Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
May 10, 2007

It'S the Empowerment, Stupid
I'm not thrilled with the last word of that headline (we hearken back to a successful political slogan, "it's the economy, stupid" - the 'stupid' in question is oneself, reminding oneself what is important). But the idea is worth preserving.

After a longish all day session I have some time to reflect and enjoy being here. No slides or audio just yet - I have to resolve mac compatibility issues. I do want to say, though, that I had a really nice time in Britain this time round... thanks to Eduserv for their warm hospitality. Now it's an all-day flight to Winnipeg, so don't expect a newsletter tomorrow. Will Richardson, Weblogg-Ed May 10, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Newsletters, Audio, Great Britain] [Comment]

Internet of Things
George Siemens cites a Bruce Sterling presentation. This is a bit old, but if you haven't been following this concept it's worth keeping an eye open. "Basic premise: in the future, due to the joys of RFID, we will be able to link physical objects to the internet, so that we can use an online search to find our keys, shoes, or whatever other physical things we've misplaced." Read Sterling's novel Distraction for some more views on how we will interact with our objects - and each other - in the future. George Siemens, elearnspace May 10, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Google, Video, Connectivism, Remote Frequency Identification (RFID)] [Comment]

41 Minutes Per Day...
Bebo is a social networking site, similar to MySpace. According to this study, students spend 41 minutes a day there - that's almost a quarter of the 200 minutes they spend online (just think what all that reading is going to do for their brains... fantastic! Much better than Gilligan's Island). "And what does education do to try to harness the skills being learned in there? Hmmm.... 'Could do better'. Well, we could just do it. The skills are there, the tech's there, all that's missing is the desire of those not in the know to learn." See also, "If you're not online, you don't exist. Ewan McIntosh, edublogs May 10, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Networks] [Comment]

PaperVision 3D - a 3D Flash Engine
What comes after Second Life? Well, you can be sure the developers at Adobe (Macromedia) haven't been idle. Mark Oehlert describes: "that shark you see was swimming around my head and I could use my mouse to look around a 360 degree arc as well as looking up and down..." Meanwhile, I love his new avatar. Reminds me of a conversation I had today, wherein we wondered why buildings in Second Life have walls. Mark Oehlert, e-Clippings May 10, 2007 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

Uncyclopedia
Via Cogdog's Twitter, where he was simulcommenting my presentation on Second Life, an encyclopedia that's full of misinformation. And proud of it. Various Culprits, Website May 10, 2007 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

 

This newsletter is sent only at the request of subscribers. If you would like to unsubscribe, Click here.

Know a friend who might enjoy this newsletter? Feel free to forward OLDaily to your colleagues. If you received this issue from a friend and would like a free subscription of your own, you can join our mailing list. Click here to subscribe.