Edu_Rss

Two must read articles on blogs and wikis in education
Have you ever read a couple of articles that just seem to pull everything together? I've just read a couple of articles, mentioned by the cogdogblog, sometimes known as Alan Levine. They are so great I have to pass the... From Just Another Ant on August 29, 2004 at 10:36 p.m..

Educational Blogs and Wikis - From Educause
Educational Blogging by Stephen Downes Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not by Brian Lamb From Educause Review This last group of students, eight or so at a time, fire up their browsers and log into their cyberportfolios, a publication space that Principal Mario Asselin calls a “virtual extension of the classroom.”1 This virtual space is composed of three sets of weblogs, or blogs: a class From soulsoup on August 29, 2004 at 10:35 p.m..

Dialectic blogs
Mindful Learner at Dusk and Dawn pitched a nice idea on Dialectic blogs I'd love to see blogs where two people sustained long conversations, interviews, arguments, thoughts over time. The two views give perspective to the content and help ideas and themes develop. Hell, why stop at two people? This might be a great way to evaluate products or ideas or viewpoints (hell we could move to Socratic argument or sophist agreement or any dialectic or rhetoric type approaches). Want t From soulsoup on August 29, 2004 at 10:35 p.m..

OK, Your Turn to Talk!
Thanks to the efforts of my husband/sysadmin Tom Vilot, CONTENTIOUS has just moved to a new server and is using new blogging software: WordPress. This change has finally made it possible to turn comments back on for this blog. So if you've been dying to post a comment for a CONTENTIOUS ... From Contentious Weblog on August 29, 2004 at 10:32 p.m..

The Internet offers teachers online help with lesson plans
Most educators agree that well-planned lessons are a classroom essential. But some teachers don't know how to shape lessons. Others may not understand the subject they teach well enough to dream up creative ways of presenting it. That's why, in... From Teaching and Developing Online. on August 29, 2004 at 10:32 p.m..

The Power of Links (Survey Results, Part 4)
(NOTE: This is part 4 of a series exploring the results of the 2004 CONTENTIOUS Reader Survey, which was completed by 157 respondents as of Aug. 18, 2004. See the complete index for more survey results. Additional results will be published in future entries.) Question 4 on the 2004 CONTENTIOUS ... From Contentious Weblog on August 29, 2004 at 9:10 p.m..

Most Popular CONTENTIOUS Topics (Survey Results, Part 5)
(NOTE: This is part 5 of a series exploring the results of the 2004 CONTENTIOUS Reader Survey, which was completed by 157 respondents as of Aug. 18, 2004. See the complete index for more survey results. Additional results will be published in future entries.) Question 5 of the 2004 CONTENTIOUS ... From Contentious Weblog on August 29, 2004 at 9:10 p.m..

Expanded Editorial Focus is Succeeding (Survey Results, Part 6)
(NOTE: This is part 6 of a series exploring the results of the 2004 CONTENTIOUS Reader Survey, which was completed by 157 respondents as of Aug. 18, 2004. See the complete index for more survey results. Additional results will be published in future entries.) Question 6 on the CONTENTIOUS Reader ... From Contentious Weblog on August 29, 2004 at 9:10 p.m..

Knowing vs. Doing: Time for More Action?
A June 23 posting in the Only Connect weblog, The End of Knowing, discusses the concept of performativity: "knowledge is better linked to what it can do rather than object truth." This has got me thinking about the big picture of e-learning again... (Read more...) From Contentious Weblog on August 29, 2004 at 9:10 p.m..

My E-mail Alerts are More Popular than My Webfeed (Survey Results, Part 7)
(NOTE: This is part 7 of a series exploring the results of the 2004 CONTENTIOUS Reader Survey, which was completed by 157 respondents as of Aug. 18, 2004. See the complete index for more survey results. Additional results will be published in future entries.) Question 7 of the 2004 CONTENTIOUS ... From Contentious Weblog on August 29, 2004 at 9:10 p.m..

The Info-Provocateur
OK, this cracks me up... This morning, Travis Christopher called me a "provocateur" in his blog E-Learning from the Trenches. This is just too cool. For a while now I've been struggling with how to define myself when people ask me what I do. I do so many things, it's such ... From Contentious Weblog on August 29, 2004 at 9:10 p.m..

