The Implications of MIT’s Open Courseware
Paul D. Giammalvo
In March of 2001, MIT made an incredible announcement.
“By 2005, MIT course materials that are used in the teaching of almost all undergraduate and graduate subjects will be available on the web, free of charge, to any user anywhere in the world. MIT OCW will radically alter technology-enhanced education at MIT, and will serve as a model for university dissemination of knowledge in the Internet age.”
What implications does this have for Project Management? More specifically, what implications does it have for the professional organizations that represent project management practitioners?
As the outputs of any professional organization represent a “labor of love” of the member-owners through the dedication of their volunteer time and effort in creating/documenting the combined applied knowledge of the profession (Bodies of Knowledge/Methodologies), what are the ethical and legal implications of a Not-For-Profit organization using this “free” labor to amass money? As MIT is certainly a “for profit” university, the implications of their decision to put their intellectual capital on line at no cost sends a very clear statement that it is not the content itself that has value, but the name and credibility of the organization, supported and enhanced by the commitment, dedication, passion and reputation of the faculty and staff where the true value lies. While anyone can use the course materials as the basis for self-study, MIT does not allow free access to the professors, nor does MIT grant degrees or award recognition for those who use the materials for self-study. Specifically, MIT allows “licensees” to:
- reproduce the Work, to incorporate it into any Collective Works (as defined below), and to reproduce the work as incorporated in the Collective Works;
- create and reproduce Derivative Works (as defined below);
- distribute copies of, display publicly, perform publicly, and perform publicly by means of digital audio transmission the Work, including as incorporated in Collective Works;
- distribute copies of, display publicly, perform publicly, and perform publicly by means of digital audio transmission Derivative Works.
What this does is to enhance the credibility and “value” of an MIT degree, not because of the content, but from the high standards the institution sets in hiring professors and in the high standards the institution sets in accepting and preparing students.
What MIT has done compares a bit more favorably with what the UK Government’s Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has done with the public domain Prince 2® in the sense that it can be used by anybody without payment of a license fee and it is not owned by any one supplier. It is however, protected by copyright and trademark registration. The contents of the PRINCE 2 Manual and other publications are copyrighted and owned by OGC, and license to reuse, reproduce or republish can be obtained through Her Majesties Stationary Office (HMSO).
What does this all mean to us? The direction MIT and to a lesser degree, the UK Government are taking seem to indicate that “knowledge” in and of itself belongs to the those who need to use it, and the “greater good” is served by making it freely available to anyone who has an interest in bettering themselves individually. The line seems to be drawn at the point when an individual seeks to either formalize that knowledge (as in obtaining course grades or a degree from MIT) or when one seeks to use the knowledge for commercial purposes, (Prince 2) at which point a licensing or other compensation is appropriate and justified.
Following MIT’s lead forces us to at least think about our individual and collective “Knowledge” as an asset, and how best to capitalize on that asset not only for personal, professional or corporate advantage but also for the betterment of mankind and the planet we call home.
Paul D. Giammalvo, CDT, PMP, CCE, MScPM
Jakarta Pusat
INDONESIA
Editor's note:
The Editor of the Tourblus Newsletter Patrick Douglas Crispin writes in the 2 October Newsletter:
"You may remember that back in April of 2001 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] announced the ground-breaking and ambitious ten-year goal of posting online all course materials from every MIT undergraduate and graduate course. Syllabi. Course calendars. Lecture notes. Assignments. Exams. Everything."
You can find MIT's OpenCourseWare site online at http://ocw.mit.edu/
Patrick writes..
"So, does this mean you can now get a free, online degree from MIT? Not on your life. While educators are encouraged to borrow MIT's course materials for their own curricula, and while everyone in the world is encouraged to use the OpenCourseWare site for self-study, MIT has absolutely no plans to offer credit for the online versions of their courses."
MIT spokesperson Jon Paul Potts in a CNET interview last year said , http://news.com.com/2100-1023-961563.html
"An MIT education happens in the classroom, by interacting with other students and with faculty, not by reading some Web pages or downloading some materials, or even watching a video lecture."
Crispin summarizes his article on MIT OCW " this is an amazing educational resource, one that will have an impact on educational institutions and learning organizations around the world."
About the Author:
Paul D. Giammalvo, CDT, PMP, CCE, MScPM, is Director of the ASEAN Project
Manager's Center of Excellence, Inc. (APMX) For over 12 years, he has been
provided Project Management training and consulting throughout SE Asia.
He is active in the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering
International, (AACE); Construction Specifications Institute (CSI); Construction
Management Association of America, (CMAA) and serves on the Global Project
Management Forum Steering Committee. Email
Paul
G. Giammalvo or visit
Paul's Website