by detecting attacks and intrusions and deploying ad hoc countermeasures before any part of the system is damaged. But what if we could address both faults and attacks in a seamless manner, through a common approach to security and dependability? This is the proposal of intrusion tolerance, which assumes that
- systems remain somewhat faulty or vulnerable;
- attacks on components will sometimes be successful; and
- automatic mechanisms ensure that the overall system nevertheless remains secure and operational.
- ps.gz — 660K
- PDF — 172K
- Trust[ed| in] computing, signed code, and the heat death of the Internet
- Appeared at the 2nd ACM SAC TRECK Track, April 2006. © ACM, (2006)
- Abstract:The Trusted Computing Group (TCG) is an industry consortium which has invested in the design of a small piece of hardware (roughly a smartcard), called a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), and associated APIs and protocols which are supposed to help increase the reliability of TPM-endowed computing platforms (trusted platforms). The TCG envisions that boot loaders, OSes and applications programs on trusted platforms will all collaborate in building a cryptographic hash chain which represents the current execution state of the platform, and which resides on the TPM. Remote sites can then verify that the platform in question is ``in a trusted state'' by requesting the TPM to produce a signed data blob containing the value of this hash chain, which can then be compared against a library of recognized (``trusted'') values; this process is called remote attestation, and the whole picture is sometimes referred to as integrity-based computing (IBC).
We argue that there is a fundamental gap between the stated goals of the TCG's IBC and the central technology that is intended to achieve these goals, which gap is simply that remote attestation asks the attesting platform to answer the wrong question — the platform is not attesting to its security state, but rather to its execution state, and this underlies all of the troublesome use cases, as well as a number of the practical difficulties, of the TCG world-view. One response to this is to replace standard TCG attestation with property-based attestation (PBA), which places the emphasis on deriving security properties from (potentially) elaborate trust models and conditional statements of security property dependencies. Herein the central rôle for IBC of trust and deriving consequences from precise trust models becomes clear.
Finally, we claim that the TCG's own remote attestation is most properly viewed in fact as a form of PBA, with a certain simple trust model and database of security properties. From this point of view, it becomes clear that IBC can have a much less restrictive range of applications than envisioned merely by the TCG. In fact, with the right ``trust infrastructure'' and sufficiently open software using and relying upon this infrastructure, IBC could actually realize some of the portentous early promises of the TCG for truly increasing the reliability of individual users' platforms and pushing back the apocalyptic rise of malware, especially if platforms and OSes virtualize and enforce some kind of signed code contracts.
- This (ps.gz — 88K; PDF — 92K) is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of ACM for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive version is published by the ACM.
- Hash woes
- With Morton Swimmer
- Appeared as Virus Bulletin October, 2004, 14-16; © 2004 Virus Bulletin, Ltd.
- Abstract:In a rump session of the August 2004 Crypto conference, where attendees have the chance to give informal (non-refereed) presentations of works in progress, a group of Chinese researchers demonstrated flaws in a whole set of hash functions and the entire crypto community was abuzz. In this article, we will clarify the situation and draw lessons from this incident.
- PDF — 432K
- Secure intrusion-tolerant replication on the Internet
- With Christian Cachin
- Appeared in Proceedings of the International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks (DSN-2002) (2002) 167-176; © 2002 IEEE
- Abstract:This paper describes a Secure INtrusion-Tolerant Replication Architecture (SINTRA) for coordination in asynchronous networks subject to Byzantine faults. SINTRA supplies a number of group communication primitives, such as binary and multi-valued Byzantine agreement, reliable and consistent broadcast, and an atomic broadcast channel. Atomic broadcast immediately provides secure state-machine replication. The protocols are designed for an asynchronous wide-area network, such as the Internet, where messages may be delayed indefinitely, the servers do not have access to a common clock, and up to one third of the servers may fail in potentially malicious ways. Security is achieved through the use of threshold public-key cryptography, in particular through a cryptographic common coin based on the Diffie-Hellman problem that underlies the randomized protocols in SINTRA. The implementation of SINTRA in Java is described and timing measurements are given for a test-bed of servers distributed over three continents. They show that extensive use of public-key cryptography does not impose a large overhead for coordination in wide-area networks.
- ps.gz — 76K
- PDF — 168K
- Social preferences and price cap regulation
- With Alberto Iozzi and Edilio Valentini
- Appeared as Journal of Public Economic Theory 4 (2002) 93-112; © 2002 Blackwell Publishers
- The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com
- Abstract:This paper analyses the allocative properties of price cap regulation under a very general hypothesis on the nature of society's preferences. We propose a generalised form of price cap formula (GPC) and we show that it ensures the convergence to optimal (second best) prices in the long-run equilibrium for virtually any form of the welfare function. In particular, we show that the GPC guarantees that the social welfare increases over time and converges to a long run equilibrium value which is socially optimal, given the level of profits obtained by the regulated firm in equilibrium. Hence, the result of the convergence to Ramsey prices of Laspeyres-type price cap regulation is a particular instance of our more general result. The generalisation of the price cap mechanism we propose does not substantially alter the simplicity typical of traditional price cap schemes nor does it impose much higher informational requirements on the regulator's side. To substantiate this argument, we provide an explicit and relatively easy to calculate and implement price cap formula for a distributionally weighted utilitarian welfare functions, as proposed by Feldstein (1972a).
- ps.gz — 242K
- PDF — 127K
- Around polygons in $\RR^3$ and $S^3$
- With John J. Millson
- Appeared as Communications in Mathematical Physics 218 (2001) 315-331; © 2001 Springer-Verlag
- The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com
- Abstract:We survey certain moduli spaces in low dimensions and some of the geometric structures that they carry, and then construct identifications among all of these spaces. In particular, we identify the moduli spaces of polygons in $\RR^3$ and $S^3$, the moduli space of restricted representations of the fundamental group of a punctured 2-sphere, the moduli space of flat connections on a punctured sphere, the moduli space of parabolic bundles on a sphere, the moduli space of weighted points on $\CC\PP^1$ and the symplectic quotient of $SO(3)$ acting diagonally on $(S^2)^n$. All of these spaces depend upon parameters and some of the above identifications require the parameters to be small. One consequence of this work is that these spaces are all biholomorphic with respect to the most natural complex structures they can each be given.
- ps.gz — 119K
- PDF — 143K
- The moduli space of boundary compactifications of $SL(2,\RR)$
- With Alessandra Iozzi
- Appeared as Geometriae Dedicata 76 (1999) 65-79; © 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers
- The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com
- Abstract:In an earlier paper, the authors introduced the notion of a boundary compactification of $SL(2,\RR)$ and $SL(2,\CC)$, a normal projective embedding of $PSL_2$ arising as the Zariski closure of an orbit in $(\PP^1)^n$ under the diagonal action of $SL_2$. Here the moduli space of such boundary compactifications of $SL(2,\RR)$ is shown to be a contractible hyperbolic orbifold, by using the Schwarz-Christoffel transformation to identify it with a quotient of the moduli space of equi-angular planar polygons.
- ps.gz — 527K
- PDF — 546K
- Boundary compactifications of $SL(2,\RR)$ and $SL(2,\CC)$
- With Alessandra Iozzi
- Appeared as Forum Mathematicum 11 (1999) 385-397; © 1999 de Gruyter
- Abstract:We construct a class of normal projective embeddings of $PSL(2,k)$, for $k=\RR$ and $\CC$, which we call boundary compactifications of $SL(2,k)$. These arise essentially as the Zariski closures of orbits in $(\PP^1_k)^n$ under the diagonal action of $SL(2,k)$. In addition, we determine precisely when our examples can be $SL(2,k)$-homeomorphic, showing that the resulting deformation space is a countable union of positive-dimensional families.
- ps.gz — 176K
- PDF — 153K
- Ford and Dirichlet domains for cyclic subgroups of $PSL(2,\CC)$ acting on $H^3_\RR$ and $\partial H^3_\RR$
- With Todd Drumm
- First published in Conformal Geometry and Dynamics 3 (1999) 116-150; © 1999 American Mathematical Society
- Electronic version available at the AMS web site — check it out, it's interactive!
- Abstract:Let $\Gamma$ be a cyclic subgroup of $PSL_2(\CC)$ generated by a loxodromic element. The Ford and Dirichlet fundamental domains for the action of $\Gamma$ on $\HH^3_\RR$ are the complements of configurations of half-balls centered on the plane at infinity $\partial\HH^3_\RR$. Jørgensen (On cyclic groups of Möbius transformations, Math. Scand. 33 (1973), 250-260) proved that the boundary of the intersection of the Ford fundamental domain with $\partial\HH^3_\RR$ always consists of either two, four or six circular arcs and stated that an arbitrarily large number of hemispheres could contribute faces to the Ford domain in the interior of $\HH^3_\RR$. We give new proofs of Jørgensen's results, prove analogous facts for Dirichlet domains and for Ford and Dirichlet domains in the interior of $\HH^3_\RR$, and give a complete decomposition of the parameter space by the combinatorial type of the corresponding fundamental domain.
- ps.gz — 3812K
- PDF — 651K
- Parabolic vector bundles and Hermitian-Yang-Mills connections over a Riemann surface
- Appeared as International Journal of Mathematics 4 (1993) 467-501; © 1993 World Scientific Publishing Company
- Abstract:We study a certain moduli space of irreducible Hermitian-Yang-Mills connections on a unitary vector bundle over a punctured Riemann surface. The connections used have non-trivial holonomy around the punctures lying in fixed conjugacy classes of $U(n)$ and differ from each other by elements of a weighted Sobolev space; these connections give rise to parabolic bundles in the sense of Mehta and Seshadri. We show in fact that the moduli space of stable parabolic bundles can be identified with our moduli space of HYM connections, by proving that every stable bundle admits a unique unitary gauge orbit of Hermitian-Yang-Mills connections.
- Here is an electronic version of an article with doi:10.1142/S0129167X9300025X
- dvi.gz — 72K
- ps.gz — 129K
Books
- Open Workbook of Cryptology: A project-based introduction to crypto in Python
- Available for download and remix, under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. First used for CIS 491: Special Topics at Colorado State University-Pueblo in the spring of 2021.
- pdf — 984KB
- here is the source code
- Release Notes
This is a first draft of a free (as in speech, not as in beer, [Sta02]) (although it is free as in beer as well) textbook for a one-semester, undergraduate cryptology course. It was used for CIS 491 at Colorado State University Pueblo in the spring semester of 2021.
It's not clear that any other instructor would feel comfortable using this version, without a lot of adaptation. In fact, I usually find that when I write an open textbook like this one, during the semester in which I am teaching the class, what results is a little rough and has a few real gaps. After another semester teaching with this book, the second version (which could well be twice as long!) will likely be much easier to use by others.
Nevertheless, in the spirit of openness, I'm sharing this first draft as well: if you want to use it for self-study or in a class you are teaching, feel free to do so — just makes sure your seatbelt is fastened, as the ride might be a little bumpy at times. [That said, if you do use this and find typos, thinkos, or other issues, I would be grateful if you would tell me about them!]
I am releasing this work under a Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
license, which allows anyone who is interested to
share (copy and redistribute in any medium or
format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build
upon this work for any purpose, even commercially). These rights
cannot be revoked, so long as users follow the license terms,
which require attribution (giving appropriate
credit, linking to the license, and indicating if changes were
made) to be given and share-alike (if you remix
or transform this work, you must distribute your contributions
under the same license as this one) to be respected. See
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 for all the details.
This version: 15 May 2021 14:27MDT.
Jonathan A. Poritz
Spring Semester, 2021
Pueblo, CO, USA
- ContentsRelease Notes
Preface
Chapter 1. Preliminaries
1.1 Some speculative history
1.2 The Caesar cipher and its variants
1.2.1 Keys only matter "mod 26"
1.2.2 Modernizing the Caesar cipher
1.3 Cryptanalysis of the Caesar cipher
1.3.1 Frequency analysis
1.4 Defending Caesar against frequency analysis: Vigenère and the one-time pad
1.5 Preliminary conclusion of preliminaries
Chapter 2. Block Ciphers
2.1 Why encrypt blocks of data: Shannon's confusion and diffusion
2.2 Encrypting a block at a time with AES
2.3 Encrypting more or less than a block with a block cipher
2.3.1 Very small messages need some padding
2.3.2 Larger messages require block chaining
2.4 Some concluding observations for block ciphers
Chapter 3. Asymmetric [Public-Key] Cryptosystems
3.1 Symmetric, asymmetric, and salty cryptosystems: basics
3.2 Using the RSA asymmetric cryptosystem in Python
3.2.1 Straightforward — not completely secure! — RSA in Python
3.2.2 More secure RSA in Python using OAEP and PKCS #1
3.2.3 How to use RSA in a way that is both fast and secure
3.3 Digital Signatures
3.3.1 Naive digital signatures
3.3.2 Better digital signatures using hash functions
3.4 Key management and the need for a robust PKI
3.5 Conclusions; consider the blockchain
Bibliography
Index
-
Preface
Many children want to keep secrets.
Lovers on opposite sides of the globe want to whisper sweet nothings to each other over an international telephone system whose wires and fiber optic cables run under neighborhoods, city streets, fields, and forests, or over mountain passes and on deep sea beds.
Continent-spanning empires need to store secrets and issue commands to distant government agents and agencies which cannot be modified in transit from the imperial center to its far-flung agents.
Consumers want to buy goods from merchants in other time zones, giving their credit card numbers to those merchants in messages over the open Internet — which is, without some system for hiding the contents of those messages, about as safe as writing them on the sides of long-haul trucks as they go by on the highway.
Everyone needs a little cryptology.
The problem with crypto (as we shall call cryptology in this book) is that it has a reputation of being very hard and mysterious, as well as very easy to get wrong. While there are aspects of crypto that are connected to quite modern and complex theories — such as number theory, an old and deep branch of mathematics; complexity theory, a new(er) and subtle branch of computer science; and even quantum computation, a quite new wrinkle on a 100 year-old version of physics which is famously counter-intuitive — that are not particularly friendly to the novice, much of the over-all framing of crypto is perfectly easy to comprehend and to use.
We contend, further, that this straightforward comprehension of the important basics of cryptology is most easily acquired by actually working with cryptographic primitives, by doing actual coding projects to implement, or use others' implementations of, basic cryptographic ideas.
That is the subject of this book.
This version uses Python and some standard cryptographic libraries in Python to explore these cryptological ideas. It should be accessible to students with a solid basic comfort level with Python — but could also be used as a way to solidify Python knowledge in more beginning users of that language, particularly if those beginners had a friendly instructor or peers with whom to collaborate.
- Creative Commons Certificate for Educators and for Librarians: The Audiobook
- A reading of the Creative Commons Certificate course materials, released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (as were the originals).
- Here is a page with individual audio files for each section of the book. Or here are three versions of the entire book:
-
The reading is actually from a PressBooks port of the course materials,
which, unlike the original course materials, had the following
PrefaceThis PressBooks port of the Creative Commons Certificate course materials was created by Jonathan Poritz in December of 2019 and updated in May of 2020. It is based on the materials from iterations of the course offerings in Canvas from that period, including the most recent version as used in June, 2020.
