TrustDR and DRM in E-Learning * Feedback requested

["Jackie Proven" <Jackie.Proven@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

**Apologies for any cross-posting**

Request for Comment and Feedback 

The TrustDR project, funded by the JISC in the UK, is tasked with
devising some practical solutions to the problem of managing IPR
(Intellectual Property Rights) in e-learning materials - especially in
the context of institutional repositories of learning objects. To do
this the project is working its way through a demanding problem area
that includes educational, technical, legal, cultural, political and
organisational issues. The project team have decided that the right
approach to this task is that of taking a critical and creative attitude
to problem solving. The work of the first half of the project is now
publicly available for comment, we would really value your feedback
about the documents you can find at this website: 

http://www.uhi.ac.uk/lis/projects/trustdr/work_in_progress.html 


Some of our emerging conclusions are listed below: 

It is understandable that many people associate DRM (Digital Rights
Management) just with technology (digital), however it is our view that
most of the work involved is legal and cultural (rights management). In
this domain it would be very, very easy to spend a lot of money on
useless (and pointless) technical measures. We propose that most of what
we need can be (and needs to be) achieved with lo-tech and no-tech'
solutions. 

The law is not as restrictive as many people think, we advocate an
approach that says what do we want to do? not what do we have to do? 

The TrustDR project final outputs aim to give users the ability to tell
their lawyers what to do and to tell their IT support people what they
have to do to make this work. 

As with DRM in any industry it is important to understand the real
nature of the business and how it works, in our case we need to clearly
understand the business of e-learning and the true role of learning
materials in education. If this means upsetting a few cherished myths
then so much the better. 

E-learning, as it is currently practised, continues to fail to reach
its potential, mostly for cultural and organisational reasons. Tackling
the legal issues in learning materials can be a powerful way of
transforming the educational workplace to make better use of e-learning.



TrustDR project team
trustdr@xxxxxxxxx 
 

Jackie Proven
Digital Rights Research & Development Assistant
TrustDR JISC Project
UHI Millennium Institute
http://www.uhi.ac.uk/lis/projects/trustdr/ 

Room 145
Perth College
Crieff Road
Perth PH1 2NX

Tel. 01738 877339
jackie.proven@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
www.uhi.ac.uk