Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
April 26, 2007

An Interview with Morten Flate Paulsen: Focusing On His Theory of Cooperative Freedom in Online Education
When Morten Flate Paulsen spoke in Barceloa last October he outlinedwhat I feel was an important distinction between collaborative learning and cooperative learning (one that that is reflected, I think, in the distinction between groups and networks). In this item, a lengthy interview, he discusses this and other aspects of his theory of cooperative freedom. The idea is to preserve autonomy while acquiring the benefits of groups. One technique, for example, is the idea of 'cooperative gating' - you can access a cooperative resource, but only if you have performed a task that contributes to the community resource. Read to the bottom for links to additional interviews. Michael F. Shaughnessy, EdNews April 26, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Networks, Online Learning] [Comment]

Enhancing Learning Seminar
Summary of a Becta session on simulations and game based learning (hence this survey of teaching practices in Second Life). While noting that we still need more evidence about what students learn from games and simulations, the author mostly focused on examples including Schome (which is focusing mostly on Second Life, it seems), the Neverwinter Nights Aurora Toolset, where students build their own games, and the Brain Training Game, which I'd love to try one day (you need a Nintendo though). Dan Seamans, Glass Houses April 26, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Gaming, Simulations] [Comment]

The Process of Research Writing: The Web Site
Intended for students, and therefore in places quite basic (for example, when distinguishing between scholarly and non-scholarly work). The chapters on working with research teams and alternative methods of presenting your research represent a more modern outlook. And, of course, we have to applaud the making of this book freely available on the web. Via Kairos. Steve Krause, Weblog April 26, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Research, Books] [Comment]

80 Open Education Resource (OER) Tools for Publishing and Development Initiatives
Nice. List of 80 open access publishing initiatives. Each item is accompanied with a short description. They're not all publishing tools, but the majority are. This list is probably not complete, but it's a great start. Jimmy Atkinson, OEDb April 26, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Open Access, Open Educational Resources, Books] [Comment]

IDRC Launches Intellectual Platform for Developing Countries
Well now they can't say that it can't be done of that federal law prohibits it. Canada's IDRC - the International Development Research Centre - has launched an open access digital repository of the research it funds. "In addition to making information more freely available, this initiative will enable IDRC-funded researchers to publish and showcase their successes, insights, and expertise. Through the IDRC Digital Library their work will be available, not just to a select few subscribers of journals, but to the entire global research community." Related: this presentation (PDF) summarizes open access policy development in Canada. "Open access policy initiatives are happening around the world. Sherpa Juliet lists more than 20 funding agency policies, from at least 10 countries. More than half the policies are by medical research funders. ROARMAP lists at least 40 institutional policies from at least 12 countries." Press Release, IDRC April 26, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Open Access, Learning Object Repositories, Research, Canada, Books] [Comment]

The Truth Vs The RIAA
Links to a bunch of articles, mostly written by musicians, against the RIAA. Handy fodder the next time someone tells you the RIAA is working for musicians. Related: Michael Geist argues that "World Intellectual Property Day has become little more than a lobbyist day with creators, users, and the facts once again getting lost in the process." Mephisto, Rock Gems April 26, 2007 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

Mobile Instant Messaging Meets Social Networking: Twitter - A Beginner's Guide
Some online goodness from Robin Good that goes beyond merely describing how to use Twitter to describe how people are using Twitter. "Love it or hate it Twitter is a force to be reckoned with, and provides a great many opportunities beyond simply telling the world what you ate for breakfast." Speaking of which - I'm taking a sick day today and having oatmeal for breakfast right now. Robin Good, Master New Media April 26, 2007 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

Logical Fallacies
Link to a RocketBoom episode on the logical fallacies (following from yesterday's post). Fun, and I rally like the subtitles (since I usually watch video without sound). Kenneth Pinto, Deadpoet's Cave April 26, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Video] [Comment]

 

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