The CC Certificate course, which involves a (mandatory) group discussion board, several assignments, and a final project, all graded by a trained facilitator, results in a Certificate of Mastery of Open Licensing issued by the Creative Commons organization. For those who cannot take the official course, it is hoped that this version of the course content may be useful for self- or group-study. In the spirit of using it in that way, the discussion topics and assignment statements from the original course are here re-stated as prompts for individual or group work.
Attribution Information:Here are the the original Creative Commons Certificate course materials, which were released by Creative Commons under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Except for the above-mentioned rephrasing of discussions and assignments (and probably fewer than a dozen small changes in wording, punctuation, or layout), this port should be merely a format shift of the original, and therefore constitutes a copy in the sense of copyright law [footnote: For more on how something which looks a little different and has a few changed words should be thought of as "just a copy," in the sense of the law ... see the material in this course, below!]. Note that some images and videos in the original, which are reproduced and/or linked here, are not the works of the Creative Commons nor necessarily under a CC BY 4.0 license; in such cases, the original materials have the appropriate attributions, also reproduced here. All other materials, including images, should be presumed to be part of the original, with one exception: audio files attached to this version are new recordings. To the extent that those audio performances of this (CC-licensed) material have a performance copyright, the audio performer (Jonathan Poritz) hereby releases them under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
-
Contents
Preface (2:30)
Introduction (1:30)
Unit 1: What is Creative Commons (35:05)
Preamble to Unit 1 (1:39)
Section 1.1: The Story of Creative Commons (9:55)
Section 1.2: Creative Commons Today (17:03)
Unit 1 Additional Resources (3:28)
Unit 1 Group Discussion (3:28)
Unit 1 Project: What is Creative Commons (3:53)
Unit 2: Copyright Law (1:09:12)
Preamble to Unit 2 (1:51)
Section 2.1: Copyright Basics (31:37)
Section 2.2: Global Aspects of Copyright (7:17)
Unit 2 First Group Discussion: The Purpose of Copyright (1:28)
Section 2.3: The Public Domain (8:04)
Section 2.4: Exceptions and Limitations to Copyright (8:35)
Unit 2 Additional Resources (7:56)
Unit 2 Second Group Discussion: Copyright and Creativity (1:20)
Unit 2 Project: Copyright Law (3:28)
Unit 3: Unit 3: Anatomy of a CC License (44:07)
Preamble to Unit 3 (1:26)
Section 3.1: License Design and Terminology (8:37)
Section 3.2: License Scope (8:57)
Unit 3 First Group Discussion: Creative Commons and Copyright (0:53)
Section 3.3: License Types (10:17)
Section 3.4: License Enforceability (11:02)
Unit 3 Additional Resources (2:00)
Unit 3 Second Group Discussion: NC and SA (0:56)
Unit 3 Project: Anatomy of a CC License (2:27)
Unit 4: Using CC Licenses and CC Licensed Works (55:38)
Preamble to Unit 4 (1:16)
Section 4.1: Choosing and Applying a CC License (12:09)
Section 4.2: Things to Consider after CC-Licensing (13:56)
Unit 4 First Group Discussion: Ways to stay connected (1:29)
Section 4.3: Finding and Reusing CC-Licensed Work (5:34)
Section 4.4: Remixing CC-Licensed Work (13:17)
Unit 4 Additional Resources (5:46)
Unit 3 Second Group Discussion: ND (1:07)
Unit 4 Project: Using CC Licenses and CC-Licensed Works (3:29)
Unit 5E: CC for Educators (1:19:37)
Preamble to Unit 5E (2:11)
Section 5E.1: OER, Open Textbooks, and Open Courses (22:28)
Section 5E.2: Finding, Evaluating, and Adapting Resources (14:14)
Section 5E.3: Creating and Sharing OER (18:05)
Unit 5E Group Discussion: The Role of Free Resources (1:03)
Section 5E.4: Open Pedagogy / Practices (7:24)
Section 5E.5: Opening Up Your Institution (7:22)
Unit 5E Additional Resources (5:24)
Unit 5E Project: Creative Commons for Educators (3:51)
Unit 5L: CC for Librarians (1:34:29)
Preamble to Unit 5L (1:45)
Section 5L.1: Open Access to Scholarship (29:44)
Section 5L.2: OER, Open Textbooks, and Open Courses (17:10)
Section 5L.3: Finding, Evaluating, and Adapting Resources (15:03)
Unit 5L Group Discussion: The Role of Free Resources (1:04)
Section 5L.4: Creating and Sharing OER (17:27)
Section 5L.5: Opening Up Your Institution (7:22)
Unit 5L Additional Resources (5:09)
Unit 5L Project: Creative Commons for Librarians (2:08)
- Lies, Damned Lies, or Statistics: How to Tell the Truth with Statistics
- Available for download and remix, under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. First used for Math 156: Introduction to Statistics at Colorado State University-Pueblo in the spring of 2017.
- pdf — 1.8MB
- here is the source code
- Release Notes
This is a first draft of a free (as in speech, not as in beer, [Sta02]) (although it is free as in beer as well) textbook for a one-semester, undergraduate statistics course. It was used for Math 156 at Colorado State University-Pueblo in the spring semester of 2017.
Thanks are hereby offered to the students in that class who offered many useful suggestions and found numerous typos. In particular, Julie Berogan has an eagle eye, and found a nearly uncountably infinite number of mistakes, both small and large — thank you!
This work is released under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license, which allows anyone who is interested to share (copy and redistribute in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon this work for any purpose, even commercially). These rights cannot be revoked, so long as users follow the license terms, which require attribution (giving appropriate credit, linking to the license, and indicating if changes were made) to be given and share-alike (if you remix or transform this work, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as this one) imposed. See creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 for all the details.
This version: 13 May 2017 23:04MDT.
Jonathan A. Poritz
Spring Semester, 2017
Pueblo, CO, USA
- ContentsRelease Notes
Preface
Part 1. Descriptive Statistics
Chapter 1. One-Variable Statistics: Basics
1.1 Terminology: Individuals/Population/Variables/Samples
1.2 Visual Representation of Data, I: Categorical Variables
1.2.1 Bar Charts I: Frequency Charts
1.2.2 Bar Charts II: Relative Frequency Charts
1.2.3 Bar Charts III: Cautions
1.2.4 Pie Charts
1.3 Visual Representation of Data, II: Quantitative Variables
1.3.1 Stem-and-leaf Plots
1.3.2 [Frequency] Histograms
1.3.3 [Relative Frequency] Histograms
1.3.4 How to Talk About Histograms
1.4 Numerical Descriptions of Data, I: Measures of the Center
1.4.1 Mode
1.4.2 Mean
1.4.3 Median
1.4.4 Strengths and Weaknesses of These Measures of Central Tendency
1.5 Numerical Descriptions of Data, II: Measures of Spread
1.5.1 Range
1.5.2 Quartiles and the IQR
1.5.3 Variance and Standard Deviation
1.5.4 Strengths and Weaknesses of These Measures of Spread
1.5.5 A Formal Definition of Outliers – the 1.5 IQR Rule
1.5.6 The Five-Number Summary and Boxplots
Exercises
Chapter 2. Bi-variate Statistics: Basics
2.1 Terminology: Explanatory/Response or Independent/Dependent
2.2 Scatterplots
2.3 Correlation
Exercises
Chapter 3. Linear Regression
3.1 The Least Squares Regression Line
3.2 Applications and Interpretations of LSRLs
3.3 Cautions
3.3.1 Sensitivity to Outliers
3.3.2 Causation
3.3.3 Extrapolation
3.3.4 Simpson's Paradox
Exercises
Part 2. Good Data
Chapter 4. Probability Theory
4.1 Definitions for Probability
4.1.1 Sample Spaces, Set Operations, and Probability Models
4.1.2 Venn Diagrams
4.1.3 Finite Probability Models
4.2 Conditional Probability
4.3 Random Variables
4.3.1 Definition and First Examples
4.3.2 Distributions for Discrete RVs
4.3.3 Expectation for Discrete RVs
4.3.4 Density Functions for Continuous RVs
4.3.5 The Normal Distribution
Exercises
Chapter 5. Bringing Home the Data
5.1 Studies of a Population Parameter
5.2 Studies of Causality
5.2.1 Control Groups
5.2.2 Human-Subject Experiments: The Placebo Effect
5.2.3 Blinding
5.2.4 Combining it all: RCTs
5.2.5 Confounded Lurking Variables
5.3 Experimental Ethics
5.3.1 "Do No Harm"
5.3.2 Informed Consent
5.3.3 Confidentiality
5.3.4 External Oversight [IRB]
Exercises
Part 3. Inferential Statistics
Chapter 6. Basic Inferences
6.1 The Central Limit Theorem
6.2 Basic Confidence Intervals
6.2.1 Cautions
6.3 Basic Hypothesis Testing
6.3.1 The Formal Steps of Hypothesis Testing
6.3.2 How Small is Small Enough, for p-values?
6.3.3 Calculations for Hypothesis Testing of Population Means
6.3.4 Cautions
Exercises
Bibliography
Index
- Preface
Mark Twain's autobiography [TNA10] modestly questions his own reporting of the numbers of hours per day he sat down to write, and of the number of words he wrote in that time, saying
Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force:
[emphasis added]
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." Here Twain gives credit for this pithy tripartite classification of lies to Benjamin Disraeli, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1868 (under Queen Victoria), although modern scholars find no evidence that Disraeli was the actual originator of the phrase. But whoever actually deserves credit for the phrase, it does seem that statistics are often used to conceal the truth, rather than to reveal it. So much so, for example, that the wonderful book How to Lie with Statistics [Huf93], by Darrell Huff, gives many, many examples of misused statistics, and yet merely scratches the surface.
We contend, however, that statistics are not a type of lie, but rather, when used carefully, are an alternative to lying. For this reason, we use "or" in the title of this book, where Twain/Disraeli used "and," to underline how we are thinking of statistics, correctly applied, as standing in opposition to lies and damned lies.
But why use such a complicated method of telling the truth as statistics, rather than, say, telling a good story or painting a moving picture? The answer, we believe, is simply that there are many concrete, specific questions that humans have about the world which are best answered by carefully collecting some data and using a modest amount of mathematics and a fair bit of logic to analyze them. The thing about the Scientific Method is that it just seems to work. So why not learn how to use it?
Learning better techniques of critical thinking seems particularly important at this moment of history when our politics in the United States (and elsewhere) are so divisive, and different parties cannot agree about the most basic facts. A lot of commentators from all parts of the political spectrum have speculated about the impact of so-called fake news on the outcomes of recent recent elections and other political debates. It is therefore the goal of this book to help you learn How to Tell the Truth with Statistics and, therefore, how to tell when others are telling the truth ... or are faking their "news."
- Education is Not an App: The future of university teaching in the Internet age
- With Jonathan Rees, colleague, historian, and author of the marvelous blog More or Less Bunk. [And, coincidentally, fellow graduate of Princeton High School.]
- Publisher's Description:Whilst much has been written about the doors that technology can open for students, less has been said about its impact on teachers and professors. Although technology undoubtedly brings with it huge opportunities within higher education, there is also the fear that it will have a negative effect both on faculty and on teaching standards.
Education Is Not an App offers a bold and provocative analysis of the economic context within which educational technology is being implemented, not least the financial problems currently facing higher education institutions around the world. The book emphasizes the issue of control as being a key factor in whether educational technology is used for good or bad purposes, arguing that technology has great potential if placed in caring hands. Whilst it is a guide to the newest developments in education technology, it is also a book for those faculty, technology professionals, and higher education policy-makers who want to understand the economic and pedagogical impact of technology on professors and students. It advocates a path into the future based on faculty autonomy, shared governance, and concentration on the university's traditional role of promoting the common good.
Offering the first critical, in-depth assessment of the political economy of education technology, this book will serve as an invaluable guide to concerned faculty, as well as to anyone with an interest in the future of higher education.
- ISBN-13: 9781138910416 ISBN-10: 1138910414
- Pubished by Routledge in August of 2016, in the series Economics in the Real World.
- © 2016 Jonathan A. Poritz and Jonathan Rees
- Available
- Here is a blog post we wrote for Routledge's website related to our book:
- ContentsPreface
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Online Education: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Chapter 3. MOOCs
Chapter 4. Free/Libre/Open-Source Edtech
Chapter 5. Unbundling
Chapter 6. Electronic Taylorism
Chapter 7. Social Media in the Classroom and Out
Chapter 8. The Zero-Marginal-Cost Education
Chapter 9. Conclusion: Higher Education in a Digital Age
Appendix: Jonathans' Laws
Bibliography
Index
- Yet Another Introductory Number Theory Textbook (Cryptology Emphasis Version)
[Please note: what follows is information about the first version of this book. A more current version is in the process of being written, the PDF of this new version is available, and whose source files will be posted probably in August of 2015; come back then if you want the recent version in a form you can modify yourself.]- Available for download and remix, under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. First used for Math 319: Number Theory at Colorado State University-Pueblo in the spring of 2014.
- pdf — 864K
- here is the source code
- You can buy a physical copy, if that's your thing, from the on-demand printing service Lulu at this link for \$6 (plus shipping and handling). [I make 61¢ profit for each such sale: I'm happy to reimburse you that amount if you will personally contact me.]
-
PrefaceThis is a first draft of a free (as in speech, not as in beer) (although it is free as in beer as well) undergraduate number theory textbook. It was used for Math 319 at Colorado State University – Pueblo in the spring semester of 2014. Thanks are hereby offered to the students in that class — Megan Bissell, Tennille Candelaria, Ariana Carlyle, Michael Degraw, Daniel Fisher, Aaron Griffin, Lindsay Harder, Graham Harper, Helen Huang, Daniel Nichols, and Arika Waldrep — who offered many useful suggestions and found numerous typos. I am also grateful to the students in my Math 242 Introduction to Mathematical Programming class in that same spring semester of 2014 — Stephen Ciruli, Jamen Cox, Graham Harper, Joel Kienitz, Matthew Klamm, Christopher Martin, Corey Sullinger, James Todd, and Shelby Whalen — whose various programming projects produced code that I adapted to make some of the figures and examples in the text.
The author gratefully acknowledges the work An Introductory Course in Elementary Number Theory by Wissam Raji [see www.saylor.org/books/] from which this was initially adapted. Raji's text was released under the Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license, see creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0. This work is instead released under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license, see creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. (The difference is that if you build future works off of this one, you must also release your derivative works with a license that allows further remixes over which you have no control.)
This version: 7 May 2014 11:04MDT. Note this text will be frequently updated and improved as the author has time, particularly during and immediately after semesters in which it is being used in a class. Therefore please check back often to the website, which is www.poritz.net/jonathan/share/yaintt/.
This work is dedicated to my insanely hardworking colleagues at Colorado State University – Pueblo whose dedication to their students, their scholarship, and their communities is an inspiration. While I was working on the first version of this book, those colleagues stood up to some of the most benighted, ignorant administrative nonsense I have seen in the more than thirty years I have been involved in higher education. As MLK said, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." — It is selfless, intelligent, hard work like yours that is doing the bending.
