By Stephen Downes
September 9, 2003
Is Instructional Design Becoming a
Commodity?
The trend in the industry, writes the
author, is to produce instructional design "fast and
cheap", which seems to rule out the third part of the
equation, "good". He opines, "Some LCMS vendors suggest
that with automated instructional design methods, we can
drag and drop our way to excellence by using a few simple
tools." Heck, name me one vendor who isn't (at least
implicitly) suggesting that this can be done. But the
author sees a brighter future for instructional designers -
keep in mind, he argues, how the positions of graphic
designers were enhanced, not eliminated, by the
introduction of new tools. By Jerry Murphy, eLearn
Magazine, September 8, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
The RIAA Sees The Face of Evil, and It's a
12-year-old Girl
Do I need to say more? "The
RIAA has nailed one of the most prolific file-traders in
the U.S., filing a lawsuit against 12-year-old Brianna
LaHara." The Register comments, "Brianna could face charges
of up to $150,000 per infringed song, but we have a feeling
this might be a tad unrealistic. We suggest the RIAA take
all of her toys instead." By Ashlee Vance, The Register,
September 9, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Vocabulary Definition
Exchange
From D'Arcy Norman and CETIS comes this link to the IMS
Vocabulary Definition Exchange. The purpose of VDEX, in a
nutshell, is to allow people to define and exchange
vocabularies for learning object and related metadata.
Wilbert Kraan summarizes, "Outside of fun exercises for
linguistics undergraduates, the main application of
vocabularies in learning technology is to facilitate the
tailoring of existing, global standards to the needs of a
particular community, i.e. application profiling." By
Various Authors, IMS, September 8, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
More Grad Students Want
Unions
When I was president of the Graduate
Students' Association at the University of Alberta I tried
to organize graduate students into a union. I felt that
paying gradute students (who are in no position to say no)
between $350 and $800 per month (Canadian) to teach
university classes and tutor university students was
exploitation. I still do, which is why an article like this
make me happy and warm inside. University officials may say
they enjoy a collegial relation with graduate students, but
when they actively oppose those students' desire to make a
living wage, it shows me that it's a relation based on
power and sometimes abuse, not collegiality. From a wider
point of view, the university model of education has been
unsustainable for some time, this fact being masked, not
mitigated, by rising tuitions and an increasing reliance on
academic serf labour. By Catherine Donaldson-Evans, Fox
News, September 9, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Web Teaching at Dartmouth
College
The Web Teaching at Dartmouth College
website has been redesigned. It's a bit of a retrenchment:
forums and link postings were removed ("unfortunately,"
they write, "these features were being abused") and, sadly,
they "will no longer offer the notification service." I've
cited material from this site on numerous occasions, always
prompted by the notification service. Perhaps they could
consider RSS. By Various Authors, Dartmouth College,
September 8, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
From "Paperless Classroom" to "Deep Reading":
Five Stages in Internet Pedagogy
The first four
stages of the author's progression into the use of
technology in learning are familiar to most: class
management, online discussion, online texts and multimedia.
But the fifth stage, deep reading, takes more explaining.
"Deep reading" is "reading beyond the text into the sources
on which the text is based." This becomes possible only
when a vast range of material is easily accessible. And
gosh, doesn't this make sense? "Having them explore primary
and secondary sources on their own—rather than listen to me
explain it all for them—proved fruitful. I tried only to
point out connections among the sources in order to
encourage a dialogue among the readers. Students should not
be taught to rely upon 'authorities.' I much prefer being a
mentor or guide." By Grover C. Furr III, The Technology
Source, September, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Simulations and the Learning Revolution: An
Interview with Clark Aldrich
This is pretty
simple: "Educational simulations will be in widespread use
by leading instructors within 5 years and will eventually
change education as much as textbooks and motion pictures."
But more interesting to me is that "simulation design
requires the ability to step outside of a traditional,
linear approach to content creation—a process that is
counter-intuitive to many teachers." Aldrich recommends
that teachers and designers begin playing computer games in
order to become familiar with the concept. Absolutely. By
James L. Morrison and Clark Aldrich, The Technology Source,
September, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
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