Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
August 20, 2007

OpenID On Stephen's Web
Stephen's Web now supports OpenID logins. This is a bit brand new, and has been accompanied by several web crashes, but I think it's stable now. If it doesn't work for you, please let me know. Don't know what OpenID is? Follow this link to learn more (I'm still writing this so give me a few hours if you don't see it right away). If you have an existing Stephen's Web account and would like to associate it with an OpenID account from some other provider (such as LiveJournal or AOL) then login first with your old Stephen's Web username and password, then select [Options] and log in with your OpenID. Stephen Downes, Stephen's Web August 20, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Branding] [Comment]

Social Networking As LMS: Problems and Opportunities
Christy Tucker explains that her 'Facebook as LMS' post was "thinking aloud" and not some final conclusion. Of course not; we wouldn't think otherwise. 'Thinking aloud' is a good thing and something I would encourage. Anyhow, while recognizing the weaknesses of Facebook, she lists several advantages: community, collaboration, context and hierarchy. Meanwhile, Jim Groom says Enough with Facebook already..." Christy Tucker, Experiencing E-Learning August 20, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Books] [Comment]

SH Interviews DK From the UK
Interesting interview. "He just goes by DK, which are the initials of his given name, but DK has been his nickname since he was a child. His educational background is in communications and media, and started out working with youth--and became the UK's first and only Corporate Youth Officer. His 'passion for working with young people (and youth professionals) has been his main focus for the past 8 years.'" Steve Hargadon, Website August 20, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Great Britain] [Comment]

Thoughts On the Social Graph
Brad Fitzgerald, the founder of LiveJournal and the developer of OpenID, offers this commentary on open social networking. Some new terminology: the term 'social graph' refers essentially to the 'social network', in other words, the set of linkages between people. And the term 'edge' is used here to mean the same as we might mean when we talk about a 'link' from one person to another. The idea is to "ultimately make the social graph a community asset, utilizing the data from all the different sites, but not depending on any company or organization as "the" central graph owner." There's a Google group for discussions. Scott Karp comments, "the bigger problem is the inability of the 'social graph' on the web to capture the infinite variability of human relationships." See also this post in Mashable. Brand Fitzpatrick and Dan Recordon, Website August 20, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Books, Networks, Google] [Comment]

New LeMill Version (1.13) Released
I don't typical announce version releases (because I would quickly drown in them) but it's worth highlighting this software, "a service and a platform for finding, authoring and sharing open and free learning resources." Improvements include collection downloads, category browsing, and discussion pages for learning resources. Teemu Leinonen, FLOSSE Posse August 20, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Online Learning, Ontologies] [Comment]

Secrets of the Super-Learners (Graig Lambert)
Quick summary of five attributes of people who learn, from an article by Graig Lambert. The attributes are: wonder, humility, synthetic thinking, patience, and relishing mistakes. OK. But I would add to this hard work and practice, practice, practice. As Zaid says, "The key is not whether we fail or succeed during our studies, put how much effort and attitude we put into it. If the effort and right attitude is internalized into the students' mind (becomes a habit) during the learning process, he or she will eventually succeed (Trust me!)." Zaid Ali Alsagoff, ZaidLearn August 20, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Online Learning] [Comment]

Companies That Close Networking Doors Jeopardize Their Future
This post describes coverage in Australia of a service called 'SurfControl' which is claiming that "the use of Facebook on company time is costing business up to A$5 billion a year." The claim, of course, is pure fiction. But even if it were true, it represents a valuable activity, not a waste of time. As Ross Dawson says, "Organizations such as IBM, Procter&Gamble, PricewaterhouseCoopers and most world-class organizations I am aware of are focusing on how they can HELP their employees to network and build connections inside and outside their organizations, not hinder them." Ross Dawson, Trends in the Living Networks August 20, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Books, Networks, Australia] [Comment]

Even the Office 2007 Box has a Learning Curve
For those of you thinking about 'upgrading' to Windows Vista, Joel Spolsky: "I've been using Vista on my home laptop since it shipped, and can say with some conviction that nobody should be using it as their primary operating system-it simply has no redeeming merits to overcome the compatibility headaches it causes." Joel Spolsky, Joel on Software August 20, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Operating Systems, Portable Computers, Microsoft] [Comment]

Open, Digital Scholarly Publishing at AU Press
Congratulations to Athabasca University, which has launched an Open Access Athabasca University Press, "dedicated to disseminating knowledge emanating from scholarly research to a broad audience through open access digital media and in a variety of formats (e.g., journals, monographs, author podcasts)." Press Release, Athabasca University August 20, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Podcasting, Research, Open Access] [Comment]

 

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