OLDaily By Stephen Downes June 13, 2002 School Blogs Comments, questions and further examples stemming from my special issue of OLDaily on weblogs in education. By Stephen Downes, Stephen's Web, June 13, 2002 [Refer][Research][Reflect] Digital Rights Management in the Higher Education Sector I've had some trouble getting the correct URL for this one, but here it is in its PDF glory. This document presents a lot of the detail missing in other discussions about how details of digital rights would be managed with respect to learning objects. It places the issue of digital rights clearly within the spectrum of metadata issues (where it belongs), identifies the sorts of metadata required, and outlines a number of DRM scenarios. By Renato Iannella, Commonwealth Department of Education, Science & Training, February, 2002 [Refer][Research][Reflect] A Dust-Up Over GMO Crops Does lobbying have any place in scientific research? This question is raised after an aggressive campaign by the biotech industry convinced Nature to retract an article alleging the contamination of Mexican crops by genetically modified DNA and for its editor, Philip Campbell, to write on the Nature website that the article should never have been published in the first place. It should be relatively easy to verify the findings. Getting that verification published may be a little harder. By Kristen Philipkoski, Wired News, June 12, 2002 [Refer][Research][Reflect] The Future of Text Interesting article that stretches your mind a bit about how information could be displayed, but it doesn't include my invention (OK, I haven't built it yet, but that's a quibble): a large, adjustable touch sensitive desk surface that is effectively your computer monitor. Companies that want specs should call me; my royalty rates are very reasonable. Heh. By Michael Rogers, MSNBC, June 11, 2002 [Refer][Research][Reflect] Howard Gardner on Multiple Intelligences and New Forms of Assessment Corrected link on this item from yesterday. By Anonymous, June, 2002 [Refer][Research][Reflect] Calculators vs. PDAs: Who Wins? An issue that was, in retrospect, inevitable: should hand held calculators be replaced in the classroom with PDAs? Calculators have been a staple in the classroom since the 1980s and Texas Instruments has long held the lion's share of that market. With the PDA beginning to encroach on that market, TI is moving toward making their calculators resemble PDAs. By Associated Press, CNN, June 12, 2002 [Refer][Research][Reflect] Setting Online Works Free Doesn't Please Everyone Interesting take on recent issues involving copyright as the author describes the hestitancy with which people approach the use of public domain materials. The concept of the public domain is so losely defined, and the notion of copyright restrictions so entrenched in theople's minds, that they are sceptical about the possibility of using public domain materials. Some discussion of Lawrence Lessig's Creative Commons and an alluring snippet about the possibility of teachers accessing this database for cheap or free resources. By Sarah Lai Stirland, Seattle Times, June 10, 2002 [Refer][Research][Reflect] Know a friend who might enjoy this newsletter? Feel free to forward OLDaily to your colleagues. If you received this issue from a friend and would like a free subscription of your own, you can join our mailing list at http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/website/subscribe.cgi [ About This NewsLetter] [ OLDaily Archives] [ Send me your comments]