Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Select a newsletter and enter your email to subscribe:

Email:

Vision Statement

Stephen Downes works with the Digital Technologies Research Centre at the National Research Council of Canada specializing in new instructional media and personal learning technology. His degrees are in Philosophy, specializing in epistemology, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science. He has taught for the University of Alberta, Athabasca University, Grand Prairie Regional College and Assiniboine Community College. His background includes expertise in journalism and media, both as a prominent blogger and as founder of the Moncton Free Press online news cooperative. He is one of the originators of the first Massive Open Online Course, has published frequently about online and networked learning, has authored learning management and content syndication software, and is the author of the widely read e-learning newsletter OLDaily. Downes is a member of NRC's Research Ethics Board. He is a popular keynote speaker and has spoken at conferences around the world.

Stephen Downes Photo
Stephen Downes, stephen@downes.ca, Casselman Canada

ASBA Releases Artificial Intelligence Policy Guidance for K-12 Education
77041 image icon

It's another list of principles to toss into the ever-growing list of AI policy statements. This one resembles most of the others, particularly with a very standard list of principles (illustrated). One interesting newish thing: "Ensure there is no copyright infringement when prompting AI." The principle here is that you should use copyright material as content for a prompt. That's an interesting requirement, and one I'll have to think about.

Today: 17 Total: 238 Alberta School Boards Association, 2024/09/19 [Direct Link]
An Ontology of Havoc: The Disruption of Generative AI
77040 image icon

"The contrasts are stark," writes Julian Stodd. "On the day that Donald Clark has shared research showing solid research on the benefits of Generative AI in terms of knowledge gained and retention, my sons school has told me that he is essentially sat in class doing not much as the books are three weeks late being delivered." I don't do ontology (in the philosophical sense) but it really does seem that people are having trouble grasping ontology in a relativistic world, something I may write a bit about to address.

Today: 26 Total: 2796 Julian Stodd, Julian Stodd's Learning Blog, 2024/09/19 [Direct Link]
How did pirates really talk?
77039 image icon

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day. Arrr, Mateys. "Talk Like a Pirate Day is an annual opportunity to pepper your speech with swashbuckling phrases like 'ahoy matey' and 'shiver me timbers.' But where does 'pirate speak' come from, and is this how historical pirates really talked?" You'll have to listen to this video to find out. :)

Today: 21 Total: 219 Eileen Reynolds-NYU, Futurity, 2024/09/19 [Direct Link]
Learning Theory from First Principles
77038 image icon

I can't really imagine educators spending a lot of time with this book (488 page PDF) but it would be interesting to see what the old-school learning theory researchers make of this new-school learning theory. Me, I've never thought of learning theory as anything other than this (or something like this) (which is why all the 'connectivism is not a learning theory' discussion mystified me). Anyhow, I have not read the full book (it's on my list for when I have a free week). But you might want to.

Today: 30 Total: 304 Francis Bach, 2024/09/19 [Direct Link]
Introducing OpenAI o1-preview
77037 image icon

Too early to report on it (there's a rate limit of 50 queries per week, which makes any real interactive work difficult) but it feels like it's worth mentioning. Still: "We trained these models to spend more time thinking through problems before they respond, much like a person would. Through training, they learn to refine their thinking process, try different strategies, and recognize their mistakes... (this is) a significant advancement and represents a new level of AI capability. Given this, we are resetting the counter back to 1 and naming this series OpenAI o1."

Today: 23 Total: 315 OpenAI, 2024/09/19 [Direct Link]
Pearson Launches New AI-Powered Study Tools -- Campus Technology
77036 image icon

According to this article, " Pearson has introduced several new AI-powered tools to help provide students personalized help from within their e-textbooks or study platforms. The tools are available through Pearson+ Channels, the video tutorial library part of the company's e-textbook subscription service." The article appears to be a lightly rewritten version of this August 28 press release.

Today: 3 Total: 301 Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology, 2024/09/18 [Direct Link]

Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

Copyright 2024
Last Updated: Sept 20, 2024 05:37 a.m.

Canadian Flag Creative Commons License.