characteristics of open:
* enrollment (i.e., open registration), licensed materials (using Creative Commons)
* gratis (available at no-cost), libre (everyone has legal rights to repurpose the resource)
but some of the "new cohort of MOOCs are open enrollment but not yet openly licensed their courses (experimenting with various business models)
"MOOCs should address copyright and licensing early on so they are clear to users how they can utilize and reuse educational materials offered on the site. MOOCs should choose to adopt an open license that meets their goals, but at minimum it is recommended that they choose a public, standardized license that grants to its users the "4Rs" of open content: the ability to Reuse, Revise, Remix, and Redistribute the resources. "
Civic innovation can be mightly enhanced by the civic engagement goals of higher education - too bad there's not anything here about the role of local universities or community colleges in a life-long learning effort to support innovative experimentation and public discussions
Internet redefining citizenship in 21st century
- Civic Information API, e.g., Kenya Elections Hub
- Sunlight Foundation programs for open govt data
- MySociety collaboration among developers esp open source code