Jonathan A. Poritz; 7 May 2014; Pueblo, Colorado, USA
- Release NotesThis version of YAINTT has a particular emphasis on connections to cryptology. The cryptologic material appears in Chapter 4 and §§5.5 and 5.6, arising naturally (I hope) out of the ambient number theory. The main cryptologic applications — being the RSA cryptosystem, Diffie-Hellman key exchange, and the ElGamal cryptosystem — come out so naturally from considerations of Euler's Theorem, primitive roots, and indices that it renders quite ironic G.H. Hardy's assertion of the purity and eternal inapplicability of number theory.
Note, however, that once we broach the subject of these cryptologic algorithms, we take the time to make careful definitions for many cryptological concepts and to develop some related ideas of cryptology which have much more tenuous connections to the topic of number theory. This material therefore has something of a different flavor from the rest of the text — as is true of all scholarly work in cryptology (indeed, perhaps in all of computer science), which is clearly a discipline with a different culture from that of "pure" mathematics. Obviously, these sections could be skipped by an uninterested reader, or remixed away by an instructor for her own particular class approach.
Caution: In
good Bourbaki [A fictional mathematician and
author of many (non-fictional — they really exist) fine
mathematics texts, such as [Bou04]] style, where
this symbol appears in the text below, it indicates a place where
the reasoning is intricate and difficult to follow, or calls
attention to a common misinterpretation of some point.
This version, in PDF form, can be found at
https://www.poritz.net/jonathan/share/yaintt.pdf
while all the files to create custom versions can be found at
https://www.poritz.net/jonathan/share/yaintt/
— have fun with it, that's the point of the Creative Commons! - ContentsPreface
Release Notes
Chapter 1. Well-Ordering and Division
1.1 The Well-Ordering Principle and Mathematical Induction
1.2 Algebraic Operations with Integers
1.3 Divisibility and the Division Algorithm
1.4 Representations of Integers in Different Bases
1.5 The Greatest Common Divisor
1.6 The Euclidean Algorithm
Chapter 2. Congruences
2.1 Introduction to Congruences
2.2 Linear Congruences
2.3 The Chinese Remainder Theorem
2.4 Another Way to Work with Congruences: Equivalence Classes
2.5 Euler's $\phi$ Function
Chapter 3. Primes Numbers
3.1 Basics and the FTA
3.2 Wilson's Theorem
3.3 Multiplicative Order and Applications
3.4 Another Approach to Fermat's Little and Euler's Theorems
Chapter 4. Cryptology
4.1 Some Speculative History
4.2 The Caesar Cipher and Its Variants
4.3 First Steps into Cryptanalysis: Frequency Analysis
4.4 Public-Key Crypto: the RSA Cryptosystem
4.5 Digital Signatures
4.6 Man-in-the-Middle Attacks, Certificates, and Trust
Chapter 5. Indices = Discrete Logarithms
5.1 More Properties of Multiplicative Order
5.2 A Necessary Digression: Gauss's Theorem on Sums of Euler's Function
5.3 Primitive Roots
5.4 Indices
5.5 Diffie-Helman Key Exchange
5.6 The ElGamal Cryptosystem
Index
Talks:
- Will Generative AI DDOS The Commons?
- joint presentation (virtually) with Kathryn Kure at the 2023 Creative Commons Global Summit
-
Slide titles were:
- What AInt is - and Is Not
- DDOSing The Commons: What’s DDOS?
- AInt DDOSes itself via Doom-Scrolling Ouroboros
- The Commons
- Better Sharing -- or Worse?
- Ethics of Open Sharing
- The Anthropomorphic Fallacy
- CC Doesn't Say: Share Good Stuff
- Sustainable
- Inclusive
- Contextual
- Equitable
- Reciprocal
- Just
- Enclosing The Commons
- Legal steps forward: only in the US so far?
- Reducing Harm: legal/policy steps
- Yes, Generative AInt will DDOS the Commons - Unless …
- References
-
Here are the Google slides we used with this presentation, as well as the slides as an ODP and the slides as a PPTX, all of which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
-
Here is the official presentation video as shared with the Summit, which was also (of course) released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
- Open Pedagogy in the Creative Commons Certificate Program: A Small Case Study and a Big Provocation
- joint presentation (virtually) with Suzanne Wakim at Cal OER 2023 on 2 August 2023
-
Slide titles were:
- Presenters
- Creative Commons Certificate
- Creative Commons Certificate Courses
- Global Reach of Creative Commons Certificate
- Creative Commons Certificate: Topics
- Creative Commons Certificate: Assessments
- Creative Commons Certificate: Pedagogy 1
- Creative Commons Certificate: Pedagogy 2
- Creative Commons Certificate: Pedagogy 3
- Provocation: Is open pedagogy the same thing as good pedagogy?
- What comes to mind when you hear "Open Pedagogy"
- OER-enabled Pedagogy
- Open Pedagogy Notebook
- Eight Attributes of Open Pedagogy by Bronwyn Hegarty
- Open government diagram
- Examples of Open Pedagogy
- Why the word "open" at all?
- Defining Open Pedagogy
- Contact Information
- Attributions & References
-
Here are the slides we used with this presentation as a PDF and the slides as a PPTX, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
- Why OER?
- presentation (virtually) at Red Rocks Community College, 21 April 2023
-
Slide titles were:
- Land acknowledgement
- Why?
- An OER definition in Colorado
- An OER definition globally
- The augmented CC license spectrum
- What about OER to which CC licenses should not be applied?
- When might those software licenses matter?
- Licensing issues that come up in OER practice
- How? ...Some examples from my teaching 1
- How? ...Some examples from my teaching 2
- Why? ...The economic crime against students in the US today
- Yes, Milton, Markets Can Fail 1
- Yes, Milton, Markets Can Fail 2
- Yes, Milton, Markets Can Fail 3
- Yes, Milton, Markets Can Fail 4
- Why? ..."Better by test"
- Pythagoras: Keeping Knowledge Secret on Pain of Death
- Euclid's Radical Openness
- Academic freedom, pedagogical innovation
- Last, but most important: Social Justice 1
- A better world is possible
- Summary and contact info
-
Here are the slides I used with this presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files, in case you want to remix them in any way.
- Esempi di OEP
- my small contribution (in Italian) on 23 March 2023, to the last webinar of the series "Open Education per innovare la didattica," organized by Paola Corti of METID Learning Innovation.
-
My slides:
-
The slides for my part, released
under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license, were originally in
Google Slides.
- Here is a PPT version.
- Here is an ODP version.
- Here is a PDF version.
-
The slides for my part, released
under a
-
Other talks in the series (all in Italian) were:
- Cosa significa "Open"? [slides], 2 March 2023
- Usare le OER [slides], 9 March 2023; with guest Eleonora Pantò [slides]
- Creare le Open Educational Resources [slides], 16 March 2023
- Mettere in atto Open Educational Practices [slides],23 March 2023
- Videos for all webinars are on the Polimi Open Knowledge Youtube. Channel.
- Awesome Attributions and Lovely Licensing Statements: How OER Practitioners Can Use Creative Commons Licenses With Style and Substance
- presentation to Open Oregon Educational Resources, 2 December 2022
-
Slide titles were:
- Land acknowledgement
- Legal warning
- Warning: Quite limited scope
- Structure of our session
- Activity 1: Where is copyright?
- Discussion 1: Copyright is everywhere (in academia)}
- Activity 2: How to get that "©"
- Discussion 2: The "©" is automatic!
- Activity 3: What is copyright good for?
- Discussion 3: The uses of copyright
- Activity 4: Is copyright all-powerful?
- Discussion 4: Limitations to copyright.}
- Discussion 4 (cont): A useful limitation to copyright
- Activity 5: Why all this copyright power?
- Discussion 5: The Founders had an answer
- Discussion 5 (cont): But the Founders were not academics
- Activity 6: The sine qua non of a scholarly IP system
- Discussion 6: BY is fundamental
- Those pesky attributions
- How to make awesome attributions
- An awesome example
- Some awesome details
- Lovely licensing statements
- Lovely details
- A lovely license example
- Resources
- Discussion and contact info
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
-
Here is the official Open Oregon page for the presentation, including a video, which is released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files, including code and data, in case you want to remix the slides or reproduce the graphs.
- How many OER are there?
- presentation at the Open Education Conference 2022, 20 October 2022
-
Slide titles were:
- Intro: Land acknowledgement
- The question, and what to do about it
- What kind of answer do I want?
- Making the question precise: What are those "OER?"
- Making the question precise: UNESCO and licenses
- Caveat: There could be other licenses or copyright statuses
- Making the question precise: UNESCO and materials
- Caveat: What exactly is a "textbook"?
- Making the question precise: What will time be in the graph?
- Making the question precise: When should I count OER as different?
- A test case: the OEN's OTL
- Exponential fitting to the OTL graph
- Piecewise linear fitting to the OTL graph
- Another test case: the B.C. Open Textbook Collection
- Exponential fitting to the BCcampus graph
- Piecewise linear fitting to the BCcampus graph
- Another test case: OpenStax
- Exponential fitting to the OpenStax graph
- Piecewise linear fitting to the OpenStax graph
- Another test case: The Directory of Open Access Books
- Combined linear and Exponential fitting to the DOAB graph
- Let's go!
- Oh, snap.
- What have we learned? (specifically)
- What have we learned? (more generally)
- Thanks
- Discussion and contact info
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
-
Here is a video I made screencasting this presentation, which is released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files, including code and data, in case you want to remix the slides or reproduce the graphs.
- Choose and Use Creative Commons Licenses for Open Educational Resources
- presentation used in various contexts, including the Rebus Community Textbook Success Program, in July 2022.
-
Slide titles were:
- Intro: Land acknowledgement
- Intro: Legal warning
- What are we doing here?
- The UNESCO OER Definition
- David Wiley's 5Rs
- We have to talk about copyright ... because it is everywhere in academia
- The "©" is unnecessary
- The uses of copyright
- Copyright and the 5Rs
- Why is copyright given all this power?
- The authors of the U.S. Constitution were not academics
- The augmented CC license spectrum
- Your Homework
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
-
Here is a video I made screencasting this presentation, which is also released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- More OER for Free!
- Creative Commons Open Education Platform Lightning Talk on 12 July 2022.
-
Slide titles were:
- Land acknowledgement
- Legal acknowledgement
- The AAUP
- The issues
- W4H
- The [traditional] academic exception to the W4H doctrine
- So what do academic employment contracts say?
- Academic employment contracts in Colorado, USA
- Consequences
- Proposal 1
- Objections
- Proposal 2
- Proposal 3
- Always cite yourself...
- Licenses on adaptations, JP version, key
- Discussion and contact info
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- Creative Commons Licensing, In Vitro and In Vivo
- Open Scholarship Café at NUI Galway on 24 March 2022.
-
Slide titles were:
- Land acknowledgement
- Some background
- The UNESCO OER Definition
- The augmented CC license spectrum
- What about OER to which CC licenses should not be applied?
- Licensing issues that come up in OER practice
- Licensing software
- Who gets to apply a CC license?
- How to do a proper attribution?
- OER and exceptions and limitations to copyright: the TASL habit
- Collections vs adaptations/remixes
- Licenses on collections
- Licenses on adaptations, CC version
- Licenses on adaptations, JP version
- Licenses on adaptations, JP version, key
- Compatibility for remixes, CC version
- Compatibility for remixes, the idea
- Compatibility for remixes, JP version
- Compatibility for remixes, JP version, key
- Licenses on remixes, JP version
- Licenses on remixes, JP version, key
- Conclusion: "good" scholarship/pedagogy must be open
- Discussion and contact info
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- NFTs: A great way to support digital artists on the blockchain, or a nifty tool for grifters?
- Cybersecurity presentation at the Colorado State University Pueblo Hasan School of Business on 17 March 2022.
-
Slide titles were:
- Land acknowledgement
- The plan for this presentation, and some notes
- Origins of the blockchain whirlwind: Bitcoin
- Some bitcoin hype
- A fly in the ointment here, a few megatons of CO2, there
- Diving into the deep end: how a blockchain works
- References for cryptology
- Our protagonists, and an adversary
- Why is Eve so powerful?
- Symmetric crypto
- Keys [for symmetric cryptosystems]
- Notes on symmetric cryptosystems
- Asymmetric cryptosystems, I
- Asymmetric cryptosystems, II
- Some details of RSA
- The "person-in-the-middle attack"
- Digital signatures
- How to think critically about security/privacy/cryptography
- E.g. thinking critically about digital signatures
- Cryptosystems: what to remember
- Cryptographic hash functions
- Hash functions as message digests and for chains
- hash functions to slow computers down
- Hash functions: what to remember
- Distributed consensus
- Wrapping up the blockchain bow
- Thinking critically about blockchains
- Blockchains ... of limited use?
- Cryptocurrencies
- Finally, NFTs
- Example NFTs
- Copyright and licensing issues for NFTs
- The blockchain's new clothes
- And yet this insanity continues: cryptocurrencies
- And yet this insanity continues: NFTs
- It's tulips all the way down
- Resources
- Discussion and contact info
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- NFTs: A great way to support digital artists on the blockchain, or a nifty tool for grifters?
- "Fearless Friday" presentation at the Colorado College Department of Mathematics and Computer Science on 4 March 2022.
-
Slide titles were:
- Land acknowledgement
- The Plan for This Fearless Friday
- Origins of the Blockchain Whirlwind: Bitcoin
- Some Bitcoin Hype
- A Fly in the Ointment Here, a Few Megatons of CO2, There
- Diving Into the Deep End: How a Blockchain Works
- References for Cryptology
- Our protagonists, and an adversary
- Why is Eve so powerful?
- Symmetric Crypto
- Keys [for symmetric cryptosystems]
- Notes on symmetric cryptosystems
- Asymmetric cryptosystems, I
- Asymmetric cryptosystems, II
- Some Details of RSA
- The "Person-in-the-middle attack"
- Digital Signatures
- How to Think Critically About Security/Privacy/Cryptography
- E.g. Thinking Critically About Digital Signatures
- Cryptosystems: What to Remember
- Cryptographic Hash Functions
- Hash Functions As Message Digests and For Chains
- Hash Functions to Slow Computers Down
- Hash Functions: What to Remember
- Distributed Consensus
- Wrapping Up The Blockchain Bow
- Thinking Critically About Blockchains
- Blockchains ... Of Limited Use?
- Cryptocurrencies
- Finally, NFTs
- Example NFTs
- Copyright and Licensing Issues for NFTs
- The Blockchain's New Clothes
- And yet this insanity continues: cryptocurrencies
- And yet this insanity continues: NFTs
- Resources
- Discussion and Contact Info
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- Some Technicalitites Behind NFTs: Notes for a Discussion of NFTs, Copyright, and CC Licenses
- 16 December 2021
-
Slide titles were:
- Land acknowledgement
- Origins of the Blockchain Whirlwind: Bitcoin
- Some Bitcoin Hype
- A Fly in the Ointment Here, a Few Megatons of CO2, There
- Diving Into the Deep End: How a Blockchain Works
- References for Cryptology
- Our protagonists, and an adversary
- Why is Eve so powerful?
