Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
September 18, 2007

What Is Left?
I sent this to a discussion list today. It's not exactly on the topic of online learning, but it's about as concise a statement of the foundations of my political philosophy as you're going to find. Readers familiar with my work will find a lot that they've seen before in this paper, but placed in the context of governance and society. Stephen Downes, Half an Hour September 18, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Online Learning, Discussion Lists] [Comment]

Times to Stop Charging for Parts of Its Web Site
Um, this is the place where I say, "We told you so," to the New York Times. According to the article, the subscription met all expectations, and the new policy of openness is the result of projected advertising revenue. But I have to figure that having their 'opinion leaders' locked behind a subscription wall hurt. You can't be "the paper of record" if people are reading or linking to your content. Anyhow, I'll just take this moment to welcome the New York Times back to the open web. Can the Chronicle of Higher Education be far behind? Via Link] [Tags: Microsoft] [Comment]

IF PLEs Became Bulletproof
I agree with this: "that same pattern of destructive excess that IT Departments exhibit in making an infrastructure bulletproof, could destroy the value of PLE's if management adopts them as a job requirement." Tom Haskins, growing changing learning creating September 18, 2007 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

Fearing Legalized P2P Downloading, CRIA Declares War On Private Copying Levy
The Canadian recording industry has lobbied for many years for a 'private copying levy', successfully adding a tax to all blank media sold in Canada. Now it has realized - all of a sudden - that this levy makes actually using the media to copy content legal. Because that's what we paid for when we paid the levy. Here's the reality that results from this: "the Copyright Board has developed jurisprudence that provides a strong argument that downloading music on peer-to-peer networks is lawful in Canada." Quite so, and if they want to make it illegal, perhaps they could begin by paying back all the money they've collected as compensation. Michael Geist, Weblog September 18, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Networks, Canada] [Comment]

Edu2.0 - Free Hosted LMS (or VLE)
Zaid Ali Alsagoff reviews the new edu 2.0 web-based education site. "First of all, their system is web-hosted and free; you don't have to download any software or manage your own servers. Second, their Resources section allows you to graphically browse thousands of community-contributed resources by topic; you can even upload your own resources and they will host them for you. Third, their unique personalized learning system allows students to study at their own pace and track their progress against a chosen curriculum. Finally, their Community section allows teachers and students to network and collaborate with other members that share the same educational interests." Zaid Ali Alsagoff, ZaidLearn September 18, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Personalization, Online Learning, Networks] [Comment]

20 Project Ideas Inspired by Learning 2.0
Good list of classroom activities enabled by Web 2.0 technologies, everything from weather prediction to storytelling to podpals. Kim Cofino, always learning September 18, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Web 2.0] [Comment]

How to Blog Without the Time Sink
Good advice from Amy Gahran, wich I completely endorse: "the key to blogging efficiently is this: DO NOT treat it like writing an article or report. That is, make blogging part of your ongoing processes for research, notetaking, and communication." Amy Gahran, Contentious September 18, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Research, Web Logs] [Comment]

The Chronicle Fears Second Life, Continued
Bryan Alexander offers an extended review of Michael Bugeja's report on Second Life in the Chronicle of Higher Education, including a treat, a link to the author's homepage. Alexander is sharp in his criticism, wondering why "academia's news journal of record" can allow such sloppy, ill-informed writing. Bryan Alexander, Infocult: Information, Culture, Policy, Education September 18, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Academic Journals, Academia] [Comment]

 

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