The Fragmentation of Learning
In what may be characterized as a "fragmentation" of learning, each learner picks and chooses from the array of opportunities. In such an environment, there is no centralized control of learning, no core curriculum, no universal set of standards and practices. By Stephen Downes

NAWeb Award Winners Here are the 2001 NAWeb Award Winners:

• Higher Education: PharmaLearn, University of Alberta
• Corporate: Learn CorelDraw 10 Graphics Suite, Corel Corp.
• Private: Who Killed William Robinson? Race, Justice and Settling the Land, University of Victoria
• Single Course: Humans in the Natural World, University of Guelph
• K-12: Psychology, Synateq

Kids Gauge Air Quality These items are becoming sufficiently common that I may stop listing them - but since I just gave a seminar in Brisbane emphasizing this very sort of activity, it's worth listing a few more. In this item, students use their Palm Pilots to measure air quality outdoors in Detroit. By Linda Thiel, Detroit News, October 22, 2001.[Refer]

A Breath of Fresh Air for Learning: Classroom Without Walls Debuts at Mohawk Elementary Meanwhile, in Dallas, a class has sone without a classroom altogether. And note this: "a study of 40 schools found that students learn more effectively in an environment-based context such as an outdoor center. The study was reported by the State Education and Environment Roundtable." By Kristine Hughes, Dallas Morning News, October 21, 2001.[Refer]

In Defense of Cheating A fascinating article that questions the basis of a lot of our current assessment techniques. Like 'cheating,' for example. So the student looked up the answer, or asked friends... that's exactly what we'd want in real life, so why is it an academic offense in school? (And while you're visiting, check out the rest of Don Norman's essays and articles. By Donald A. Norman, , 2001.[Refer]

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