- Keys [for symmetric cryptosystems]
- Notes on symmetric cryptosystems
- Asymmetric cryptosystems
- The "Man-in-the-middle attack"
- Digital Signatures
- How to Think Critically About Security/Privacy/Cryptography
- E.g. Thinking Critically About Digital Signatures
- Cryptosystems: What to Remember
- Cryptographic Hash Functions
- Hash Functions As Message Digests and For Chains
- Hash Functions to Slow Computers Down
- Hash Functions: What to Remember
- Distributed Consensus
- Wrapping Up The Blockchain Bow
- Thinking Critically About Blockchains
- Blockchains ... Of Limited Use?
- Cryptocurrencies
- Finally, NFTs
- Copyright and CC Licensing Issues for NFTs
- The Blockchain's New Clothes
- Resources
- Discussion and Contact Info
-
Here are the slides I was intending to use with
this discussion, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- At A Distance: Articulating A Higher Ed Perspective on Remote Instruction
- Presentation to The 18th Annual Meeting of the California AAUP: TEACHING, LEARNING, AND CREATING EQUITY AT A DISTANCE on 2 October 2020.
-
Slide titles were:
- Land acknowledgement
- Things we might talk about
- A warning: IAmNotALawyer
- What is academic freedom, and [why] do we deserve it?
- The Copyright Clause
- Fixation and works-for-hire
- Colorado State University Pueblo's IP policy1
- Colorado State University Pueblo's IP policy2
- Colorado State University Pueblo's IP policy3
- Colorado State University Pueblo's IP policy4
- A modest proposal
- Discussion and Contact Info
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- Edge Cases for Adaptation and Remix Permission: An Advanced Seminar for OER Practitioners
- Presentation to the 2020 Creative Commons Global Summit on 2 October 2020.
-
Slide titles were:
- Land acknowledgement
- Lots of folks want a deep dive into CC licenses
- Cert course participants from six continents2
- Also many OER practitioners in my home state
- OER practitioners want to adapt and create
- OER practice requires insight into licensing complexities
- Some guidance from the Vatican of open licensing
- The License Compatibility Chart
- The Adapter's License Chart
- Things I wondered about the License Compatibility Chart
- Things I wondered about the Adapter's Chart
- Things I wondered about both charts
- First, cosmetic changes
- Next, there is indeed a relationship
- What about those yellow boxes?
- First shock: works under PD may not be completely free
- Small aftershock: same thing for ARR ©
- Second shock: BY-NC is viral
- The legal code
- Acronyms for new charts
- A new chart for adaptation
- Key for the new adaptation chart
- A new chart for remix
- Key for the new remix chart
- Another new chart for remix
- Key for the other new remix chart
- Summary
- Questions, Comments, and Contact Info
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- The CC Certificate
- Joint presentation with Jennryn Wetzler, Scann (Evelin Heidel), Shanna Holich, Paola Corti, and Maran Wolston to the 2020 Creative Commons Global Summit on 2 October 2020.
-
The slides we used for this
presentation, released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license, were originally in
Google Slides.
- Here is a PPT version.
- Here is an ODP version.
- Here is a PDF version.
- Creative Commons Licensing and Open Educational Resources
- Contribution to an online panel discussion What Campus Leaders Need to Know about Copyright and Intellectual Property from WCET on 23 July 2020.
-
The slides I contributed to this
panel, released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license, were originally in
Google Slides.
- Here is a PPT version — which is not recommended: the formatting got somewhat messed up in translation from Google Slides to PowerPoint.
- Here is an ODP version — which is also not recommended: the formatting got equally messed up in translation.
- Here is a PDF version — the formatting is good, but it is not so easy to revise or remix (obviously); this version without the slide notes.
- Here is another PDF version — the formatting is good, but it is not so easy to revise or remix (obviously); this version has the slide notes.
- There was also a video of the live presentation.
-
CSUP OER Minigrant Awardees Basic Info Session
- for Colorado State University Pueblo on 10 and 15 July 2020.
-
Slide titles were:
- What Are Open Educational Resources [OER]?
- First Answer: Free Textbooks
- Second Answer: "Repurposing by Others"
- "Open" vs "Free"
- [Micro]Economic Issues for Students
- [Macro]Economic Issues for Students 1
- [Macro]Economic Issues for Students 2
- "...like marshmallows."
- Students Pay Many Different Costs...
- ...But the Winner Is: Textbook Cost
- Your Intuition for Textbook Costs is Wrong
- Consequences for Students
- Scholarly Production Wants to Be Free
- Freedom Includes the Right to Seek a Profit, or Not
- Creative Commons Licenses
- The e-banking model of education
- "Drill-and-kill classes"
- bell hooks and Paulo Freire
- The 5Rs as pedagogical academic freedom codified
- Briefly, after covid-19
- OER vs ZTC
- Open Pedagogy, or OER-Enabled Pedagogy, or...
- Open Pedagogy's 5Rs
- Takeaways
- CSUP Specifics: Choose a License!
- CSUP Specifics: How We Can Help You
- CSUP Specifics: Supplemental Contracts
- CSUP Specifics: Searching for Existing Resources
- CSUP Specifics: Pressbooks
- Questions, Comments, and Contact Info
-
Here are the slides I used with
this presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
-
Open Education As The Practice of Freedom for Both Students and Faculty
- Keynote for on-line OER Workshop for Colorado Northwestern Community College on 11 May 2020.
-
Slide titles were:
- "Drill-and-kill classes"
- bell hooks and Paulo Freire
- The e-banking model of education
- The tension that drove the creation of Creative Commons
- The 5Rs of OER: pedagogical academic freedom codified
-
Impediments to student autonomy and agency (
)
- Impediments to student autonomy and agency ($) 1
- Impediments to student autonomy and agency ($) 2
- ∞ Questions, Comments, and Contact Info
- "...like marshmallows."
- Textbooks, in particular
- Textbooks pain multiplier
- But it gets worse
- What do students do?
- Briefly, after covid-19
- Last financial argument: think about the ADA
- OER vs ZTC
- Open Pedagogy, or OER-Enabled Pedagogy, or...
- Open Pedagogy's 5Rs
- The Practice of Freedom
- Questions, Comments, and Contact Info
-
Here are the slides I used with
this presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
-
Creative Commons Licensing Workshop for CCD
- On-line half-day workshop for the Community College of Denver on 10 April 2020.
-
Slide titles were:
- 0 The Plan
- Unit 1. What is Creative Commons?
- 1.1 The History of Creative Commons
- 1 So They Founded Creative Commons...
- 1 ...As an Alternative to All-Rights-Reserved Copyright
- 1 The prehistory of FLOSS
- 1 Pythagoras: Keeping knowledge secret on pain of death
- 1 Euclid's radical openness
- 1 When FLOSS became FLOSS
- 1 A structural and #metoo caveat
- 1 Alternate History of CC: Summary
- 1.2 Creative Commons Today
- Unit 1 Break and Assignment
- Unit 2. Copyright Law
- Activity 2.1: Where is copyright?
- Discussion 2.1: Copyright is everywhere (in academia)
- Activity 2.2: How to get that "©"
- Discussion 2.2: The "©" is automatic!
- Activity 2.3: What is copyright good for?
- Discussion 2.3: The uses of copyright
- Activity 2.4: Is copyright all-powerful?
- Discussion 2.4.1: Limitations to copyright.
- Discussion 2.4.2: A useful limitation to copyright.
- Activity 2.5: Why all this copyright power?
- Discussion 2.5.1: The Founders had an answer
- Discussion 2.5.2: But the Founders were not academics
- Unit 2 Break and Assignment
- Unit 3. Anatomy of a CC License
- Activity 3.1: The sine qua non of a scholarly IP system
- Discussion 3.1: BY is fundamental
- Activity 3.2: Utilitarian and moral rights CC adjectives
- Discussion 3.2: NC and ND
- Activity 3.3: Maximalist on the power itself
- Discussion 3.3: Go viral with SA
- 3 Summary of all combined CC licenses
- 3 Why not go all the way to Public Domain?
- 3 One last icon
- 3 CC Licenses vs Limitations and Exceptions to Copyright
- 3 The Structure of All CC Licenses
- Unit 3 Break ... and Assignment?
- Unit 4. Using CC Licenses and CC-Licensed Works
- 4 Choosing and applying a CC license: the "Chooser"
- 4 Choosing and applying a CC license: Always do this
- 4 Choosing and applying a CC license: Also include this
- 4 Changing your mind about a license, other permutations
- 4 Remixes and collections
- Activity 4.1: Remixing CC Licensed Works
- Discussion 4.1: Check Your Work
- Activity 4.2: Extra Credit
- Discussion 4.2: Check Your Own Damn Extra Credit
- Unit 4 Break ... and Assignment ... Really?
- Unit 5. Creative Commons for Educators/Librarians
- 5 Colorado's legal definition of OER
- 5 Everybody's practical definition of OER: the 5Rs
- 5 Creative Commons licenses which support OER
- 5 Finding and evaluating ... mathematics
- 5 Finding and evaluating ... OER
- 5 Building Community
- 5 OER vs ZTC
- 5 Open Pedagogy, or OER-Enabled Pedagogy, or...
- 5 Open Pedagogy's 5Rs
- 5 Open Access
- 5 Green and Gold OA
- Activity 5.1: What can you do NOW with CC licenses?
- Discussion 5.1: Some ideas for action
- Resources
- Unit 5 Assignment ... Come on...
- ∞ Questions, Comments, and Contact Info
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- Spring 2020 ColoMATYC Conference, Open Educational Resources for Mathematics: the First 2,500 Years
- Presentation at Spring 2020 ColoMATYC Conference on 13 March 2020.
-
Slide titles were:
- Some Roots of Open: A Morality Play...
- Pythagoras: Keeping Knowledge Secret on Pain of Death
- Euclid's Radical Openness
- Open's Antiquity ... and Skipping to Early Modernism
- The Copyright Clause
- Yes, Milton, Markets Can Fail 1
- Yes, Milton, Markets Can Fail 2
- Yes, Milton, Markets Can Fail 3
- Yes, Milton, Markets Can Fail 4
- Your Intuition for Textbook Costs is Wrong
- Student Debt for Some Colorado Institutions
- Side remark: It's not just a market failure
- Food and Housing Insecurity Among Students in the US
- Textbook Costs 1
- Textbook Costs 2
- Consequences for Students
- Conclusion of These Economic Issues
- Wait, what was that term "OER?"
- What is academic freedom, and [why] do we deserve it?
- That word "common" -- how wide a net do we cast?
- Freedom includes the right to be an ass, or a saint
- Creative commons licenses
- Where Are OER?
- An Issue for Math OER: Difficult Typesetting
- Another Issue for Math OER: Interactivity and Ancillaries
- What You Can Do Now, part 1
- What You Can Do Now, part 2
- Questions, comments? Contact. Getting slides [links!]
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- Two Faculty Journeys with Open Educational Resources
- Joint presentation with Emily Ragan at Western Colorado University on 28 February 2020.
-
The slides we used for this
presentation, released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license, were originally in
Google Slides.
- Here is a PPT version — which is not recommended: the formatting got somewhat messed up in translation from Google Slides to PowerPoint.
- Here is an ODP version — which is also not recommended: the formatting got equally messed up in translation.
- Here is a PDF version — the formatting is good, but it is not so easy to revise or remix (obviously).
- There was also a video of the live presentation. It was professionally mic'ed and edited, so: thanks, WCU folks!
-
The Troubling Prevalence of Apple's Eye of Sauron at Open Education Meetings
- Presentation at OE Global 2019 on 28 November 2019.
-
Slide titles were:
- Teach the controversy: #thatpanel
- Fallout from #thatpanel?
- #thatpanel echoes OSSNA'17 keynote controversy
- The prehistory of FLOSS
- Pythagoras: Keeping knowledge secret on pain of death
- Euclid's radical openness
- When FLOSS became FLOSS
- A structural and #metoo caveat
- FLOSS on the desktop and everywhere
- Another caveat: The Internet is a cesspool
- Is Linux dominating the desktop?
- CLIs vs GUIs
- GUIs over CLIs is like illiteracy over education
- Arguments for open ed and OER
- Some of the resitance these arguments meet
- Same arguments for FLOSS
- Action Items
- Change of perspective: They Live
- The Eye of Sauron is all around us! 1
- The Eye of Sauron is all around us! 2
- Contact. Getting slides [links!]
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
-
oerXiv.org: A dating site for aspiring OER
Collaborators
- Presentation at OE Global 2019 on 27 November 2019.
-
Slide titles were:
- Grandiose proposals for make me nervous
- Another with a big claims
- Or more modern reasons
- Sometimes if you build it, they will come
- Did we spend some state OER funds unwisely in Colorado?
- Well, no
- What is a preprint in the OER world?
- Before arXiv.org
- The preprint server that changed the scholarly world
- arXiv.org dominates by quantity
- arXiv.org dominates by quality
- arXiv.org's dominance is due to a culture change
- What must oerXiv.org do? 1
- What must oerXiv.org do? 2
- Current status of oerXiv.org
- Future plans for oerXiv.org
- Questions? Comments? Contact. Getting slides [links!]
-
Here are the slides I used with
this presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
-
Tenure and Promotion in OER
- Panel discussion with Mark Poepsel and Jaclyn Stewart for the Open Textbook Network & Rebus Community's Office Hours session on 21 November 2019.
- There were no slides — the format of these recurrent office hours is that the panelists each speak for just a few minutes and then there is general discussion for the rest of the hour.
-
A recording and transcript of this event
are available, under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- Here are the notes I used to think through what I would say.
- From Faculty Member to OER Advocate: Reflections on Two Journeys
- Joint presentation with Emily Ragan at the The 16th Annual Open Education Conference on 31 October 2019.
-
The slides we used for this presentation, released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license, were originally in
Google Slides.
- Here is a PPT version — which is not recommended: the formatting got somewhat messed up in translation from Google Slides to PowerPoint.
- Here is an ODP version — which is also not recommended: the formatting got equally messed up in translation.
- Here is a PDF version — the formatting is good, but it is not so easy to revise or remix (obviously).
- Getting the JITERs: Just-In-Time Educational Resources as a Mode of OER-enabled Pedagogy
- Presentation at the The 16th Annual Open Education Conference on 31 October 2019.
-
Slide titles were:
- The "ideal OER platform of the future" question
- The "ideal form of OER" question
- Maybe the earliest educational resource for mathematics
- Euclid, the great stylist
- Euclid's style still dominates
- Well, with some changes
- Equations were harder
- Monographs vs textbooks
- Maria Gaetana Agnesi, textbook author
- Other disciplinary styles through the years
- Past styles ... what is the modern textbook style?
- The modern textbook style is noisy
- An alternate modern mode of expression
- Features of highly networked information resources
- Comparison to traditionally structured electronic textbooks
- But it's more thrilling to go "Just-In-Time"
- A JITT course
- Requirements to get the JITERs
- Sidebar: communication with students
- Side-sidebar...
- Some examples of JITERs
- Back to the ideal platform question
- Apology and sheepish call to action
- Questions, comments? Contact. Getting slides [links!]
-
Here are the slides I used with
this presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
-
OPEN TEXTBOOKS for CSU-Pueblo: Access, Affordability, and Academic
Success
- Campus presentation in the style of Open Textbook Network faculty workshops.
