By Stephen Downes
May 5, 2004
Translate This Blog
It was a nice
idea, but based on the comments in my Discussion area
(remember, you can always comment by clicking on the
[Reflect] link after each post) as well as emails sent to
me overnight I am declaring the translation experiment to
be an unmitigated failure. Oh well. Maybe next year. By
Various Authors, Stephen's Web, May 3, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
GPL for Educational Material
This
is the text of a comment I wrote to DEOS-L in response to
this post from Clint Brooks. In it, I
argue that "open source content, despite being distributed
without cost, is a part of the marketplace, and hence
subject to the same maket forces as other content. Or, it
should be said, this would be the case were commercial
producers willing to allow open source content access to
the market in the first place." In addition to comments
from Charles Winborne and Fred Cohen, readers should look at Clint Brooks' reply, in which he argues
that I have oversimplified his argument. By Stephen Downes,
Stephen's Web, May 1, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Giving It Away (for Fun and
Profit)
Good introductory account to the idea of
Creative Commons and especially the idea that sharing
content does not mean giving up on any hope of an income.
"Inevitably, as more and more digital content is produced
by so-called amateurs, sharing will increase no matter how
Lessig's book -- or Creative Commons -- fares. As Allan
Vilhan puts it, "I make music, and I want people to hear
it." Yet if Creative Commons is successful, sharing will
become even more pervasive. And a lot more money will be
made along the way." Via elearnspace. By Andy Raskin,
Business 2.0, May, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Wikis Described in Plain
English
Someone yesterday wrote asking what a
wiki is. Thanks to George Siemens (who must read the
Stephen's Web discussion area) this account is a great
introduction. "Everyone that uses the wiki has the
opportunity to contribute to it and/or edit in the way that
they see fit. This allows a wiki to change constantly and
morph to represent the needs of the users over time." By
Lee LeFever, Common Craft, April 30, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Top Blogs - May 2004
Yippee! I'm a
Blogs Canada Top Blog for May, 2004 (the only awards I win
are those I nominate myself for). By Briana Doyle, et.al.,
Blogs Canada, May, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Computer Makers Adapt Laptops for Tough
School Market
We are nearing the crossing point
in the technology exchange between computers and textbooks
(the crossing point is that point in the price or sales
graph where a rising technology's line crosses that of a
declining technology's). "A child's set of textbooks costs
$350," Smith said. "If they can get these notebooks down to
$500, it gets cost-effective in a hurry." The crossing
point will be reached when the cost of the computer (plus
associated content) is lower than the cost of the texts.
Won't be long now. By David Koenig, USA Today, April 26,
2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Free for Education Home
Page
AEShareNet has launched a license called
Free for Education. In essence, "The Free for Education
mark indicates that material may be freely used for
educational purposes. The mark may be applied by anyone to
any material in which they own the copyright provided they
agree with the conditions set out in these pages." Those of
you who follow this stuff are aware that I have had a
running dispute with Create Commons about exactly the same
issue, as a Creative Commons 'education' license was being
proposed. My objections to this are exactly the same, and
the cause spelled out on the main page: education,
according to the license, means "a structured program of
learning and/or teaching for the benefit of a learner." So
basically the license benefits educational institutions and
penalizes individual or informal learners - in other words,
it helps people rich enough to afford university or college
tuition, but hinders people who cannot afford a structured
program. By Various Authors, AEShareNet, May, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Record Labels Must Pay Shortchanged
Performers
You know, it's pretty hard to take
the music industry seriously when it complains about piracy
after things like today's story. After years of
investigation, the industry agreed to pay $50 million worth
of royalties it had simply not paid artists. The film
industry, meanwhile, by blocking distribution of a Michael Moore film, shows that it's not
just about money, it's about power and control. No lectures from the other side,
please, about morality. By Lola Ogunnaike, New York
Times, May 5, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
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