Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
July 8, 2010

A Twitteraholic's Guide to tweets, hashtags, and all things Twitter
If you're still wondering which way is up in the Twitterverse, this post is for you. Sue Waters offers the introductory landscape, spoken with the experience of a Twitter aficionado. Sue Waters, The Edublogger, July 8, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Twitter, Experience] [Comment] [Tweet]

Formal Learning All the Way...Baby
Karl Kapp defends formal learning: "Anything less is not as effective and the performance will not be guaranteed." he explains that when lives are on the line, people are trained formally in established procedures. "The learning process is studied, calculated and formalized to a degree of realism as close to 100% as possible... The fidelity between the environment in which the performance is required and the environment in which it is trained and practiced is extremely high." It's a good case - but I wonder whether it's a good case for simulations and learning environment, as opposed to being a good case for formal learning. Karl Kapp, Kapp Notes, July 8, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Online Learning, Simulations] [Comment] [Tweet]

Imagine courses that take place in wikis, blogs, social networks…
Teemu Leinonen introduces EduFeedr, "a web-based feed reader that is designed specifically for following and supporting learners in open blog-based courses. " He explains, "typical RSS readers are not very suitable for following this kind of courses. Most of the RSS readers such as Google Reader are designed for personal use. In a Wikiversity course it would be important to have a shared feed reader that all the participants could use." Interesting concept. Teemu Leinonen, FLOSSE Posse, July 8, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Networks, Google, RSS, Web Logs] [Comment] [Tweet]

UX Myths
Nice site that details, and debunks, a series of usability myths. Some of my favorites involve not listening to user feedback. Myth #21, for example, states that `people make confident but false predictions about their future behavior, especially when presented with a new and unfamiliar design. There's a huge difference between imagining using something and actually using it. In addition, human preferences are rather unstable." There's plenty of evidence to back up this claim, along with the rest. Zoltán Gócza and Zoltán Kollin , Website, July 8, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Usability] [Comment] [Tweet]

First Reactions to Blackboard Buying Wimba and Elluminate
Reactions to the Blackboard acquisition of Wimba and Elluminate. Joshua Kim says this is very smart for Blackboard, but customers should be worried about lock-in. Steve Kolowich surveys Twitter reaction. Barry Dahl says "Blackborg rides again." George Siemens comments (accurately) that the messaging from Blackboard on this is meaningless. Nothing like starting a new product line with a misrepresentation. He nonetheless has a well played compliment to give the company. Matt Crosslin says "the point of education is to collaborate and learn, not just buy everyone." Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed, July 8, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Audio Chat and Conferencing, Twitter, Blackboard Inc.] [Comment] [Tweet]

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