-
The slides I used for this
presentation, released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license, were originally in Google Slides.
- Here is a PPT version — which is not recommended: the formatting got somewhat messed up in translation from Google Slides to PowerPoint.
- Here is an ODP version — which is also not recommended: the formatting got equally messed up in translation.
- Here is a PDF version — the formatting is good, but it is not so easy to revise or remix (obviously).
-
Introduction to Open Educational Resources for the CSU-Pueblo Faculty Academy
- Presentation for the Faculty Academy at Colorado State University—Pueblo on 27 September 2019.
-
Slide titles were:
- What is academic freedom, and [why] do we deserve it?
- That word "common" — how wide a net do we cast?
- Back to academic freedom: the big legal obstacle
- Side discussion: market failure
- Side discussion: market failure in my office 1
- Side discussion: market failure in my office 2
- Side discussion: student debt for some local institutions
- Side side discussion: why is Colorado College so different?
- Side side discussion: what the root cause of this disaster?
- Side discussion: student food and housing insecurity
- Side discussion: textbook costs 1
- Side discussion: textbook costs 2
- Side discussion: consequences for Students
- Conclusion of side discussion on economic issues
- Takeaway from side discussion
- Main discussion: scholarly production wants to be free
- Freedom includes the right to be an ass, or a saint
- Creative commons licenses
- Hence the term "OER"
- Where are OER? Some are in repositories
- Where are OER? What if they were in classrooms? 1
- Where are OER? What if they were in classrooms? 2
- Where are OER? What if they were in classrooms? 3
- Where are OER? What if they were in classrooms? 4
- Where are OER? What if they were in classrooms? 5
- OER, internationally
- OER, across the US
- OER, in Colorado
- Aside on the need for OER grants
- Why not be bold?
- Steps towards the bold goal
- Another bold vision: a DOER [Default OER] Campus
- Questions, comments? Contact. Getting slides [links!]
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
-
Introduction to Creative Commons Licensing: The Key to Using the 5Rs of OER with Confidence
- Presentation to the Colorado Open Education Ambassadors' Workshop on 18 September 2019.
-
Slide titles were:
- The Hewlett Foundation definition of OER
- David Wiley's 5Rs
- A new character joins the cast
- Copyright is everywhere in academia
- The "©" is unnecessary
- The uses of copyright
- Copyright and the 5Rs
- Limitations to copyright
- Another (very useful) limitation to copyright
- Why is copyright given all this power?
- The authors of the U.S. Constitution were not academics
- Common CC license misconception ... Hamlet quote
- The Creative Commons strategy
- BY is fundamental
- NC and ND
- Go viral with SA
- Summary of all combined CC licenses
- Remixing CC licensed works
- Extra Credit
- Check your own damn extra credit
- Connection to OER
- Some ideas for action: copyright, 1
- Some ideas for action: copyright, 2
- Some ideas for action: Creative Commons Licensing
- Resources
- Questions, Comments, and Contact Info
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- A video of the actual presentation is available.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- The Legal Technology of Open: Sharing with Creative Commons Licenses
- Presentation to the Colorado Learning and Teaching with Technology conference on 9 August 2019.
-
Slide titles were:
- Activity 1: Where is copyright?
- Discussion 1: Copyright is everywhere (in academia)
- Activity 2: How to get that "©"
- Discussion 2: The "©" is automatic!
- Activity 3: What is copyright good for?
- Discussion 3: The uses of copyright
- Activity 4: Is copyright all-powerful?
- Discussion 4: Limitations to copyright.
- Discussion 4 (cont): A useful limitation to copyright.
- Activity 5: Why all this copyright power?
- Discussion 5: The Founders had an answer
- Discussion 5 (cont): But the Founders were not academics
- 1st Common CC Licensing Misconception ... Hamlet Quote
- Activity 6: The sine qua non of a scholarly IP system
- Discussion 6: BY is fundamental
- Activity 7: Utilitarian and moral rights CC adjectives
- Discussion 7: NC and ND
- Activity 8: Maximalist on the power itself
- Discussion 8: Go viral with SA
- Summary of all combined CC licenses
- Activity 9: Remixing CC Licensed Works
- Discussion 9: Check Your Work
- Activity 10: Extra Credit
- Discussion 10: Check Your Own Damn Extra Credit
- Connection to OER
- Activity 11: What can YOU do NOW with CC licenses?
- Discussion 11: Some ideas for action
- Resources
- Questions, Comments, and Contact Info
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
-
Education in [Block]Chains
- Presentation at the Domains 2019 on 10 June 2019.
-
Slide titles were:
- A Theme of the Indie/Open Edtech World ...
- ... Which Drives Much Activity — Dangerous Activity?
- Origins of the Blockchain Whirlwind: Bitcoin
- Some Bitcoin Hype
- A Fly in the Ointment Here, a Few Megatons of $CO_2$, There
- Diving Into the Deep End: How a Blockchain Works
- References for Cryptology
- Our protagonists, and an adversary
- Why is Eve so powerful?
- Keys [for symmetric cryptosystems]
- Notes on symmetric cryptosystems
- Asymmetric cryptosystems
- The "Man-in-the-middle attack"
- Digital Signatures
- How to Think Critically About Security/Privacy/Cryptography
- E.g., Thinking Critically About Digital Signatures
- Cryptographic Hash Functions
- Hash Functions As Message Digests and For Chains
- Hash Functions to Slow Computers Down
- Distributed Consensus
- Blockchains ... Of Limited Use?
- The Moral(s)
- Questions, Comments, and Contact Info
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- Those crazy, marvelous folks at Reclaim Hosting put put audio — synched with the slides! — for all of the Domains 2019 presentations! Here is that audio-with-slides for my talk.
- Creative Commons Licensing — The Key Legal Technology Enabling OER
- Presentation to the Colorado OER Conference on 31 May 2019.
-
Slide titles were:
- Activity 1: Where is copyright?
- Discussion 1: Copyright is everywhere (in academia)
- Activity 2: How to get that "©"
- Discussion 2: The "©" is automatic!
- Activity 3: What is copyright good for?
- Discussion 3: The uses of copyright
- Activity 4: Is copyright all-powerful?
- Discussion 4: Limitations to copyright.
- Discussion 4 (cont): A useful limitation to copyright.
- Activity 5: Why all this copyright power?
- Discussion 5: The Founders had an answer
- Discussion 5 (cont): But the Founders were not academics
- Activity 6: The sine qua non of a scholarly IP system
- Discussion 6: BY is fundamental
- Activity 7: Utilitarian and moral rights CC adjectives
- Discussion 7: NC and ND
- Activity 8: Maximalist on the power itself
- Discussion 8: Go viral with SA
- Summary of all combined CC licenses
- Connection to OER
- Activity 9: What can you do NOW with CC licenses?
- Discussion 9: Some ideas for action
- Resources
- Questions, Comments, and Contact Info
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- A video of the actual presentation at the Colorado OER Conference is available.
-
Collective Impact: System Approaches to OER
- Presentation to the Colorado OER Conference on 31 May 2019.
- Joint with Deborah Keyek-Franssen, Associate Vice President for Digital Education & Engagement at The University of Colorado System Office of Academic Affairs and Tina Parscal, Executive Director, CCCOnline.
-
Slide titles were:
- What do you hope to get out of this presentation?
- The Rythm
- Collective Impact
- Collective Impact: Attributes
- Strong Backbone
- Stick your sticky! (Strong Backbone)
- A Common Agenda
- Stick your sticky! (A Common Agenda)
- Shared Measurement
- Stick your sticky! (Shared Measurement)
- Mutually Reinforcing Activities
- Stick your sticky! (Activities)
- Continuous Communication
- Stick your sticky! (Communication)
- Scaling OER Better at the System Level (?)
- Reviewing the stickies
- One word: your big takeaway
- Thank you very much
- Appendix
- Backbone:
- Common Agenda:
- Measurement:
- Activities:
- Communication:
-
Here are the slides we used with this presentation, which are
released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license, in various formats:
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- The Best Things in Life Are Free — And That Includes Math Books
- Presentation to the Rocky Mountain Section of the Mathematical Association of America meeting on 6 April 2019.
-
Slide titles were:
- Which "Free" Are We Talking About?
- Or We Could Wimp Out And Use "Open"
- What Are Open Educational Resources [OER]?
- First Answer: Free Textbooks
- Second Answer: "Repurposing by Others"
- [Micro]Economic Issues for Students
- [Macro]Economic Issues for Students
- Students Pay Many Different Costs...
- ...But the Winner is Textbook Cost
- Your Intuition for Textbook Cost is Wrong
- But Why Do Textbooks Cost So Much?
- Consequences for Students
- Scholarly Production Wants to Be Free
- Freedom Includes the Right to Seek a Profit, or Not
- Creative Commons Licenses
- Where Are OER?
- An Issue for Math OER: Difficult Typesetting
- Another Issue for Math OER: Interactivity and Ancillaries
- What You Can Do Now, part 1
- What You Can Do Now, part 2
- Questions, Comments, and Contact Info
-
Here are the slides I used with
this presentation, which are released under a
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- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- Open Educational Resources: Current and Future Activities and
Prospects For Pueblo, the System, and the State
- An informal presentation [over breakfast] to the Colorado State University System Board of Governors meeting, on 8 February 2019.
-
Slide titles were:
- What are Open Educational Resources [OER]?
- First Answer: Free Textbooks
- Second Answer: "Repurposing by Others"
- "Open" vs "Free"
- [Micro]Economic Issues for Students
- [Macro]Economic Issues for Students
- Students Pay Many Different Costs...
- ...But the Winner is Textbook Cost
- Your Intuition for Textbook Cost is Wrong
- But Why Do Textbooks Cost So Much?
- Consequences for Students
- Scholarly Production Wants to Be Free
- Freedom Includes the Right to Seek a Profit, or Not
- Creative Commons Licenses
- OER at CSU-Pueblo: Premodern History
- OER Early Modern History at CSU-Pueblo
- OER In Colorado: 2017 and 2018 [April-December]
- OER in Colorado: December 2018
- Breaking News!
- OER in Colorado: 2019 →∞
- Aside on the Need for OER Grants
- OER at CSU-Pueblo: 2019 →∞
- Let Us Be Bold
- Questions, Comments, and Contact Info
-
Here are the slides I used with this
presentation, which are released under a
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- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
-
Colorado's OER Initiative
- A panel discussion, joint with Meg Brown-Sica of CSU-FC, Spencer Ellis of the CDHE, and Tina Parscal of CCCSOnline, at the Colorado Regional Digital Learning Symposium on 30 January 2019.
-
Slide titles were:
- Agenda
- Introductions
- What are Open Educational Resources [OER]?
- First Answer: Free Textbooks
- Second Answer: "Repurposing by Others"
- "Open" vs "Free"
- [Micro]Economic Issues for Students
- [Macro]Economic Issues for Students
- Students Pay Many Different Costs...
- ...But the Winner is Textbook Cost
- Your Intuition for Textbook Cost is Wrong
- Economic Issues 9, Textbook Costs 2
- But Why Do Textbooks Cost So Much?
- Consequences for Students
- Scholarly Production Wants to Be Free
- Freedom Includes the Right to Seek a Profit, or Not
- Creative Commons Licenses
- Colorado's OER Initiative
- Highlights from 2017 Statewide Survey
- 2018 Legislation: HB 18-1331
- Meet the 2018 OER Council
- Colorado OER Grant Program
- Colorado OER Website
- Where are we now?
- Where are we going?
- Getting Started With OER
- Getting Started for Faculty
- Getting Started for Administrators
- Where Can We Find OER?
- OER Organizations
- Others
- OER in Action
- OER in Action at CSU-FC
- OER at CSU-Pueblo: Premodern History
- OER at CSU-Pueblo: Modern History & Present
- OER in Action at CCCOnline
- OER in Action at CCCOnline
- How to Get Involved
- Questions?
- Thank You
-
Here are the slides we used with this
presentation, which are released under a
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- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
-
CCHE Presentation: Open Educational Resources in Colorado
- Presentation to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, 6 December 2018.
- Joint with Brittany Dudeck and Spencer Ellis.
-
Slide titles were:
- Agenda
- The What & Why of OER
- Let's start with Why
- Student debt in Colorado
- Whence this student debt?
- Students have many expenses
-
But the winner is: Textbook Cost1
1 "Winner" in terms of rate of growth, not absolute size. - Our intution for textbook costs is wrong
- Why do textbooks cost so much?
- Consequences for students
- Those were Master Plan Strategic Goals
- Now the What of those "OER"
- How does this relate to the Why?
- And how can this be possible?
- And Where can we find OER?
- A quick return to macroeconomics
- Others hace noticed this RoI
- Work and Report from 2017
- Highlights from 2017 Statewide Survey
- OER in Action
- Future OER Plans
- 2018 Legislation: HB 18-1331
- Outputs from bill
- Meet the OER Council
- Colorado OER Website
- The Colorado OER Grant Program: Year One
- Colorado OER Grant Program
- Current Applicants for the 2018 Cycle
- Timeline
- Next Steps
- OER: 2019 & Beyond
- Sources & References
- Thank you!
-
Here are the slides we used for this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
-
Open Educational Resources Backgrounder at Otero Junior College
- Presentation at Otero Junior College on 24 October 2018.
-
Slide titles were:
- Wait, What Are We Talking About? 1
- Wait, What Are We Talking About? 2
- Economic Issues 1, Whole US
- Economic Issues 2, Colorado
- Economic Issues 3, Public vs Private Funding, By State
- Economic Issues 4, Student Debt
- Economic Issues 5, Specifics for OJC
- Economic Issues 5, Categories of Costs to Students
- Economic Issues 6, #RealCollege
- Economic Issues 7, Food and Housing Insecurity in the US
- Economic Issues 8, Textbook Costs 1
- Economic Issues 9, Textbook Costs 2
- Side Discussion: Market Failure In My Office 1
- Side Discussion: Market Failure In My Office 2
- Economic Issues 9.5, Why Are Textbook Costs Different?
- Economic Issues 10, Consequences for Students
- Economic Issues 11, Conclusion
- Commercial Textbooks' Legal Power: Copyright
- An Ingenious Response: Creative Commons Licenses
- Where Are OER? Some Are In Repositories
- Where Are OER? Or Just Search
- Where Are OER? What If They Were in Classrooms? 1
- Where Are OER? What If They Were in Classrooms? 2
- Where Are OER? What If They Were in Classrooms? 3
- Where Are OER? What If They Were in Classrooms? 4
- How Good Are OER? Perception, Reviews, and the ADA
- OER, Across the US
- OER, In Colorado
- Aside on the Need for OER Grants
- Questions, Comments, and Contact Info
-
Here are the slides I used for this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
-
Open Access Week 2018 at The University of Denver, Open Educational Resources: Not Just "Free, As In Beer" But Also "Freedom, As In Academic."
- Presentation as part of the University of Denver Open Access Week activities, on 23 October 2018
-
Slide titles were:
- What is Academic Freedom, and [Why] Do We Deserve It?
- Commercial Textbooks' Legal Block of Academic Freedom
- Side Discussion: Market Failure
- Side Discussion: Market Failure In My Office 1
- Side Discussion: Market Failure In My Office 2
- Side Discussion: Student Debt for Some CO Institutions
- Side Discussion: Wait, Why Is Colorado College So Different?
