Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
September 24, 2007

San Jose

I'm in Santa Clara for the Brandon Hall Innovations in Learning Conference getting ready for my talk tomorrow and setting up my conference backchannel script. The photo is of the fountain in front of San Jose city hall. Stephen Downes, Flickr September 24, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Silicon Valley, Flickr] [Comment]

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
I spent time this morning listening to this lecture (when I should have been preparing for my own talk - well, OK, I was preparing for my own talk, but I kept getting distracted by this lecture). You can view it on YouTube starting here. You can read these reflections after. And maybe this post from Curtis Bonk. Via several sources, including this post from Leonard Low. Hang onto those dreams you had as a kid; they're the only way for you to know how to live as an adult. Drew, ETC Global News September 24, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Video, YouTube] [Comment]

Organisational Learning Today - Concept Map
Interesting diagram summarizing 'organizational learning'. The term, of course, is a misnomer - it is the people who are in the organizations that are learning. So what's the 'organizational' doing in there? Sections like culture' and 'performance standards' give us an idea. Perhaps we should call it 'managed learning'. But then the informal learning doesn't fit. Mark Berthelemy, Mark Berthelemy's Connections September 24, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Online Learning] [Comment]

Croquet Virtual World Demo
Mark Oehlert links to a short video demonstrating Croquet, the open source virtual world application. Mark Oehlert, e-Clippings September 24, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Video, Open Source] [Comment]

Open Education - Week 4: Overall Reflections On Weeks 2, 3 and 4
Good post discussing the concept of instruction with respect to open educational resources. The idea (following Gagne) is that "Information which does not include presentation, practice, and learner guidance is information but not instruction." Maddrell looks at the three:
# Presentation - when the thoughts and ideas presented from over 300 edubloggers wind up in my feed reader,
# Practice - when I reflect on the thoughts and ideas of others within my own blog (dare I say, my PLE), and
# Feedback - when I read, receive and participate in the back and forth comments and counter-posts among bloggers help guide my understanding.
The thing is, this still propagates the old notion that the 'instruction' is in the resource. That 'instruction' amounts to some kind of content. It is this that I challenge. A rock is instructional if used in the right way. Jennifer Maddrell, Designed to Inspire September 24, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Information, Web Logs] [Comment]

Buy a Laptop for a Child, Get Another Laptop Free
The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project has taken the long expected step of making the XO computers available to consumers under a program that allows people to buy one for themselves while funding the purchase of one for a developing nation. Steve Lohr, New York Times September 24, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Project Based Learning] [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.