This Week’s Grab Bag
Once again, here's a smattering of interesting items which have caught my attention lately. TOP OF THE LIST: The ASTD E-Learning Handbook, edited by Allison Rossett. My Dad just got me this book for my birthday. (See, my wish list came in handy!) It's fabulous, I've been devouring it in spare ... From Contentious Weblog on August 29, 2004 at 9:10 p.m..

Feedless Hall of Shame: Most of the Fortune 100
Here's an update for my Feedless Hall of Shame – this blog's personal pit of ignominy for those organizations or online venues which really, really should offer at least some kind of minimal webfeed-based information services. In fact, they have no good excuse not to be doing so already! I figured ... From Contentious Weblog on August 29, 2004 at 9:10 p.m..

FirstGov Features “Secrecy News”
Kudos to one of my favorite online publications, Secrecy News, for earning an interesting place in the US federal government's web portal, FirstGov. Unlike the preponderance of FirstGov resources, Secrecy News is not a US government publication. It's published by the Federation of American Scientists, and it covers new developments in ... From Contentious Weblog on August 29, 2004 at 9:10 p.m..

Ripples in the Blogosphere
Earlier this year, blogger Nova Spivack undertook a very cool, original, and potentially useful project: his blog meme propagation experiment. Basically, this effort sought to create a dataset that would show how ideas and themes of discussion ("memes") can spread among weblogs. Specifically, the experiment allowed each instance of the meme ... From Contentious Weblog on August 29, 2004 at 9:10 p.m..

Wikipedia Reputation and the Wemedia Project (Ross Mayfield)
The core issue of collaborative editing, that of accuracy and trust, has reached a point in debate where research is needed to advance the practice of content use and development. Hiawatha Bray of the Boston Globle offered a Wikipedia criticism... From Corante: Social Software on August 29, 2004 at 9:03 p.m..

Engagement: From Knowledge Gap to Life Expectancy Gap
In Heart Disease Creating Life Expectancy Gap I read: "We live in a rich sea of knowledge about heart disease, but we are treating patients with high blood pressure on a suboptimal basis," Morosco told the conference. This is an... From Experience Designer Network on August 29, 2004 at 6:10 p.m..

Conferinta NEWTECH Timisoara - ultima zi
Cea de-a treia zi si ultima a Conferintei NEWTECH a avut ca sectiuni: Provocari ale utilizarii TIC in educatia interculturala in viitor: Dave Whittington - UK: prin video din Canada ... From WeBlog.ro feeds on August 29, 2004 at 6:10 p.m..

Informational Cascades, Network Theory, and Behavioral Economics
Stephen Downes’ mention of my article on informational cascades (thanks for the plug, Stephen) led me to his post in the trdev discussion group. He writes: In network theory, ‘groupthink’ is an instance of what is known as a cascade phenomenon. A cascade occurs (all other things being equal) when… From e-Literate on August 29, 2004 at 6:10 p.m..

The Definitive Article on Educational Blogging
I’m going to do something I normally don’t like to do an echo blog this. Stephen Downes’ piece on educational blogging in EDUCAUSE is currently the definitive piece on blogging in education. Well worth the read whether you are a newbie or a veteran. I don’t really have anything of… From e-Literate on August 29, 2004 at 6:10 p.m..

EDUCAUSE Wiki Article
Every once in a while, you read an article where the author seems to be able to read your mind and anticipate your every reaction. Brian Lamb’s EDUCAUSE piece on wikis is one of those articles. I’ve never been all that interested in wikis; they just don’t seem like they… From e-Literate on August 29, 2004 at 6:10 p.m..

Bringing sanity to the spin
While reading Eric Meyer’s site tonight, I read his recommendation of SpinSanity. SpinSanity is a site that does a great job of analyzing and reporting on the spin positions of both the Republicans and the Democrats. ¶ I took Eric’s advice and read through some of the most recent posts. Great stuff! This is the kind of reporting that The News should be doi From Open Artifact on August 29, 2004 at 6:09 p.m..

