Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
February 22, 2007

Blogs Vs. Discussion Groups
I am extensively involved in both blogs and discussion groups (though the latter are notoriously hard to link to). So for me it has never been a question of deciding which one is better. But there does seem to be some factionalism. And as Tony Karrer writes, "There is still a lot of misunderstanding of what it's like to participate in a community of blogs." Tony Karrer, eLearning Technology February 22, 2007 [Link] [Comment]

Pupils Get Home Internet Access
We con't know yet how this would roll out exactly, but on first blush it seems like a good idea: "The government wants to ensure pupils have internet access either at home or though after-schools clubs and extended schools." As I have said before, I expect the real advances in e-learning to happen outside institutions and schools. This is evidence of that. Via Nine Shift. Unattributed, BBC News February 22, 2007 [Link] [Comment]

Celebrate Diversity!
Link to a pretty good graphic on diversity. I'm less impressed with the commentary - the point isn't to 'celebrate diversity' as though it were all folk music and funny dances. The idea is that diverse groups solve problems more effectively because diverse groups take more variables into account and factor out variables. Two more good graphics are available at jurvetson's SFI photo set on Flickr. Wesley Fryer, Speed of Creativity February 22, 2007 [Link] [Comment]

What Is "Mobile 2.0" (Beta)
I certainly agree with this: "it is important to note that mobile 2.0 applications need to leverage open standards. Applications that sit on top of closed and proprietary protocols and formats are antithetical to the kind of innovation that will be key to the growth of the mobile Web." Via Leonard Low, who writes, "the Australian Standards for Mobile Learning I've recommended favour open standards whenever possible." Daniel K. Appelquist, Wireless / News February 22, 2007 [Link] [Comment]

Concept Maps
Well this has to be useful, right? I'm not sure exactly how, but still... "I spend the last week manually entering and partially organizing all the concepts in the California state science curriculum. There were at least 2,000 concepts, so it was a pretty lengthy task... Please note that the concept system has not been fully integrated into the rest of the edu 2.0 system; it's a work in progress. Nevertheless, we think that concept maps will be one of the most important and powerful aspects of the system." Graham Glass, Graham Glass, etc. February 22, 2007 [Link] [Comment]

Living the Web 2.0
I like ths account of how Web 2.0 has entered into her personal life, but what I really like are the 'click', 'learn' and 'share' icons. See the on this post as well (sorry about mashing the accents on the author's name - I have to confess, the handling of special characters continues to elude me; I've tried making everything UTF-8 and yet they still get gibbled when I try to put them in my posts). Alja Sulcic, iAlja February 22, 2007 [Link] [Comment]

Peers, Desist!
There has been a bit of an uptick in interest in the concept of automated online peer assistance. David Truss, for example, writes on my Explode! comment wall that he'd like to see something like this FieldFindr made a reality. And Will Richardson covers similar ground summarizing a Henry Jenkins article: "we don't so much need a faculty as we need an intellectual network." Well once such application might be Peer Assist, shown here at the University of Ottawa. But not all is happiness and joy. Dave Snowden complains, "It seems that such natural processes are no longer good enough. Now we have to formalise the process, bring in facilitators, stick to strict time limits and get rid of critical comments, only allowing positive thought." He may have a point there. Dave Snowden, Cognitive Edge February 22, 2007 [Link] [Comment]

Google to Sell Online Software Suite
As the story says, "Google Inc. will begin selling corporate America an online suite of software that includes e-mail, word processing, spreadsheets and calendar management, escalating the Internet search leader's invasion on technological turf traditionally dominated by Microsoft and IBM." The real weakness of these applications is that, because they are online, they can run slowly. That's not a problem on a corporate intranet, and in addition, they become much easier to maintain. Oh, and you don't need to buy Vista to make them work - a plus in anyone's book. Michawl Liedtke, Globe and Mail February 22, 2007 [Link] [Comment]

 

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