By Stephen Downes
March 13, 2004
EduTopia
This is a neat idea: "In
addition to our top current stories, our new "random
generation"
feature serves you two different home page articles on each
visit!
The feature pulls articles from our deep well of over 400
articles and
interviews, placing two pieces in our "From the Archives"
section each
time you refresh the site. Visit at 3:00 and you may see a
story on arts
education in Massachusetts. Come back at 3:05 and watch an
interview
with education policy expert Arthur Wise." I have about the
same amount of content on my site; I could probablky do the
same thing. Worth considering. By Various Authors, March,
2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
The
Edible Schoolyard
I think this is a great idea,
on so many levels. Basically, the idea is that you eat what
you grow (and cook, and serve). The idea is something like
this: "We're in the middle of a health epidemic," says
Waters. "If we could somehow bring in a curriculum around
school lunch, we could begin to change the way kids think
about eating." I also think there is an inherent value in
what people call 'simple things' like raising a garden or
preparing food. A value, because it connects you with these
things, makes your interaction with the world clear. But
it's just like blogging or any other form of communication.
A plant is just another medium, a garden an extension of
yourself, and gardening a way to extend your presence. When
you eat the bean that you have grown from a seed, it's hard
to see yourself as separate from the world. By Roberta
Furger, Edutopia, March 11, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Top 10 Open Source Tools for
eActivism
This is a nice guide to the major open
source communication and collaboration tools (blog tools,
wiki tools, community sites, newsletter tools) - useful for
eActivism, of course, but equally useful for online
learning. The article provides links, reviews and
discussion. By Dan Bashaw and Mike Gifford, with David
Wilcox, Designing for Civil Society, January 12, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
For Most Africans, Internet Access Is Little
More Than a Pipe Dream
Good story showing
internet access figures in a number of African countries,
making the point (stated in the title) that internet access
is not a reality in Africa. Of course, a lot of things are
not realities in Africa, so it may be hard for people to
see computers and the internet as a priority. Still, when I
think about the benefits communication and information
would bring, I wish there were a way to bring it about. By
Chris Alden, Online Journalism Review, March 12, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
U-M expands Access to Hidden Electronic
Resources with OAIster
With all the talk about
RSS, we need not to lose sight of the other half of the
content syndication revolution, the Open Access Initiative
(OAI), which provides access to institutional archives.
This press releases announces a deal whereby Yahoo can
index OAIster records, making these archives widely
available to readers. This is a great idea, and a major
step forward. By Press Release, University of Michigan,
March 10, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Democracy and Socioactive Software and
Technology
This describes part of the purpose of
my work. "Democracy," writes the author, "as known in
Canada, operates at local, national, and global levels and
these levels are mutually supporting by virtue of some
basic network principles. Socioactive software and
technology is an example of the cointelligence of humanity
and a demonstration of our collective strength." I agree
with him that we are at the leading edge of a new
Renaissance, but also that it will not simply happen on its
own, that it must be foistered and nurtured. "Democracy is
not what we have. Democracy is what we do." Thanks, Seb,
for the link. By Peter Lévesque, Rocky Northern Shepherd,
February 23, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
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