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OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
May 24, 2007

Seth Godin: Why Liveblogging has Little to Do with the Reader
The proposition is that live-blogging (that is, blogging about an event during an event) is not particularly useful, because the results aren;t very good. "most people don't take notes to be read. They take notes to write them. The act of writing things down triggers different areas of our brain, it focuses attention, it makes it easier to remember things." Well, maybe. But there's no reason a person cannot liveblog well - which is to say, satisfy both purposes. It is possible to compose readable prose on the fly - if you learn how to write well enough. I humbly submit my own liveblogging as an example. Christian Long, think:lab May 24, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Web Logs] [Comment]

Ray'S Personal Learning Environment Workflow
Ray Sims attempts to create a PLE workflow. I think this is a noble effort but misguided - the nice thing about a buffet is that we don't all have to approach it the same way, and that's the benefit of a PLE. Look at the list on page 2 - should people do all these things? In this order? And a lot of learning isn't workflow driven or even goal driven (this whole 'goal-driven behaviour' thing is a mark of the self-improvement set, but as the old saying goes, it is often the journey, and not the destination, that matters). Learning is a process, not a goal, and a learning environment is a space, not a process. If the description of a PLE cannot include my aimless and pointless readings of histories of the Roman Empire, then it misses the boat. See also, Scott Wilson on the PLE as the use of student-owned technologies in ICT. Ray Sims, Sims Learning Connections May 24, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Personal Learning Environment] [Comment]

1.000.000+ Smart Card Based OpenID-S
Estonia has become the first country to adopt OpenID nationally, and they're doing with Smart Cards. Note: "Your online identity can never be stolen because your OpenID is attached to your real identity. You can always replace your stolen eID card and reclaim your online identity." More coverage, including comments on privacy. Simon Willison, Weblog May 24, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Privacy Issues] [Comment]

DOG (Distrust/Disdain of Google) Moves In
I commented last night that I thought Google's "Don't be evil" directive ended the day Google launched its IPO. I also noted that the people who used to work for DoubleClick now work for google, which doesn't auger well for Google. I have advised people against using Feedburner in the past, and not this user-tracking and banner advertising company is part of Google. I'd like to like Google, but I see Google's primary customers - advertisers - are beginning to run the show. It's a sad turn of events. Via George Siemens. Robert Scoble, Scoblizer May 24, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Marketing, Google, Connectivism] [Comment]

Microsoft: No Plans to Sue Over Linux Patents
If Microsoft knew that Linux was violating one of its patents, it would sue so quickly you wouldn't know what happened. But despite some recent statements, it turns out that Microsoft has no plans to launch any lawsuits over Linux. This inference, I think, is clear. Tom Espiner, ZDNet May 24, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Patents, Copyrights, Microsoft, Patents] [Comment]

An Open Mouse
Two really useful ideas in one post. First, the author debunks the typical cause-effect picture of genetics portrayed in the media. You know, "You sometimes hear people talking about the 'gay gene,' the 'depression gene,'" and so on. But this view," writes the author, "is almost entirely divorced from reality." The illustration that shows this just perfectly - the network of genes surrounding obesity in mice - is taken from a scientific journal. Which leads to the second idea. "And what do I now hear from PLOS? Do I hear the grinding of lawyerly knives? No. I hear the blissful silence of Open Access... No muss, no fuss. If I want to blog about this paper right now, I can grab a relevant image right now from it. In fact, I just did... And it was so easy and straightforward for me to do so that I will be very reluctant to bother with anything else." Carl Zimmer, The Loom May 24, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Web Logs, Networks] [Comment]

$100 Million Payday For Feedburner - This Deal Is Confirmed
Using Feedburner? Looks like you'll be embracing Google ads in the near future (along with redirects through the mighty Goodly empire for all of your readers). So reports TechCrunch, at least. Michael Arrington, TechCrunch May 24, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Google] [Comment]

Defining and Understanding Virtual Worlds
Useful article defining and explaining some terms related to online vistual worlds, including MMOPGG, avatar and metaverse. The author's introduction of the term "massively multilearner online learning environment" (MMOLE) is to my knowledge new and is used to introduce a virtual learning world (VLW - that's my term) called ProtoSphere. This product, so new it's not even located on the web, is apparently offered by a company called Proton media. See other reviews here and here. Meanwhile, for open source virtual worlds, you may want to look at Croquet (which, I was told last night, is pronounced "Crow - Ket" - one of those mispronunciations that make most English speakers wince). Karl M. Kapp, Learning Circuits May 24, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Open Source, Online Learning] [Comment]

 

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