By Stephen Downes
June 6, 2003
Using O2 to Overcome Learning Objects
Limitations
David Wiley and a host of other
writers collectively known as the "Resusability,
Collaboration and Learning Troupe" (a reference to IMS
learning design?) discuss the use of 'context-free'
learning objects through their situation in educational
environments (my phrasing, not theirs). The central thesis
is sound: to make objects more widely usable, you have to
remove specific pedagogical properties from them. Whence,
then, the pedagogy? This consists in the placement or use
of a learning object in a learning environment. The
pedagogy comes from how the object is used, not how the
object is designed (the authors may also want to read
Albert Ip on the same topic). By Matthew Barclay, Deonne
Dawson, Andrew Gibbons, Brent Lambert, Laurie Nelson,
Sandie Padron, David Wade and David Wiley, June 3, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Mandated Online RAE CVs Linked to University
Eprint Archives:
Enhancing UK Research Impact and
Assessment
Researchers in the U.K. are currently
assessed through a complex mechanism involving dossiers of
various performance indicators. This paper proposes that,
which university eprint archives made available online, the
same research resoults could be obtained much more cheaply
and quickly by counting links and hits. By Stevan Harnad,
Les Carr, Tim Brody and Charles Oppenheim, Ariadne, April
30, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
A primer in SF
Xenolinguistics
Just for fun - but practical if
you are planning something like, say, a universal ontology
- this Guide instructs you on the variations you are likely
to encounter when translating - or creating - an alien
language. After the first, humerous, bit, in which it is
demonstrated that all known aliens speak some variant of
English (at least, linguistically), the document explores
the many ways in which alien concepts and expressions could
vary from our own. By Justin B Rye, March 5, 2002
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
A
Guide to Digital Rights Management
This Guide,
provided by the Australian government, offers resources and
information aimed mostly at content producers. Digital
Rights Management (DRM), writes the Guide, "can be a
valuable tool for multimedia creators and developers and
has the potential to reduce much of the time and effort
currently spent in negotiation between copyright owners and
users in ensuring digital copyright material is properly
managed." The Guide provides an overview, summary of DRM
and the law, case studies, and a survey of tools and
templates. By Various Authors, Department of
Communications, Information technology and the Arts, June,
2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Do Online Schools Provide A Quality
Education?
Experiences like this can only dampen
student enthusiasm for online learning: "I am attending an
online college for the first time and I am starting to get
a bad taste in my mouth about the amount of effort that
some of my professors are putting forward in my courses. I
feel like some of them are 'skating' and all I am paying
for is a book, a posted syllabus, and a final exam." The
anonymous author describes his or her experiences in
greater detail; the article is followed by the usual
Slashdot discussion reporting a wide range of experiences
with different providers, including many less than
flattering comments about the University of Phoenix. By
Anonymous, Slashdot, June 4, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
OEBPS: The Universal Consumer eBook
Format?
The author points out that the eBook
market is becoming increasingly fragmented. "I am
troubled," he writes, "by the large and growing number of
essentially incompatible, proprietary consumer ebook
formats and associated ebook reading applications and
hardware." In response, he proposes that publishers adopt
The Open eBook Publication Structure (OEBPS) as a universal
eBook language. In support of this position, the author
outlines seven requirements for a universal consumer eBook
format and argues that OEBPS satisfies these criteria.
By Jon Noring, Electronic Book Web, May 20, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Judge backs labels' MP3 search
An
Australian judge thinks it might be a good idea for music
companies to begin examining the contents of files on
university computers to ensure that they do not contain
copyright music. The universities, to their credit,
objected, arguing that "the method proposed by Mr Thackray
would reveal a great deal of extraneous information , some
of which may be privileged or subject to confidentiality
obligations." I think they should respond tit-for-tat and
see how the labels respond: to give students the right to
sift through record company computer files looking for any
evidence of collusion, price fixing, or other illegal
behaviour.
By Chris Jenkins, The Australian, May 30, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
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