Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
May 15, 2007

Women of Web 2.0
In just a few moments I will be a guest on the Women of Web 2.0's weekly podcast on Ed Tech Talk - if you get this as I send it you have time to catch the show; otherwise, you can catch the archives. Various Authors, Website May 15, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Podcasting, Web 2.0] [Comment]

CADE/AMTEC
Dave Cormier has been blogging the CADE-AMTEC conference here in Winnipeg - c urrently he has capsules from yesterday and I saw him typing furiously at our panel on open educational resources today (not posted yet, though). Meanwhile, I offer coverage of a panel on research in e-learning and another on social software. Quite a nice day today; i enjoyed it a lot. Dave Cormier, Dave's Educational Blog May 15, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Web Logs, Research, Online Learning] [Comment]

First OLPC Laptops Arrive In Uruguay
Nice picture and some text describing the arrival of the first OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) computer in Uruguay. Keep on keepin' on! Scott Gilbertson, Wired - Compiler May 15, 2007 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

Thomson Leaves Learning Market
If you had asked me a few years ago, I would have said Thomson was making a play for virtual control of this market. Now they're out, dumping Thomson Learning for $7.75 billion. What's changed? Tony Karrer offers some links to some discussions looking at, say, content vendor value. It may be that between the free software and the open content and the learning communities there just wasn't a large enough market to control. Anyhow, I think this is big news, because there is no obvious company poised to step in where Thomson is leaving off. Meanwhile, as Jay Cross reports, "Reuters agreed this morning to a takeover by Thomson for $17 billion. Reuters CEO Tom Glocer will lead the new company, Thomson-Reuters, which will be larger than Bloomberg in the financial data marketplace." Tony Karrer, eLearning Technology May 15, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Online Learning Communities, Learning Communities, Mergers and Takeovers, Thomson Corporation, Open Content, Online Learning] [Comment]

Wired but Not Web 2.0: A Brief Look at the Pew/Internet Study On Adult ICT Use
Good summary of the latest Pew study (though I will admit to being peeved by their sole focus on American internet usage - a more international outlook would be much more useful, even for Americans). Also, "kids and teenagers were not part of this study," which really skews the results. This one has cute names, like 'omnivore' and 'connector' to describe different types of use. Sessums offers some analysis of the results, suggesting "you might consider a weekly weblog or listserv newsletter to keep parents apprised of classroom activities and events." Um, hm, a newsletter. Christopher D. Sessums, Weblog May 15, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Web Logs, Mailing Lists, Web 2.0, Newsletters, United States] [Comment]

EdTechTalk #77 W/ Vance Stevens&Leigh Blackall - Webhead Convergence Ahoy!
The Webheads in Action Online Convergence conference is about to begin; I will be speaking (online) at it on Sunday (the 20th). In this podcast, "Webheads in Action founder, Vance Stevens&WiAOC2007 Keynote speaker, Leigh Blackall discuss this amazing 'online convergence' (May 18~20) and then get in to some issues related to open education and copyright." Jeff Lebow and Dave Cormier, Ed Tech Talk May 15, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Patents, Copyrights, Podcasting] [Comment]

Twitter Is Jabber
Well.... yeah. "Look: forget Twitter. It has a bunch of users, that's about it. How to build twitter: 1. Install Jabber server, 2. Install SMS gateway, 3. Done." Boris Mann, Website May 15, 2007 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

UK Schools to Shun Vista and Office 2007
Dave Warlick reports on a Becta recommendation that schools avoid new Microsoft software."Becta said the cost of a widespread deployment of Vista in schools and colleges was currently estimated at around £160m, while the benefits were unclear." The report was published in January, which is why it is currently difficult to find on the Becta website. Still worth mentioning, though. Antony Savvas, Computer Weekly May 15, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Microsoft, Books, Great Britain, Schools] [Comment]

 

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