- Side Discussion: Food and Housing Insecurity for US Students
- Side Discussion: Textbook Costs 1
- Side Discussion: Textbook Costs 2
- Side Discussion: Consequences for Students
- Conclusion of Side Discussion on Economic Issues
- Takeaway From Side Discussion
- Main Discussion: Scholarly Production Wants to Be Free
- Freedom Includes the Right to Be an Ass, or a Saint
- Creative Commons Licenses
- Hence the Term "OER"
- Where Are OER? Some Are In Repositories
- Where Are OER? What If They Were in Classrooms? 1
- Where Are OER? What If They Were in Classrooms? 2
- Where Are OER? What If They Were in Classrooms? 3
- Where Are OER? What If They Were in Classrooms? 4
- How Good Are OER? Perception, Reviews, and the ADA
- OER, Internationally
- OER, Across the US
- OER, In Colorado
- Aside on the Need for OER Grants
- Why Not Be Bold?
- Steps Towards the Bold Goal
- Another Bold Vision
- Questions, Comments, and Contact Info
-
Here are the slides I used for this
presentation, which are released under a
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- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
-
Open Access Week 2018 at The University of Denver, Open Educational Resources: the First 2500 Years
- Presentation as part of the University of Denver Open Access Week activities, on 22 October 2018 and again on 23 October 2018
-
Slide titles were:
- Some Roots of Open: A Morality Play...
- Pythagoras: Keeping Knowledge Secret on Pain of Death
- Euclid's Radical Openness
- Open's Antiquity ... and Skipping to Early Modernism
- The Copyright Clause
- Yes, Milton, Markets Can Fail 1
- Yes, Milton, Markets Can Fail 2
- Yes, Milton, Markets Can Fail 3
- Yes, Milton, Markets Can Fail 4
- The Euclidean Response to Copyright's Overreach
- A Definition of Open Educational Resources
- The OER Ecosystem
- Student Debt for Some Colorado Institutions
- Wait, Why Is Colorado College So Different?
- Food and Housing Insecurity Among Students in the US
- Textbook Costs 1
- Textbook Costs 2
- Consequences for Students
- Conclusion of These Economic Issues
- Playing the Guilt Card
- Other Cards in the Deck
- OER, Internationally
- OER, Across the US
- OER, In Colorado
- Why Not Be Bold?
- Steps Towards the Bold Goal
- Questions, Comments, and Contact Info
-
Here are the slides I used for this
presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
-
CSU-Pueblo Convocation 2018 Academic Session: Open Educational Resources
- Presentation at the CSU-Pueblo Fall Convocation 2018, on 15 August 2018
- Slide titles were:
- Wait, What Are We Talking About? 1
- Wait, What Are We Talking About? 2
- Economic Issues 1, Whole US
- Economic Issues 2, Colorado
- Economic Issues 3, Public vs Private Funding, By State
- Economic Issues 4, Student Debt
- Economic Issues 4.5, Why Is Colorado College Different?
- Economic Issues 5, Categories of Costs to Students
- Economic Issues 6, #RealCollege
- Economic Issues 7, Food and Housing Insecurity in the US
- Economic Issues 8, Textbook Costs 1
- Economic Issues 9, Textbook Costs 2
- Economic Issues 9.5, Why Are Textbook Costs Different?
- Economic Issues 10, Consequences for Students
- Economic Issues 11, Conclusion
- From the Utilitarian to the Deontological
- Scholarly Production Wants to Be Free
- Freedom Includes the Right to Be an Ass, or a Saint
- Creative Commons Licenses
- Where Are OER? Some Are In Repositories
- Where Are OER? What If They Were in Classrooms? 1
- Where Are OER? What If They Were in Classrooms? 2
- Where Are OER? What If They Were in Classrooms? 3
- Where Are OER? What If They Were in Classrooms? 4
- How Good Are OER? Perception, Reviews, and the ADA
- OER, Internationally
- OER, Across the US
- OER, In Colorado
- OER, At CSU-Pueblo
- Aside on the Need for OER Grants
- Let Us Be Bold
- Steps Towards the Bold Goal 1
- Steps Towards the Bold Goal 2
- Questions, Comments, and Contact Info
-
Here are the slides I
used for this presentation, which are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- Fun With Crypto -- Keeping Secrets [From Ancient Greek Warriors, Enemies of the Roman Empire, Medieval English Kings, and Modern Superpowers]
- At the Pueblo Cyber Summer Camp sponsored by the The Cyber Institute and The Center for Cyber Security Education & Research at Colorado State University-Pueblo on 21 July 2018.
- Slide titles were:
- Why Crypto?
- Some Reasons for Secrecy
- Situations Requiring Secrecy: Ancient Greece
- The Scytale
- Terminology
- A Little Scytale
- Situations Requiring Secrecy: Ancient Rome
- The Cæsar Cipher
- The Tasty Math of Modular Arithmetic
- Back To The Cæsar Cipher: Different Keys
- Cryptanalysis: Security Through Obscurity vs Kerckhoff's Principle
- "Brute-Force Attack"
- Teaching A Computer To Do The Boring Stuff, 1
- Teaching A Computer To Do The Boring Stuff, 2
- Cæsar's Computer, 1
- Cæsar's Computer, 2
- Cæsar's Computer, 3
- Another Approach To Cryptanalysis: Counting Things
- More Advanced Encryption: Vigenère and One-Time Pads
- Homework Assignment
- Practice
- A Challenge
-
Here are the slides I used for
this presentation, which are released under a
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- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
-
Roll Your Own Textbook
- At the First Digital Front Range Symposium on 5 May 2018.
- I used this web page as a
visual aid for this presentation, which is released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- OER Council
Contribution to Colorado Department of Higher Education Report to
the Joint Budget Committee of the Colorado General
Assembly
- At the 3 January 2018 meeting of the Joint Budget Committee of the Colorado General Assembly.
- Joint with Deborah Keyek-Franssen, Associate Vice President for Digital Education & Engagement at The University of Colorado System Office of Academic Affairs and Emily Ragan, Department of Chemistry, Metropolitan State University of Denver.
- Emily and I prepared remarks which were supposed to last about
five minutes [Deb had an emergency and couldn't be there]. I was to
begin with
SB17-258, which was passed and signed last May, created the OER Council consisting of three state government officials and ten individuals from a variety of roles in public institutions of higher education in Colorado. Dr Emily Ragan, assistant professor of chemistry at MSU Denver was one of the four faculty on the Council (and was the lucky one whom we elected as chair). I am another: I am an associate professor of mathematics at CSU-Pueblo.
I wanted to take a faculty member and student's perspective on OER for just a moment, since the more formal definition is given on our one-page handout.
When I choose a textbook for, say, a calculus class, the easiest thing for me to do is to look over the offerings sent to me for free by various large textbook publishers. I pick one, the campus bookstore orders it and sells it on campus for a modest mark-up, resulting in a sticker price of around \$300.
With prices like that (common in STEM fields, and almost as outrageous in other areas), many students don't buy the book, or enroll in fewer classes and take more time to complete (as studies show is happening).
Textbooks are a failed market, in that the feedback between buyer and seller is broken, since the professor makes the purchase decision but the student pays the price. Many in this room like capitalism because this feedback mechanism produces better quality products for better prices -- but the virtues of competition with not accrue if the feedback link is broken!
Commercial publishers seek to influence those who make the decision — hence the ancillary materials like solutions manuals, PowerPoint decks for lectures, etc. — and also to increase prices as fast as they can without killing the goose that laid the golden egg.
This is why, since the 1980s when I was a student, textbook prices have increased by approximately 900%, as compared to a total increase in the consumer price index of about 200%.
Some scholars choose instead to write their own textbooks and simply to post them on their websites for anyone to use freely. [Actually, there is still an issue with copyright law, but a wonderful series of licenses called Creative Commons licenses exists which overcome this obstacle.]
For example, in the spring of 2017, I was teaching a standard intro to statistics class in Pueblo, and rather that requiring my students to buy the usual textbook at about \$180, I wrote a textbook which covered exactly what I wanted to cover, with very recent and engaging examples and problems and posted it to my website. Since I put a Creative Commons license on that book, my students don't need to worry about getting in trouble for printing out that webpage, nor do scholars at other institutions need to worry about copying that book for their own courses, and evening tinkering with it to their heart's content.
For faculty who don't have time or interest in writing a textbook, there are now great repositories on the `net of wonderful, CC-licensed textbooks which a faculty member can simply adopt or adapt to their class. OER are becoming part of a vast, public commons for everyone to use. For example, Dr Ragan teaches chemistry out of an OER textbook from a great repository called OpenStax.
So: broken market feedback has lead to prices which damage students' prospects. A relatively new approach of using CC-licensed OER allows for cheaper, better materials for students. All that we have to do is to change completely the culture of textbook selection and evaluation in every public institution of higher education in Colorado for our students to get this great benefit.
Changing cultures is not easy. The OER Council made a specific proposal to build a program which can help this happen.Then Emily was intending to say the following [note this material is ©2018 Emily Ragan and is posted here with her permission]:
The OER council developed and deployed surveys to gather information about OER in Colorado higher education. The current awareness of OER is quite low. A question about faculty and staff awareness of open textbooks in the institutional survey received 96% of responses that the majority of faculty and staff don't know how to use open textbooks.In fact, the committee was very busy and instead of saying all of that, Emily said most of her part and I only added two sentences how the textbook price issue is often a surprise to today's faculty because if we were educated back in the 1980s, say, then the cost of textbooks was proportionally far smaller than today (because of that price increase of 900% versus the 200% increase in the CPI).Based on identified obstacles, the OER council made recommendations to create a Colorado OER Initiative with funding requested for three years. One of the most important aspects of the initiative is to provide grant funding to institutions and individuals to increase OER adoption and creation. 80% of the proposed budget goes to the grant program, which will directly benefit students through an increase in courses using OER.
To increase faculty awareness and effective use of OER we also proposed an annual OER conference for stakeholders, including faculty, librarians, and instructional designers.
Based on outcomes in other states, we estimate a four-times return on investment from grant funds each year. Once a course is switched to using OER resources it is likely to stay that way, allowing savings to continue into the future. \$450,000 in grant funding in year one could yield \$1.8 million in savings each year for a total of \$5.4 million from that year-one investment at the end of 3 years. The proposed initiative has a total cost of \$2.82 million and we estimate a \$16.2 million dollar savings after three years.
Substantial monetary savings for higher education students and their parents are one benefit. Other benefits include enhanced student outcomes and support for faculty innovation. It isn't appropriate to mandate that courses or faculty use OER, but we can raise faculty awareness of OER so faculty consider OER alongside other materials and make the best selection for each particular course. Funding would also motivate interested faculty to more quickly and effectively make a change to OER. A funded Colorado Open Educational Resources Initiative would have a substantial, positive impact on Colorado higher education students and the faculty teaching them. -
Here is the (one-page!) (two-sided..)
handout we gave to the JBC, which we are releasing under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
-
Open Educational
Resources for Public Higher Ed in Colorado
- At the 7 December 2017 meeting of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education.
- Joint with Emily Ragan, Department of Chemistry, Metropolitan State University of Denver, chair of the Open Educational Resources Council which was created by Colorado Senate Bill 17-258 and existed from June to November, 2017.
- Some excerpts:
Why OER? Financial Issues 8, Textbook Costs 3[this is slide 10 out of 39]Textbooks are a perfect example of a market failure in that the consumer who pays the price for the product is not the person who chooses which product to purchase!
Textbook choice is in the hands of the individual professor (or, sometimes, a group of professors when a course will be taught in several sections) -- this is actually an important part of the faculty's academic freedom in the classroom and we should be very cautious about stepping on those toes.
Commercial publishers have an incentive to attract professors to their textbooks, with free instructor's editions, test banks, homework answer books, etc., but apparently little incentive to make prices increase in a reasonable way.
E.g., while there have probably been a number of improvements in the understanding of calculus and how to teach it since the first textbook [by Maria Gaetana Agnesi] was published in 1748, it is hard to believe the improvements in exposition since 1980 truly warrant a 900% increase in price.
OER Council Recommendations 1, 2, 3 [this is the contents of slides 29-31 out of 39]OER Council Recommendations
Create a Colorado OER Initiative (COER)
- Scale the use of OER through targeted grant funding,
including:
- Institutional grants to campuses for establishing an OER task force, setting their own OER priorities and disbursing grants
- Individual or small-group grants for faculty and staff, especially at institutions without an institutional grant or OER initiative, to support OER creation, adoption and promotion.
- Ensure knowledge-sharing, professional development and
community-building and sustaining opportunities such as
- Regular virtual meetings of selected OER interest groups
- An annual OER conference of and for stakeholders from around the state, with keynotes and workshops on specific practical issues.
- Establish enabling structure and staffing at the state
level with
- A standing State OER Council to set statewide policy, oversee grant programs and act as conference organizing committee, among other duties
- A full-time staff member in the Colorado Department of Higher Education to support the above activities and to maintain information resources such as websites and collateral materials
- An annual report to the Legislature describing COER activities and reporting on various metrics of success.
- Scale the use of OER through targeted grant funding,
including:
-
Here are the slides we used for this
presentation, which we are releasing under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
-
Algebraic Turing Machines with Applications to Quantum Computation
- At the UCCS Department of Mathematics Rings & Wings Seminar, 15 November 2017.
- Slide titles were:
- The Entscheidungsproblem[="decision problem"]
- Turing Machines: Formally, Set-up
- Turing Machines: Formally, Processing
- Turing Machines: The Picture
- Turing Machines: Universality
- Turing Machines: Use in Complexity Theory
- Turing Machines: Now With Randomness
- Circuits: Starting with Turing Machines
- Circuits: Boolean Basics
- Circuits: We Want More Algebra!
- Circuits: Controlled Gates, CNOT
- Circuits: Controlled Gates, TOFFOLI
- Circuits: Digression 1, Universality of TOFFOLI
- Circuits: Where Do Those Vectors Live? and Input
- Circuits: Where Do Those Vectors Live? and Output
- Circuits: No Probability [Yet]
- Circuits: Unitary Universalist
- Circuits: BvN Machines
- Circuits: Digression 2, Physics — Landauer's Principle
- Circuits: Digression 2, Physics — Moore's Law 1
- Circuits: Digression 2, Physics — Nanoscale Problems
- Circuits: Digression 2, Physics — Moore's Law 2
- Quantum Mechanics: Postulate I
- A Nice State Space
- Quantum Mechanics: Postulate II
- Quantum Mechanics: Postulate III
- Quantum Mechanics: Postulate IV
- Quantum Mechanics: All Together Now
- Quantum Circuits
- Example Quantum Algorithms: Deutsch-Jozsa
- Vary the Structure Group!
- So What? Part 1
- So What? Part B
- References
-
Here are the slides I used for the talk,
which I am releasing under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- Digital
Security HOWTO: Protect your Data, Communications, and
Activities, & Painlessly Integrate Teaching Simple Security
Into Classes
- At Domains 2017: Indie EdTech and Other Curiosities hosted by the University of Oklahoma, 5-6 June 2017.