Educational Blogging--EduCause article by Stephen Downes
Educational Blogging--EduCause article by Stephen Downes: This long thought piece by Stephen Downes, one of the real pioneers in alternative eLearning, details the history of blogs and their potential as an educational tool. He not only extols the virtue of blogs, he also discusses some of the barriers that make blogging in schools a difficult sell. Getting to the heart of things, he summarizes at the end of the article: ----- From Brain Frieze on August 29, 2004 at 6:08 p.m..

Online Lesson Plans--Christian Science Monitor
Internet offers teachers online help with lesson plans: Nice article from one of my favorite online newspapers, The Christian Science Monitor, on the growing number of places offering lesson plans online. A good link to a lesson plan wiki, another one of those emerging technologies that no one has heard of. But how can the author miss The Educator's Reference Desk (formerly AskERIC)? via EduTech News From Brain Frieze on August 29, 2004 at 6:08 p.m..

Ripples in the Blogosphere
Earlier this year, blogger Nova Spivack undertook a very cool, original, and potentially useful project: his blog meme propagation experiment. Basically, this effort sought to create a dataset that would show how ideas and themes of discussion ("memes") can spread among weblogs. Specifically, the experiment allowed each instance of the meme (relevant blog posting) to be tracked by time and location. It also tracked how each instance of the meme was vectored (from whom i From Contentious Weblog on August 29, 2004 at 6:07 p.m..

TechnoSport
The Bell TechnoSport trailer was at Yonge-Dundas Square this week, so I went down to take a look. It's a cute but high concept demonstration of various technologies Bell is working on and incorporating into their services. Take the "World of IP" philosophy to heart, all the technology runs on a single IP network. Some highlights: Touch-sensitive flatscreens User authentication at each demo station via RFID tags Wireless communication between Tablet PCs and PocketPCs "Message Posts" for browsing through audiovisual email; navigation is by swivelling the viewfinder around Digital camera-equ From silentblue | Quantified on August 29, 2004 at 6:06 p.m..

Mardi Gras Conference on New Literacies and Media
Below the "read more" fold, I've pasted pretty much everything on the flyer I received for this conference on new media and literacy, which will take place at LSU in February 2005 (no web site that I know of), but here it is if you'd like to see it in its original context. The deadline for proposals is October 15, 2004. From Kairosnews - A Weblog for Discussing Rhetoric, Technology and Pedagogy on August 29, 2004 at 6:06 p.m..

CFP on Academic Blogging from Lore
I've been meaning to post this call for submissions on academic blogging. The "Digressions" section of the Fall 2004 issue of Lore: An E-journal for Teachers of Writing is going to center on "the role that blogging plays for compositionists and the composition classroom." From the call for papers: Lore invites two types of writers to participate in this discussion. First, there are those who recognize a place for blogging From Kairosnews - A Weblog for Discussing Rhetoric, Technology and Pedagogy on August 29, 2004 at 6:06 p.m..

AMTEC call for papers
The AMTEC conference theme is learning communities. The U of S faculty and students should have a lot to contribute. Here's their call for papers. The 32nd AMTEC Conference Calgary, Alberta May 24 to 27, 2005 THE THEME OF THE... From Rick's Café Canadien on August 29, 2004 at 6:05 p.m..

Euro CALL 2004
There's a goldmine of abstracts over at EuroCALL 2004. Interestingly, there's not a single presentation in the programme on the use of weblogs in language learning. Hmmm, a CALL conference without mention of weblogs? How could that be? via Emerging Communications From apcampbell News on August 29, 2004 at 6:05 p.m..

Democracy Matters
Rebecca Blood (via dangerousmeta) directs us to an excerpt from Cornel West's upcoming book, Democracy Matters. In it, he writes: Democracy matters are frightening in our time precisely because the three dominant dogmas of free-market fundamentalism, aggressive militarism, and escalating authoritarianism are snuffing out the democratic impulses tha From apcampbell News on August 29, 2004 at 6:05 p.m..

