Creating the Commons: Tools to Make and Create

Tools of production in the form of software applications are crucial to create and edit digital resources. But what type of tools of production should educators learn and use to create their own resources? If we truly want the commons in education to prosper, the tools of production should be available and accessible to everyone. Any restriction on the tools of production, whether it is about the restrictions of use, or financial aspects, or restrictions on distribution will be detrimental to the participation of the potential creators. Given both the push and a need for creating and adapting open educational resources (OERs), such software application become crucial. We argue that the philosophy behind Free and Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) presents a compelling case for use in this context. FLOSS software is not owned by any single entity but by the community of users such that anyone can use, access, modify and (re)distribute them. In this talk, we will look at a few tools which enable their users to create and edit some of the common media formats such as text, images, audio and video to help create OERs. We argue based on pedagogical, social and political dimensions to make a strong case for the use of FLOSS tools of production in educational contexts.