- Last slide:
Final Thoughts [RIP?]
- How are people in the academic world comfortable using nonfree software?
- Things you can do to model good security practice:
- Use a good password. [Your current password is very weak, almost certainly, even if it is very hard for you to remember.]
- Encrypt all of your drives.
- Encrypt your email.
- Get an SSL certificate for your site.
- Use HPPS Everywhere, Privacy Badger,
- Ways to get your posse [students, faculty, staff] started:
- Make a rule that you will only accept [certain kinds of] email from students if it is encrypted?
- Make installing SSL (from Let's Encrypt) a standard [required] practice in your class or institution or DoOO operation.
- Think and talk about security all the damn time.
- Don't admit you're afraid of it.
- There are many, fantastic books/HOWTOs/manpages/Khan Academy Videos/etc.
- Ask a cryptologist when you're concerned. Most of us are very nice people.
*But it's pretty cool, too. -
Here are the slides I used for the
talk, which I am releasing under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
-
Technology and the Future of Higher Equation: The 'Net as Neoliberal Dystopia [Yes, that should have been "Higher Education", but this misprint in the conference program was amusing to a mathematician.]
- At the Symposium on Academic Freedom sponsored by the Colorado Conference of the American Association of University Professors on 29 April 2017.
- Abstract:The Internet is actually, from many perspectives, a frightening neoliberal dystopia. The ways this affects academia — which are numerous and highly disruptive — hits the academic life largely in the perfect center of what is academic freedom. Faculty need to wake up to this fact, seize control back of academic freedom in technical matters, and not simply let the neoliberal hegemony crash over our heads. Fortunately, there are strategies and tools, such as free/libre, open-source software [FLOSS] and the Creative Commons which will give us a good hope of prevailing in the end.
-
Here are the slides I was originally
intending to use for this talk. Be warned, however, that the
actual talk was very different from these slides, because
the was shorter than anticipated (due to a crazy April Colorado
blizzard messing up all the timing) and the heightened emphasis on
neoliberalism which seemed appropriate given the other
symposium attendees. These slides are released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the slides (which were, as just stated, only slightly related to the actual talk) and all associated files in case you want to remix them in any way.
- Here is a video of the actual presentation.
- Encrypt Your Email and Hard Drive: A Practical and Mathematical Introduction to Protecting Your
Data from Criminals and Surveillance
- An event sponsored by the Math and Physics Club of CSUP on 2 December 2015.
- Abstract:The Math and Physics Club of CSU-Pueblo brings you this very practical (and, ok, somewhat mathematical, because that's who we are) introduction to using encryption to protect your data both when it is standing still on your computer and when it is in flight over the Internet, such as in an email.
- Here is a web page with the text displayed during the talk, links to follow, (hints of) some additional material which I didn't have time to cover, and a video of the talk itself.
-
Information Technology Wants to Be Free the
Colorado State University—Pueblo
on 25 September
2014.
- This was the Colorado State University—Pueblo College of Science and Mathematics Food for Thought Colloquium on 25 September 2014.
- Abstract:There is a thriving ecosystem of free* software for doing everything computers can do. This software is as easy to use but more reliable and powerful than commercial software. If you believe in peer review of new scientific results, you should be using free software. You should certainly be using free software if you are a dissident living in a country with a repressive government or if you want to use the Internet anywhere on the planet while protecting your privacy and security.
The free software movement largely came out of university science departments at the beginning of the computer age, and has continued to provide tools for scientific research, communication, and education. In this talk, I will survey some of these tools and then concentrate on two particular areas in which I have been involved recently: open publishing (free textbooks!) and free on-line homework systems.
*The word "free" here is to be thought of as "unrestricted", NOT as "cost=$0" -- the standard quip here is that we mean "Free as in speech, not as in beer." A term which might be more familiar is "open-source," although the openness of the source code is only one aspect of the freedom under discussion. - Here is a web page with the text displayed during the talk, links to follow, (hints of) some additional material which I didn't have time to cover, and a video of the talk itself.
Reports for Governments [Colorado and the European Union] and Corporations [IBM]:
- Colorado Rises: Transforming Educational
Practices through Open Educational Resources, 2021
- Co-authored by the members of the Colorado Open Educational Resources
Council (which was created by the bill
HB18-1331 of the
Colorado General Assembly). The Council members were
- Emily Bongiovanni, Scholarly Communications Librarian, Colorado School of Mines.
- Meg Brown-Sica, Assistant Dean of Libraries, Colorado State University.
- Brittany Dudek, Library Coordinator, Colorado Community Colleges Online
- Dustin Fife (chair), Director of Libraries, Western Colorado University
- Regan Harper, Director of Networking & Resource Sharing, Colorado State Library
- Jaime Henthorn (vice-chair), Associate Vice President for Digital Education & Engagement, University of Colorado
- Sherry Jones, Rhetoric and English Composition Instructor, Community College of Denver
- Youngmin Kim, Assistant Professor of Physics, Colorado Mesa University
- Oscar Levin, Associate Professor of Mathematics, University of Northern Colorado
- Michael Levine-Clark, Dean and Director of University Libraries, University of Denver
- Mark Manzaneres, Chair of Counselor Education, Adams State University
- Renee Martinez, Principal Consultant, Colorado Department of Education
- Jonathan Poritz, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Colorado State University - Pueblo
- Emily Ragan, Associate Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver
- © 2021, members of the OER Council [Maybe? state law is complex on this subject. In any case, I feel sure that whoever owns the copyright on this document is happy for widespread public use without prior approval. Or at least, I hope so....].
- PDF — 2.4M
- From the Executive Summary:
Key Findings
Over the last three years, CDHE and the OER Council have established a community of learning, practice, and innovation for educators exploring open education. Key findings suggest a meaningful current impact and promising future. Most significantly the below findings demonstrate the impact and potential of open education and OER in Colorado:
-
Current performance measures indicate a striking return on
the State's initial investment. In addition to an
estimated \$10.2 million in student savings from \$1.55 million
in grant funding - over a six-fold return on investment - awareness
and enthusiasm have increased through capacity-building.
Key Performance Indicators:- Statewide, a total of \$3.9 million in student savings occurred during the initial implementation of the first grant cycle; that number is believed to have compounded year-over-year. An additional \$2.4 million in student savings occurred during the initial implementation of the second grant cycle. Assuming OER from the first cycle continue to be used with similar enrollments, it's estimated that more than \$10.2 million in total student savings have resulted from the program thus far over the two reported years.
- In the first year, grantees addressed more than 100 courses, more than 300 courses in the second, and in the third, it is predicted at least 98 more courses will utilize OER funded by this program, reaching more than 60,000 anticipated enrollments in courses with OER materials funded by this grant program in the forthcoming academic year.
-
National trends and local data suggest OER supports student
learning outcomes while lowering costs for students. The
majority of students and faculty who have used both OER and
traditional textbooks believe OER are of equal or higher
quality, making it increasingly challenging to justify the high
price of commercial textbooks.
Key Performance Indicators: Most, but not all, OER grantees have reported data demonstrating improvements or no negative impact to student learning and outcomes as a result of OER implementation; with various campuses citing increased student engagement or enthusiasm when open education pedagogies are employed by instructors.- Survey results indicate increases in awareness and large increases in the amount of OER champions on campuses, institutions tracking student cost savings, and administration support for OER.
-
Building capacity and funding creates a statewide
ecosystem for successful OER adoption. Fortunately, in
Colorado both funding and support for OER implementation have
been coordinated through the work of the OER Council and CDHE,
providing the best opportunity for the broadest impact.
Key Performance Indicators:- 87% of eligible institutions have received funding from the CDHE OER Grant Program, signaling both a great interest in this field, and an effort to build statewide collaboration.
- More than 120 faculty, staff, and advocates have been trained through the Open Education Ambassadors program, with more than 1,250 attendees at the June 2020 OER Virtual Summit.
-
Current performance measures indicate a striking return on
the State's initial investment. In addition to an
estimated \$10.2 million in student savings from \$1.55 million
in grant funding - over a six-fold return on investment - awareness
and enthusiasm have increased through capacity-building.
- Also available on the Colorado Department of Higher Education website.
- Colorado Rises: Transforming Educational Practices through Open Educational Resources, 2020
- Co-authored by the members of the Colorado Open Educational Resources
Council (which was created by the bill
HB18-1331 of the
Colorado General Assembly). The Council members were
- Emily Bongiovanni (chair), Scholarly Communications Librarian, Colorado School of Mines.
- Meg Brown-Sica, Assistant Dean of Libraries, Colorado State University.
- Brittany Dudek, Library Coordinator, Colorado Community Colleges Online
- Spencer Elis, Director of Educational Innovation, Colorado Department of Education
- Dustin Fife (vice chair), Director of Libraries, Western Colorado University
- Regan Harper, Director of Networking & Resource Sharing, Colorado State Library
- Jaime Henthorn, Associate Vice President for Digital Education & Engagement, University of Colorado
- Alana Lipscomb, Student Representative, University of Colorado-Denver
- Mark Manzaneres, Chair of Counselor Education, Adams State University
- Renee Martinez, Principal Consultant, Colorado Department of Education
- Jen Mayer, Head - Library Research Services, University of Northern Colorado
- Casey McCoy-Simmons, PhD Student, University of Denver
- Tina Parscal, Associate Vice Chancellor for CCCOnline and Academic Affairs, Colorado Community College System
- Jonathan Poritz, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Colorado State University - Pueblo
- Emily Ragan, Associate Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver
- © 2020, members of the OER Council [Maybe? state law is complex on this subject. In any case, I feel sure that whoever owns the copyright on this document is happy for widespread public use without prior approval. Or at least, I hope so....].
- PDF — 3.3M
- From the Executive Summary:
Key Findings
Over the last two years, CDHE and the OER Council have established a community of learning, practice, and innovation for educators exploring open education. Key findings suggest a meaningful current impact and promising future. Most significantly the below findings demonstrate the impact and potential of open education and OER in Colorado:
-
Current performance measures indicate a striking return on the
State's initial investment. In addition to an estimated \$3.9
million in student savings from \$550,000 in grant funding - a
nearly seven-fold return on investment - awareness and enthusiasm
have increased through capacity-building.
Key Performance Indicators:- Statewide, a total of \$3.9 million in student savings occurred during the first grant cycle; that number is expected to persist and grow year-over-year.
- In the first year, grantees addressed over 100 courses, reaching over 30,000 enrolled students with OER materials from the Grant Program.
-
National trends and local data suggest OER supports student
learning outcomes while lowering costs for students. The
majority of students and faculty who have used both OER and
traditional textbooks believe OER are of equal or higher
quality, making it increasingly challenging to justify the high
price of commercial textbooks.
Key Performance Indicators:- Several OER grantees have reported specific data demonstrating improvements or no negative impact to student learning and outcomes as a result of OER implementation ; with various campuses citing increased student engagement or enthusiasm when open education pedagogical are employed by instructors.
- Survey results indicate increases in awareness and large increases in the amount of OER champions on campuses, institutions tracking student cost savings, and administration support for OER.
-
Building capacity and funding creates a statewide ecosystem
for successful OER adoption. Fortunately, in Colorado both
funding and support for OER implementation have been
coordinated through the work of the OER Council and CDHE,
providing the best opportunity for the broadest impact.
Key Performance Indicators:- 96% of eligible institutions have received funding from the CDHE OER Grant Program, signaling both a great interest in this field, and an effort to build statewide collaboration.
- Over 120 faculty, staff, and advocates have been trained through the Open Education Ambassadors program, with over 1,250 registered to attend the June 2020 OER Virtual Summit.
-
Current performance measures indicate a striking return on the
State's initial investment. In addition to an estimated \$3.9
million in student savings from \$550,000 in grant funding - a
nearly seven-fold return on investment - awareness and enthusiasm
have increased through capacity-building.
- Also available on the Colorado Department of Higher Education website.
- Colorado Rises: Transforming Educational Practices through Open Educational Resources, 2019
- Co-authored by the members of the Colorado Open Educational Resources
Council (which was created by the bill
HB18-1331 of the
Colorado General Assembly). The Council members were
- Emily Bongiovanni (vice chair), Scholarly Communications Librarian, Colorado School of Mines.
- Meg Brown-Sica, Assistant Dean of Libraries, Colorado State University.
- Brittany Dudek (chair), Library Coordinator, Colorado Community Colleges Online
- Spencer Elis, Director of Educational Innovation, Colorado Department of Education
- Dustin Fife, Director of Libraries, Western Colorado University
- Regan Harper, Director of Networking & Resource Sharing, Colorado State Library
- Susan Kendall, Faculty, Arapahoe Community College
- Deborah Keyek-Franssen, Associate Vice President for Digital Education & Engagement, University of Colorado
- Alana Lipscomb, Student Representative, University of Colorado-Denver
- Mark Manzaneres, Chair of Counselor Education, Adams State University
- Renee Martinez, Principal Consultant, Colorado Department of Education
- Tina Parscal, Associate Vice Chancellor for CCCOnline and Academic Affairs, Colorado Community College System
- Christine Pawliuk, Business Librarian, Colorado State University.
- Jonathan Poritz, Director of Center for Teaching and Learning, Colorado State University - Pueblo
- Emily Ragan, Associate Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver
- Helen Reed, Dean of Libraries, University of Northern Colorado
- © 2019, members of the OER Council [Maybe? state law is complex on this subject. In any case, I feel sure that whoever owns the copyright on this document is happy for widespread public use without prior approval. Or at least, I hope so....].
- PDF — 13M
- From the Executive Summary:
Key Findings
Over the past year, CDHE and the OER Council have established a community of learning, practice and innovation. Key findings suggest a meaningful current impact and promising future. Most significantly:
- Current performance measures indicate a striking return on the State's initial investment. In addition to a projected \$3.4 million in student savings from \$550,000 in grant funding - a nearly seven-fold return on investment - awareness and enthusiasm have increased through capacity-building.
- National trends and local data suggest OER supports student learning outcomes while lowering costs for students. The majority of students and faculty who have used both OER and traditional textbooks believe OER are of equal or higher quality, making it increasingly challenging to justify the high price of commercial textbooks.
- Building capacity and funding creates a statewide ecosystem for successful OER adoption. Fortunately, in Colorado both funding and support for OER implementation have been coordinated through the work of the OER Council and CDHE, providing the best opportunity for the broadest impact.
- Also available on the Colorado Department of Higher Education website.
- COLORADO OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES COUNCIL: Report to the Joint Budget Committee and The Education Committees of the General Assembly -- Open Educational Resources in Colorado
- Co-authored by the members of the Colorado Open Educational Resources
Council (which was created by the bill
SB17-258 of the
Colorado General Assembly). The Council members were
- Meg Brown-Sica, Assistant Dean for Scholarly Communications and Collections, Colorado State University.
