In my final project, I have formulated two conceptual organizations that utilize peer-to-peer, open source wiki software platforms. The first, "OpenOrg" is a space where individuals, groups and funders can come together to create non-profit organizations. Users can generate ideas in a free, open and collaborative space. Other users and existing organizations can contribute, edit or borrow the concepts for their own causes. This network also connects NGOs with one another to collaborate on similar and complimentary causes. It also creates visibility for those seeking to find causes.

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The second organization, OPEN_MATH is an open source MOOC that is designed to connect professors, advanced students, and learners of math. Creators can freely create courses and students can customize courses to suit their needs. All content is created under peer-developed guidelines, ensuring a high standard of education. Both students and educators/course creators are given real time feedback with specific algorithms. Anonymous meta-statistics are collected, with permission, to asses the success of the various programs. OPEN_MATH is a social medium as well, by creating a math-minded community; we can facilitate an environment to improve the education of math.

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How valuable are MOOCs in certain learning demographics?

"[W]e use open source software in our solutions and will use open source software in the future. From time to time, we may face claims against companies that incorporate open source software into their products, claiming ownership of, or demanding release of, the source code, the open source software and/or derivative works that were developed using such software, or otherwise seeking to enforce the terms of the applicable open source license."

Netflix - much more than late-night movie streaming

Peer review citation ring exposed in major scholarly publisher SAGE.

Young, K. (2004). Internet Addiction: A new Clinical Phenomenon and Its Consequences. American Behavioral Scientist. 48:402

a. Although this is a psychology article, it poses an important concern over the rise of internet addiction in connected populations. This article is relevant to this course, as it relates to the notion of critical consumption; some users are unable to filter information effectively, which should be recognized as a concern. Young states many statistics from educators and researchers discounting internet use in the classroom as it is far too distracting and the loss of productivity (in both students and the workforce) is immense.

Kay, R., Lauriclla, S. (2011). Exploring the Benefits and Challenges of Using Laptop Computers in Higher Education Classrooms: A Formative Analysis. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology. 37:1

a. Laptops and mobile devices are ubiquitous in todays classrooms as students are digital natives. Because of decreasing prices of technology over the past few decades, an overwhelming majority of the university students surveyed own a laptop (87%). Because of this quick onset of technological adoption, culture has lagged, in terms of re-defining the social institutions that such mobile and computer technologies affect. According to this analysis, students feel that the use of a laptop helps in aiding studies, is useful for gathering course and supplementary materials and engaging in peer collaboration. Several challenges have been noted: communication based challenges, relating to social media, email and messaging services; and entertainment based challenges, relating to media consumption. These challenges serve as potential sources of distraction for the student using the technology and others. In their findings, 16% of students reported being distracted by pornography during class, on their own or others' computer screens, which ranked higher than computer games, at 1%. The authors conclude that the benefits of laptop use in class outweigh the challenges 2:1. Possibly, if the functionality of student laptops are integrated into course curriculum further, students can benefit from further peer collaboration, increased academic benefit and decreased distractions.

a. Finding a balance between technology and teaching has proved challenging in the traditional classroom. Some institutions, such as University of Chicago Law School, have altogether banned internet access in the classroom, claiming that it imposes on the integrity of the education. Although the authors draw attention to research demonstrating the rampant frequency of distractions with laptop and mobile technology amongst students, they beg the question of whose fault it really is - and begs educators to reflect on their own teaching, and the educational institution as a whole. Fang describes possible solutions for the distraction dilemma for educators to apply to the modern classroom. Filtering applications can help to create a temporary filter on computer applications to ensure a singular task, or set of permitted tasks, are accessed. Network switching allows faculty and network administrators to determine which, if any, applications can use a network at a given time. Social solutions can also be effective; by educating the student on the issue of technology-related distraction in classrooms, and assessing teaching styles, class formats and institutional practices. In the modern classroom, the professor and technology should coexist peacefully; yet it will take social and technical finesse in order to find the right balance for the maximum benefit of the student.

a. An unfortunate phenomenon is emerging in scholarly publishing: the artificial or contrived peer review. Ferguson, et al., report the emerging issue affecting several peer review systems used by academic journals. The core of the issue concerns the author suggestion of peer reviewers, which in some cases, has been found to be colleagues, family, acquaintances of the author, or even the author themselves under a pseudonym. Security breaches in the commonly used ScholarOne peer review software has resulted in the creation of fake peer reviewer accounts. Verification services, like ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID), are designed to track researchers, regardless of institutional changes, throughout their research and verify their identities. This sort of system is not widely adopted in the research community, yet it appears to be a promising asset in the fight against fraudulent peer-review entries. However, this sort of occurrence signifies a weakness in the current dominant system of scholarly publishing.