By Stephen Downes
September 23, 2003
Dynamic Appearance Model: Analysis and
Alternatives
This paper addresses a problem
plaguing SCORM, the integration of content from multiple
sources. The first part of the paper is a review,
discussing content integration and styling. The authors
then discuss means of modifying SCORM to supprot styling.
What follows is a detailed discussion involving navigation
controls, auxiliary content, bookmarking, and much more. A
detailed, technical paper. By Roger St-Pierre, Peter Hope,
Howard Fear, Chris Hahn and Scott Wolff, Canadian
Department of National Defence and Sun Microsystems, Inc.,
September 2, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Dewey Decimal Owner Sues 'Library'
Hotel
From the "hard to believe" department, the
OCLC, which owns the trademark to the Dewey Decimal System,
is suing a New York hotel, The Library, for using the
system to number rooms, arguing (with a straight face,
apparently) that "A person who came to (the hotel's) Web
site ... would think they were passing themselves off as
connected with the owner of the Dewey Decimal
Classification system." Peter Suber responds, "No, sir, no
more than we think other hotel owners are passing
themselves off as connected to the owner of the natural
numbers." By AP, The Guardian, September 21, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
The Trouble with Out-of-the-Box
Thinking
I'm so glad this has been said: telling
people to "think outside the box" doesn't work. It's not a
question of thinking out of the box, it's a question of
seeing the solution in some other box entirely. That, in
one brief observation, is why diversity is essential to
innovation. By Andrew Hargadon, Ubiquity, September 23,
2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
A New Kind of Revolution in the Dorms of
Dartmouth
I am curious to learn more about this
program (so if anyone has info please share) involving the
launch of a Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) network at
Dartmouth. My angle is the contrast between this program
and the release last week of Kazaa's new free VoIP system,
Skype. This article says nothing about
costs; this article says students will be able
to make long distance calls for free - but neither
indicates what software is used and whether the institution
is paying additional (and post-Skype, unnecessary) charges.
By Katie Hafner, New York Times, September 23, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Schools Set Rules on Classroom
Gadgets
The interesting angle in this story is
that the technology is continually winning the bid over
instructors for attention in the classroom, which ought to
say something. By Associated Press , Globe and Mail,
September 22, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
AMD's Athlon Steps Up To 64
Bits
We're still on my projected timeline for
the release of 64 bit chips, with AMD (and not Intel,
surprisingly) leading the way. "The chipmaker will unveil
its Athlon 64 processor on Tuesday. Along with added
performance, the chip offers PC buyers the option of
upgrading to 64-bit software." Hope you've been saving up
your software and hardware money - the next cycle of
purchases begins six months to a year from now. By John G.
Spooner, Globe and Mail, September 23, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Kinko's Goes Back to School With
CoursePacks
Can an online version be far behind?
"CoursePacks are custom-made compilations used by educators
to supplement traditional textbooks in the classroom. They
typically contain up-to-date information from newspapers,
magazines or book excerpts that require permission from the
copyright owners in order to be legally produced." To clear
rights on these new offerings, Kinko's has struck a deal
with University Custom Publishing. Via Syllabus, which for
some reason made me look up the link through Google instead
of putting it in their newsletter. By Press Release, Yahoo!
Finance, Septemver 16, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Polar Bear Launches 'Pay As You Go'
E-learning
Interesting. "Polar Bear Corporate
Education Solutions, a
division of CrossOff Incorporated, today announced the
launch of its new e-learning platform for individual users.
The new Iceberg e-learning platform offers individuals the
opportunity to purchase single e-learning titles on a 'pay
as you go' format with the buying power once only
experienced by large corporations." By Press Release, Polar
Bear Corporate Education Solutions, September 23, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
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