- Courtney Bruch, Lead Librarian, Colorado State University - Global
- Karen Danielson, Associate Professor of Art, Community College of Denver
- Brittany Dudek, Library Coordinator, Colorado Community Colleges Online
- Eugene Hainer, State Librarian, Colorado Department of Education
- Deborah Keyek-Franssen (vice chair), Associate Vice President for Digital Education & Engagement, University of Colorado
- Alexey Leontyev, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Adams State University
- Renee Martinez, Online and Blended Learning Specialist, Colorado Department of Education
- Tina Parscal, Executive Director, Colorado Community Colleges Online
- Jonathan Poritz, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Colorado State University - Pueblo
- Emily Ragan (chair), Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Metropolitan State University of Denver
- Helen Reed, Dean of Libraries, University of Northern Colorado
- © 2017, members of the OER Council [Maybe? state law is complex on this subject, and one of the appendices is a document which was produced elsewhere, but with a CC-BY-NC-SA license, which might mean that this report should have that same license. In any case, I feel sure that whoever owns the copyright on this document is happy for widespread public use without prior approval. Or at least, I hope so....].
- PDF — 2.4M
- Abstract:
Overview
Open Educational Resources (OER) are freely available online teaching and learning materials accessible to students, instructors and self-learners. Contained in digital media collections from around the world, examples of OER include full courses, lectures, quizzes, classroom activities, pedagogical materials and many other assets.
Colorado's Open Educational Resources Council is a statewide body charged by the Legislature and the governor through SB 17-258 to develop recommendations for an OER initiative serving public higher education in the state of Colorado. This OER Council Report to the Joint Budget Committee includes a rationale for state investment in OER, an overview of successful OER initiatives in other states, a description of the current status of OER use in Colorado and structural and investment recommendations for a statewide OER initiative [See Appendix 1 for a three-year timeline.].
In order to develop impactful policy recommendations, this past year the OER Council collaborated with Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE) Center for Educational Technologies (WCET) to understand the status and use of OER in Colorado. That project resulted in the analysis, Open Educational Resources in Colorado, by WCET Director of Open Policy Tanya Spilovoy, Ed.D. Data from Dr. Spilovoy's analysis is an integral part of this report to the JBC and her analysis, in its entirety, follows this report.
Research into OER benefits conducted by the council, and described in the following narrative, shows that increased adoption of OER significantly benefits students through cost savings, improved learning and increased student retention. Therefore, the council recommends launching and funding a Colorado OER Initiative (COER) for at least three years [See Appendix 1 for a three-year timeline.] with a total proposed budget of $2,820,070 [See Appendix 2 for budget details.] to:
- Scale the use of OER through targeted grant funding, including:
- Institutional grants to campuses for establishing an OER task force, setting their own OER priorities and disbursing grants in support of these priorities; and
- Individual or small-group grants for faculty and staff, especially at institutions without an institutional grant or OER initiative, to support OER creation, adoption and promotion.
- Ensure knowledge-sharing, professional development and
community-building and sustaining opportunities such as
- Regular virtual meetings of selected OER interest groups; and
- An annual OER conference of and for stakeholders from around the state, with keynotes and workshops on specific practical issues.
- Establish enabling structure and staffing at the state level
with
- A standing State OER Council to set statewide policy, oversee grant programs and act as conference organizing committee, among other duties;
- A full-time staff member in the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) to support the above activities and to maintain information resources such as websites and collateral materials; and
- An annual report to the Legislature describing COER activities and reporting on various metrics of success.
- Scale the use of OER through targeted grant funding, including:
- Also available on the Colorado Department of Higher Education website.
- Property attestation--scalable and privacy-friendly security assessment of peer computers
- With Matthias Schunter, Els Van Herreweghen and Michael Waidner
- IBM Research Report RZ3548, 2004; © 2004 IBM
- PDF — 296K
- Abstract:A core security challenge is the integrity verification of the software that is executed on a machine. For example, an enterprise needs to know whether a gate- way machine has been infected by malicious code. One prevailing approach is to use directories of configuration check-sums to detect when a configuration has been changed (see www.tripwire.org). These software-only solutions have limitations when the operating system itself is compromised. The tamper-resistant Trusted Platform Module (TPM) specified by the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) allows a TPM-enhanced platform to securely attest to a configuration of a machine. Based on such binary attestation, a verifying peer computer can then decide whether or not to trust the verified platform.
In this paper, we argue that the approach of binary attestation is not privacy-friendly, scalable or open and vendor-neutral. The main criticism is that this approach needlessly discloses the complete configuration (i.e., all executed software) of a machine. The focus of binary attestation are the binaries instead of their security. We present a protocol and architecture for property attestation that resolves these problems. With property attestation, a verifier is securely assured of security properties of the verified platform's execution environment without receiving detailed configuration data. This enhances privacy and scalability since the verifier needs to be aware of its few required security properties instead of an huge number of acceptable configurations.
- Also available directly from IBM.
- Alternative computational devices and architectures
- With Giovanni Cherubini, Heike Riel and Gian Salis
- Published [internally to IBM] 2003
- Unfortunately, this is an IBM Confidential research report.
- Full Design of Dependable Third Party Services
- With Christian Cachin (editor), et al.
- Deliverable D5, Project MAFTIA IST-1999-11583, 2001
- Abstract:This document describes the designs of a generic distributed certification authority and of a trusted party for optimistic fair exchange that are based on fault-tolerant middleware for service replication. It also discusses other uses of the replication middleware for implementing trusted services. It may serve as a blueprint for building generic trusted third-party services that use the state-machine replication approach.
- See NOTE2, below for copyright information
- PDF — 188K
- Also available as IBM Research Report RZ3394 (which is © 2001 IBM)
- First specification of APIs and protocols for the MAFTIA middleware
- With Nuno Ferreira Neves and Paulo Verissimo (editors), et al.
- Deliverable D24, Project MAFTIA IST-1999-11583, 2001
- Abstract:This document describes the first specification of the APIs and Protocols for the MAFTIA Middleware. The architecture of the middleware subsystem has been described in a previous document, where the several modules and services were introduced: Activity Services; Communication Services; Network Abstraction; Trusted and Untrusted Components. The purpose of the present document is to make concrete the functionality of the middleware components, by defining their application programming interfaces, and describing the protocols implementing the above-mentioned functionality.
- See NOTE2, below for copyright information
- PDF — 816K
- Also available as IBM Research Report RZ3365 (which is © 2001 IBM)
- Specification of dependable trusted third parties
- With Christian Cachin (editor), et al.
- Deliverable D26, Project MAFTIA IST-1999-11583, 2001
- Abstract:This document describes an architecture for secure service replication in an asynchronous network like the Internet, where a malicious adversary may corrupt some servers and control the network. The underlying protocols for Byzantine agreement and for atomic broadcast rely on recent developments in threshold cryptography. These assumptions are discussed in detail and compared to related work from the last decade. A formal model using concepts from modern cryptography is developed, modular definitions for several broadcast problems are presented, including reliable, atomic, and secure causal broadcast, and protocols implementing them. Reliable broadcast is a basic primitive, also known as the Byzantine generals problem, providing agreement on a delivered message. Atomic broadcast imposes additionally a total order on all delivered messages. A randomized asynchronous atomic broadcast protocol is presented that maintains liveness and safety at the same time. It is based on a new efficient protocol for multi-valued asynchronous Byzantine agreement with an external validity condition. Secure causal broadcast extends atomic broadcast by encryption to guarantee a causal order among the delivered messages. Furthermore, it is discussed how several distributed trusted applications can be realized using such an architecture: a digital notary service, a trusted third party for fair exchange, a certification authority, and an authentication service.
- See NOTE2, below for copyright information
- PDF — 456K
- Also available as IBM Research Report RZ3318 (which is © 2001 IBM)
- Co-authored by the members of the Colorado Open Educational Resources
Council (which was created by the bill
HB18-1331 of the
Colorado General Assembly). The Council members were
Patents:
- Attestation of computing platforms
- With Jan Camenisch and Roger Zimmermann
- US 8,555,072 B2, granted 8 October 2013
- PDF — 1.1M
- Abstract:A method and apparatus for attesting the configuration of a computing platform to a verifier. A signature key ($SK$) is bound to the platform and bound to a defined configuration of the platform. A credential ($C(SK)$,$C_{DAA}(SK)$) for the signature key ($SK$) is obtained from an evaluator. This credential ($C(SK)$,$C_{DAA}(SK)$) certifies that the signature key ($SK$) is bound to an unspecified trusted platform configuration. The platform can then demonstrate to the verifier the ability to sign a challenge from the verifier using the signature key ($SK$), and demonstrate possession of the credential ($C(SK)$,$C_{DAA}(SK)$) to the verifier, thereby attesting that the platform has a trusted configuration without disclosing the platform configuration to the verifier.
- owned by IBM
- Method and system to authenticate an application in a computing platform operating in Trusted Computing Group (TCG) domain
- With Bernhard Jansen, Luke O'Connor, and Els Van Herreweghen
- US 8,060,941 B2, granted 15 November 2011
- PDF — 1.9M
- Abstract:A method and system for verifying authenticity of an application in a computing-platform operating in a Trusted Computing Group (TCG) domain is provided. The method includes computing one or more integrity measurements corresponding to one or more of the applications, a plurality of precedent-applications, and an output file. The output file includes an output of the application, the application is executing on the computing-platform. Each precedent-application is executed before the application. The method further includes comparing one or more integrity measurements with re-computed integrity measurements. The re-computed integrity measurements are determined corresponding to one or more of the application, the plurality of precedent-applications, and the computing-platform.
- owned by IBM
- Method and device for verifying the security of a computing platform
- With Matthias Schunter, Els Van Herreweghen and Michael Waidner
- US 7,770,000 B2, granted 3 August 2010
- PDF — 176K
- Abstract:Method and device for verifying the security of a computing platform. In the method for verifying the security of a computing platform a verification machine is first transmitting a verification request via an integrity component to the platform. Then the platform is generating by means of a trusted platform module a verification result depending on binaries loaded on the platform, and is transmitting it to the integrity verification component. Afterwards, the integrity verification component is determining with the received verification result the security properties of the platform and transmits them to the verification machine. Finally, the verification machine is determining whether the determined security properties comply with desired security properties.
- owned by IBM
Handouts/Worksheets/Posters:
-
Copyright Cheat Sheet for Higher Education [in the United States]
- Used in various training contexts, such as sessions of the Rebus Community's Textbook Success Programs in the summer of 2022.
-
Sections were:
- 1. Background: Intellectual Property
-
2. Copyright Basics
- 2.1 Duration
- 2.2 Subject
- 2.3 Getting the Copyright
- 2.4 What's It Good For?
-
3. Constraints on Copyright
- 3.1 Works-for-hire
- 3.2 Works of the US Federal Government
- 3.3 Fair Use
-
4. Some Advanced Topics
- 4.1 Remixes and Collections
- 4.2 Transnational Applicability of Copyright
-
Here is the cheat sheet itself, which is
released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.
- And here is an editable form of the handout and all associated files in case you want to remix it in any way.
-
Creative Commons Cheat Sheet for Higher Education [in the United States]
- Used in various training contexts, such as sessions of the Rebus Community's Textbook Success Programs in the summer of 2022.
-
Sections were:
- 1. Background: Academic Freedom vs Copyright
-
2. Creative Commons Licenses
- 2.1 Limitations of CC Licenses
- 2.2 Four Kinds of Sharing...
- 2.3 ...Resulting in Six CC Licenses
- 2.4 License Structure
-
3. CC Public Domain Tools
- 3.1 The CC0 Universal Public Domain Dedication
- 3.2 The Public Domain Mark
-
4. Practicalities
- 4.1 Using CC Licensed Work: TASL
- 4.2 Adaptations/Remixes
- 4.3 Applying a CC License to Your Work
-
Here is the cheat sheet itself, which is
released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.
- And here is an editable form of the handout and all associated files in case you want to remix it in any way.
- Modernized, more active version of UNESCO OER Icon
- Used for OER promotion activities
-
Here is the image
which can be found at this direct URL in the .png image. It is released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. It is a derivative by Jonathan Poritz of Global OER Logo by Jonathas Mello, which was licensed CC BY; this version adds a hand which is writing on one page of the OER and another which is interacting with a touchscreen on a laptop.
- And here is a form which is editable in the GIMP.
- Here is a version with the text part in Italian (which is released under the same license and attribution as above for the English version).
- OER Breaking the Chains of Textbook Cost
- Used for OER promotion activities, OE Week 2020
-
Here is the image
which can be found at this direct URL for .png and at this direct URL for .tif. It is released under a
Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 license. It is a derivative of librarians against DRM.readersbillofrights.info.png by Jose Mesa, which was licensed CC BY-SA 2.0 Generic.
- And here is a form which is editable in the GIMP.
-
OER One-Pager for Fact2Fac, Oct 2019
- Used at the CDHE-sponsored Faculty-to-Faculty event on the campus of Colorado State University-Pueblo, 25 October 2019
-
Sections were:
- WHAT are OER?
-
WHY use OER?
- Reason 1: Student Economic Issues
- Reason 2: More Academic Freedom
- Reason 3: Increased academic success and equity
- WHERE can you find OER?
- WHO is involved in OER work, in Colorado and elsewhere?
- HOW can you adopt, adapt, and create OER?
-
Here is the handout itself, which is
released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the handout and all associated files in case you want to remix it in any way.
- CSU-Pueblo: A DOER Campus By 2028 — Whitepaper and Proposal, September 2019
- For internal conversations and advocacy
-
Sections were:
- Definition of OER from Colorado's HB18-1331
- Students' Economic Realities
- Students' Experiences with OER
- A History of OER at CSU-Pueblo
- A Decision Point for OER at CSU-Pueblo
- DOER Implementation at CSU-Pueblo
- CSU-Pueblo as a DOER Campus Proclamation [Draft]
-
Here is the whitepaper itself, which
is released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the handout and all associated files in case you want to remix it in any way.
-
CSU-Pueblo OER One-Pager for Convocation Week Exhibit Hall, Fall 2019
- Used at the Colorado State University-Pueblo Convocation Week Exhibit Hall, 21 August 2019
-
Sections were:
- WHAT are OER?
-
WHY use OER?
- Reason 1: Student Economic Issues
- Reason 2: More Academic Freedom
- WHERE can you find OER?
- WHO is involved in OER work, at CSU-Pueblo and elsewhere?
- HOW can you adopt, adapt, and create OER?
- WHEN will OER-realted activities be happening at CSU-Pueblo?
- Let's make CSU-Pueblo a DOER [Default OER] campus, where unless there is a very good reason, classes will default to using OER ⇝ for the price, the quality, and the academic freedom
-
Here is the handout itself, which is
released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
- And here is an editable form of the handout and all associated files in case you want to remix it in any way.
Software
-
GoDot2P:
Python software for moving OER out of Google Docs, preprocessing,
and uploading to Pressbooks.
-
Developed during the course of work done for
Open Oregon Educational
Resources, the rightsholder for this is nevertheless
Jonathan A. Poritz, who
is releasing it under a
GPLv3
free software license.
- This software is likely not a plug-and-play solution in your situation (unless you're Open Oregon Educational Resources), but it does have commented code that shows shortcuts and solution strategies for folks who are building OER in Google Docs and who want to move them to Pressbooks for the student-facing version.
- Full details available at the GoDot2P project root page.
-
Developed during the course of work done for
Open Oregon Educational
Resources, the rightsholder for this is nevertheless
Jonathan A. Poritz, who
is releasing it under a