Learning Outside the Classroom
Isn't RSS wonderful? Actually, I should ask "Aren't webfeeds wonderful?" because Amy Gahrain's term describes what we get better than any TLA (three-letter acronym).This morning, Bloglines led me to a refreshing and informative article by Stephen Downes in College Quarterly. I'm preparing for a conference where my audience will have more educators than business people, so I was scouring the literature when I came upon Stephen's --> From Internet Time Blog on August 29, 2004 at 6:04 p.m..

A kind of commonplace book
I picked up a book published by the Quakers called Faith & Practice*, and I noticed that there are long sections which consist of nothing but a series of numbered paragraphs quoted from elsewhere, each with an author's name and dates. The paragraphs are well-written, expressive, focused, suggestive passages that repay thought, and nearby paragraph reflect on each other by following out themes. The book itself, revised several times since 1955, serves as a foundational account for... From Weblogs in Higher Education on August 29, 2004 at 6:04 p.m..

Another reason to write
When an old friend died unexpectedly not long ago, someone said to another member of our old high school group, "You've reached the age when most of the news you hear about people will be bad news." There is some truth, of course, to her statement, especially for people who aren't keeping in touch. The only news that gets through is the big news, the health crisis, the divorce, the death. And yet I know that the spark of life that I admired so often in our departed friend must... From Weblogs in Higher Education on August 29, 2004 at 6:04 p.m..

Writers coming forward, perhaps
The campus's still rather new democracy publication, ADP/SB, is starting to get some attention here, and we must be doing one or two things right because people have been suggesting things to post. One or two folks have even been willing to rewrite their friendly email messages containing the suggestions as contributions to the site, to be published over their own names. Here is the vital passage that must be handled just right: how to persuade enough people, very gently, that they... From Weblogs in Higher Education on August 29, 2004 at 6:04 p.m..

Web Services are the new CORBA.
Ha! 'nuff said especially if you have been burned by CORBA as I have :-) ! From Smalltalk Tidbits, Industry Rants: Web Services, the new CORBA: QUOTEThere's a simple reason for this - Web Services are the new CORBA. Setting up an RPC system is hard to do right, without regard to the form of the technology. I hear constant nattering about how Web Services are "easier" and "better" than CORBA - but there's really only one difference From Roland Tanglao's Weblog on August 29, 2004 at 6:03 p.m..

European Mobile Data is a rip off - flat rate mobile data like Fido's is the future
Yesterday, I signed up for Fido's unlimited Canada and US GPRS mobile data service for $CAN 50/month. I have to say that after less than a day that it rocks. While we were shopping on Main, I Google'd shop names and checked out tons of sites on my brand new 7610! Fun (even though it feels like 9600 baud)! Flat rate, mass market, mobile data available anywhere is the future worldwide. It's only going to get cheaper and faster and From Roland Tanglao's Weblog on August 29, 2004 at 6:03 p.m..

Palm-Enabled Teaching
I've been a longtime user of a PDA (a Sony Clie with PalmOS) -- given a keyboard, it's become my substitute laptop for traveling, and I love to write on it when I'm on the road. A few years ago, I did a creative writing experiment with it (which developed... From PEDABLOGUE on August 29, 2004 at 6:02 p.m..

The New Web Advertising Paradigm: Bottom-up, Distributed, Customized, Credible
Bottom-up advertising is an idea whose time has come. The tipping point came about 3 days ago, when John Battelle finally published a short but powerful blog post entitled "Sell Side Advertising: A New Model?". The idea had been indeed circulating for some time through a few blog sites and you just could it feel coming: independent Web publishers becoming the true drivers of a new advertising paradigm. At last the ripple touched shore.... From Robin Good' Sharewood Tidings on August 29, 2004 at 6:01 p.m..

Library filters could block out educational sites - Associated Press
Shakespeare's plays, classic novels like Moby Dick and a Web site about the NFL's Super Bowl are among the resources that may be blocked to children younger than 13 under a proposal to filter Internet searches at Multnomah County libraries. A proposal From Techno-News Blog on August 29, 2004 at 6:00 p.m..

Microsoft expands release of Windows XP security update - Allison Linn, Associated Press
Microsoft is starting to ramp up distribution of its massive security update for the Windows XP operating system, but analysts say they still expect the company to move at a relatively slow pace to avoid widespread glitches. With only a small percenta From Techno-News Blog on August 29, 2004 at 6:00 p.m..

