Abstract

How is Web 2.0 – and now Web Squared – changing scholarly publishing?

There are dramatic changes underway in the world of publishing, which have profound implications for scholarly activity. These changes are in essence quantitative (more, faster, cheaper) rather than fundamental ones of type, but the quantitative shift on this scale is in itself qualitative and transformatory. The proliferation of information and information sources make the assessment of quality and importance ever more important, and to more people. New forms of scholarly publishing have emerged, and are developing rapidly, including academics’ use of social networks and blogs, the Open Access movement, and Open Educational Resources (OER).

In this seminar, Doug Clow will explore these issues, and sketch out an organising vision of this rapidly-changing landscape, discussing the implications for authors, reviewers, editors, publishers, librarians, funders, readers, and all those with an interest in what scholars do.

About the speaker

Dr Doug Clow is a Lecturer in Interactive Media Development at the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University (OU). His work includes the Knowledge Network (a controlled-access publishing system for sharing expertise within the OU), and OLnet (a project funded by the Hewlett Foundation to increase the quantity and quality of research on Open Educational Resources). He is an Editor of the Journal of Interactive Media in Education, which has pioneered public, open review of journal articles since 1996. He keeps a blog at http://dougclow.wordpress.com and uses Twitter as @dougclow.