OLDaily By Stephen Downes April 7, 2003 Historical Event Markup and Linking Project Something like this is much closer to what online learning will eventually look like than all those nice prepackaged lessons. The Historical Event Markup and Linking Project consists of a set of XML files describing historical events connected to an outpuit engine that allows these to be viewed as timelines, maps, or tables of events sorted by date or location. Though obviously in its early stages, you can see that this project has the potential to provide a living, multi-facted representation of history. We're not quite there yet, though. I found that Internet Explorer on Microsoft XP (yeah, I'm still running some Microsoft) choked on the SVG display. Other browsers and OSs displayed the JPG version. By Bruce Robertson, March, 2003 [Refer][Research][Reflect] Enterprise Software Redux: An Open Letter to Click2learn CEO Kevin Oakes Kevin Kruse writes an open letter to Click2learn CEO Kevin Oakes in response to the latter's contention that enterprise software providers (such as, say, SAP or PeopleSoft) will not make major inroads into the learning management system market. With a few telling points, Kruse outlines some probable scenarios where this could be exactly what happens. His main advice to LMS vendors? Well, not in so many words, but: bail. By Kevin Kruse, Learning Circuits, April 4, 2003 [Refer][Research][Reflect] Dublin Core The Dublin Core is now an ISO standard - ISO 15836, to be exact. What does this mean? Well, not much. Except, of course, that you're not allowed to distribute the standard to anyone any more: "This ISO document is a Draft International Standard and is copyright-protected by ISO. Except as permitted under the applicable laws of the user's country, neither this ISO draft nor any extract from it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission being secured." What a scam. By Various Authors, ISO, April, 2003 [Refer][Research][Reflect] Wine Agent 1.0 So what's the perfect beverage for a pasta dish with a spicy red sauce? I would say the same as for any other dish: beer. This site disagrees, recommending a spunky little Pinot Noir from Mount Eden. OK, so not everyone is from the wine and cheese set. That's not the point. What is the point is that this recommendation was derived from a set of XML files describing the ontology of wine. It is thus one of the first practical applications of automatic reasoning using the semantic web. If you like this sort of thing, be sure to check out the ESW Wiki, which lists similar applications. By Various Authors, April 4, 2003 [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]