Adult Learners
Document based hypermedia environments such as the World Wide Web contain unparalleled amounts of information on any subject you care to choose. Success in operating within this environment requires having effective information search strategies. And m From Techno-News Blog on August 29, 2004 at 6:00 p.m..

Majority of School Districts Have a COW (Computers on Wheels, That Is) - Yahoo News
Wireless technology continues to be a major investment for school districts in the United States, enabling them to deliver resources such as instructional software and the Internet to more students in a cost effective and convenient manner. This is a k From Educational Technology on August 29, 2004 at 5:59 p.m..

The Internet offers teachers online help with lesson plans - Joanne Jacobs, The Christian Science Monitor
Most educators agree that well-planned lessons are a classroom essential. But some teachers don't know how to shape lessons. Others may not understand the subject they teach well enough to dream up creative ways of presenting it. That's why, in recent From Educational Technology on August 29, 2004 at 5:59 p.m..

The Library of Congress has announced the final release of the Frederick Douglass Papers at the Libr ...
The Library of Congress has announced the final release of the Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress, available on the American Memory Web site. The Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress presents the papers of the nineteenth-century African-American abolitionist who escaped from slavery and then risked his own freedom by becoming an outspoken antislavery lecturer, writer, and publisher From Peter Scott's Library Blog on August 29, 2004 at 5:59 p.m..

Bottom-up Advertising: As Above, So Below; As Below, So Above
Bottom-up advertising is an idea whose time has come. The tipping point came about 3 days ago, when John Battelle finally published a short but powerful blog post entitled "Sell Side Advertising: A New Model?". The idea had been indeed... From Robin Good's Latest News on August 29, 2004 at 5:58 p.m..

Two oldies appreciated
I know y'all have read The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith — in fact, I see at Amazon that it's the Today Show Book Club #8, so presumably Katie Couric has read it by the light of a colonoscope — but I just read it. Very enjoyable, if a bit self-conscious. I now know 100% more about Botswana than I did before I read it, which is totally shameful but there you have it. (Anyone have any links to Botswana blogs? I couldn't find any...) And, while continuing to be hopelessly out of date, a couple... From Joho the Blog on August 29, 2004 at 5:58 p.m..

Tu Quoque ("You Too") (II)
Interesting comments, as usual; and since this is my last day as Larry's guest blogger, I think I'll limit myself to responding to comments. (Unfortunately, I can't respond to all--and of course some comments are responded to very well by other commenters. I am impressed by the quality and interactive... From Lessig Blog on August 29, 2004 at 5:55 p.m..

FBI Probing Suspected Israeli Spy at Pentagon
Reuters, CNN, CBS news, and the Washington Post are reporting that the FBI is investigating a possible Israeli spy in the Pentagon. The suspected individual is described as a mid-level Pentagon analyst "specialized in Iranian affairs." The analyst is suspected of passing classified documents to Israel via the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful pro-Israel lobby in Washington. According to CBS news, the analyst had ties “to Rumsfeld's deputy Paul Wolfowitz and Defense Undersecretary Douglas Feith, both regarded as leading architects of the war on Iraq.&# From CNET News.com on August 29, 2004 at 5:54 p.m..

INFOmatch, the recruitment consultancy operated by CILIP, the Chartered Institute of Library and Inf ...
INFOmatch, the recruitment consultancy operated by CILIP, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, has become a registered signatory authorised to countersign criminal record checks on job seekers via the Criminal Records Bureau From Peter Scott's Library Blog on August 29, 2004 at 9:39 a.m..

New fried equipment
I came back from vacation, turned on my computer, and found that my expensive, way-over-powered APC uninterruptible power supply (APC BACK-UPS XS 1500) has been fried: The overload light blinks and the thing shrieks until you force it to shut up. It is less than a year old. This is one in a multi-year series of electrical failures that have escaped the diagnosis of professional electricians and the power company. The UPS is rated for something like 1200 units and the equipment running off it totals under 400. An electrician installed a new panel in the basement and ran twin... From Joho the Blog on August 29, 2004 at 9:39 a.m..

