November 20, 2006
OLDaily
[link: Hits] Good account of a test of Skypecasts in an academic context that accords with my own experience. Note especially the difficulties involved with moderation. I determined that the next time I do it (and I will) for a talk or something, I will have someone else manage the users, so I can focus on the content. [Tags:
Experience,
Academics and Academia] [
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[link: 7 Hits] From the Chronicle: "Can a wiki-style editing process result in a worthwhile business book? Pearson PLC, the publishing firm, intends to find out - and it has recruited business-school officials at the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to help with the experiment. The publisher is putting together We Are Smarter Than Me, a new book that tries to help businessmen make sense of blogs, online communities, and other interactive Web media. Professors at Penn and MIT have already written the volume's chapter titles and introductory anecdotes. But otherwise the project is, well, an open book: Web surfers are invited to stop by the book's
homepage and edit or add to it as they see fit." [Tags:
Books and eBooks,
Web Logs,
Online Learning Communities,
Project Based Learning,
Schools] [
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[link: 6 Hits] What are the long-term implications of this? "Traditional governance models are being replaced with strict hierarchies, and too many faculty members have too little influence in crucial decisions." I still don't understand: if we think democracy is the best form of government, why do we have so little of it in our companies and institutions? [Tags: ] [
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[link: 2 Hits] There has been discussion recently on whether open educational resources should use a non-commercial license - at an online
OECD-UNICEF discussion someone raised the issue, insisting people not use the 'non-commercial' clause, before the discussion even started. talk about coming into a conference with an agenda! I think some companies just want to get stuff for free, which they will then sell to people who can't afford them. But anyhow - the main argument they use is that if you use a 'non-commercial' license, then no commercial agencies can use this. This - as this item on Flickr shows, is false. The 'non-commercial' license doesn't prevent commercial agencies from using the content. It prevents commercial use
of the content. Which, I think, is what is intended by most people when they use the non-commercial license. Use my content all you want. But don't turn around and make money for yourself by selling it. [Tags:
Portals] [
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[link: 8 Hits] Some very upset reactions in South Australia this week as the government closes the
Technology School Of the Future. "There was an 'outcry' over plans to replace the school at Hindmarsh with online services and video conferencing." Graham Wegner writes, "The South Australian education community deserves better than this. More resources should be going into this important facility - instead, we feel the bitter sting of the axe carefully spun into a press release strategically timed to coincide with the end of a busy, frantic and tiring work year." [Tags:
Online Learning,
Schools,
Conferencing] [
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National Research Council Canada
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I want and visualize and aspire toward a system of society and learning where each person is able to rise to his or her fullest potential without social or financial encumberance, where they may express themselves fully and without reservation through art, writing, athletics, invention, or even through their avocations or lifestyle.
Where they are able to form networks of meaningful and rewarding relationships with their peers,
with people who share the same interests or hobbies, the same political or religious affiliations - or different
interests or affiliations, as the case may be.
This to me is a society where knowledge and learning are public goods, freely created and shared,
not hoarded or withheld in order to extract wealth or influence.
This is what I aspire toward, this is what I work toward. - Stephen Downes