Blogs and Wikis: Two Outstanding EDUCAUSE Review Articles
Wow. That's about all, i can comment. Wow. The newest EDCAUSE Review has not one, but two top notch articles on things near and dear to the CogDog, blogs and wikis. These are so good I am ready to print them, something I almost never do (at least to stop that annoying Educause web design of having the graphi of the cover bounce with every page scroll). In Educational Blogging Stephen Downes not only provides a wide and detailed view of weblogs and educators who are doing it well, but he hit From cogdogblog on August 29, 2004 at 9:38 a.m..

Comments on Requirements Toolkit
I'm pleased to be able to share with you some recent comments received on the new version of the Content Management Requirements Toolkit: "Having advised on and reviewed numerous CMS requirements documents, it has become clear to me that most... From Column Two on August 29, 2004 at 9:37 a.m..

Back from stasis...
Here we go: after some vacation (sort of) I'm dropping back into a pool of work. Things come rushing in quickly so I'm not sure how blogging will increase as well. From owrede_log on August 29, 2004 at 9:37 a.m..

Call it 'Shorthorn'

Cnet: Microsoft revamps its plans for Longhorn. As expected, the company on Friday announced a new road map for Longhorn, its revision to Windows XP. The changes--removing some features and altering others--are designed to let the company have a test version of the software next year and a final release for desktops and notebooks by 2006. A server release is planned for 2007. One of the features being removed for the time being is only the mo From Dan Gillmor's eJournal on August 29, 2004 at 9:37 a.m..

Politics Part of Keeping Us Scared

Bruce Schneier: How Long Can the Country Stay Scared? Want to learn how to create and sustain psychosis on a national scale? Look carefully at the public statements made by the Department of Homeland Security. From Dan Gillmor's eJournal on August 29, 2004 at 9:37 a.m..

Question for SSH Experts
I use an SSH tunnel to retrieve e-mail from a private domain, and want to configure it to also let me browse the Web via the tunnel. I have the following as part of a .sh file I launch manually from a terminal window to get the SSH session going: -L 143:127.0.0.1:143 -L 25:127.0.0.1:25 This works fine for my IMAP mail. Now I want to use it for browsing. I assume I need to use forwarding for port 80, adding -L 80:127.0.0.1:80 but I'm not sure how to configure the browser settings once I've done that. Suggestions welcomed below. Thanks. From Dan Gillmor's eJournal on August 29, 2004 at 9:37 a.m..

Break Up the CIA (V)? No, the FBI!
I thank commenter Craig for discovering that my review of the 9/11 Commission's report, to be published tomorrow in the New York Times Book Review section, is now online. The review was written before Senator Roberts' proposal to break up the CIA, but offers several reasons for thinking that the... From Lessig Blog on August 29, 2004 at 9:35 a.m..

Tu Quoque
My posting on the Copenhagen conference, and its downgrading of global warming, provoked a neat hostile comment: you (Posner) criticize these economists for opining outside their fields, but isn't that what you do all the time? Well, yes, but here's my defense: you don't have to be an expert in... From Lessig Blog on August 29, 2004 at 9:35 a.m..

Does a NY Supreme Court judge say that the Central Park lawn is more important than free speech?
Here is the coverage in The New York Times and the New York Law Journal about the denial of United for Peace and Justice's Sunday rally in Central Park (United for Peace and Justice v. Bloomberg, 111893/04), and here is what NY Supreme Court1 Justice Silbermann said: [...] the evidence established that the department's determination was based on entirely content-neutral factors, to wit: that the Great Lawn2 was not an appropriate venue for a demonstration of this magnitude. [...] The Parks Department appropriately applied content-neutral regulations while leaving plaintiff From kuro5hin.org on August 29, 2004 at 9:35 a.m..

The problem with M. Night Shyamalan
Since his breakthrough film 'The Sixth Sense', director M. Night Shyamalan has made three more films culminating in the recently released 'The Village'. This is a look at what keeps the director from greatness via a discussion of the twists and plot devices he has become known for. Be warned, in discussing them, I pretty much give away every twist he's ever done. **SPOILERS ABOUND** From kuro5hin.org on August 29, 2004 at 9:35 a.m..