Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
January 11, 2008

The $75 Laptop
Today's newsletter is coming to you from Japan, where I am in a hotel room part way through my trip to Malaysia. This item captures what will be theme in the year to come, the Flash-memory based computer (and associated computing devices). I even say a card today on which you attach various components - video camera, touch screen, etc., and build our own Flash-based computer on the fly. As Seb Schmoller says, the OLPC was just the beginning. Seb Schmoller, Fortnightly Mailing January 11, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Newsletters, Video] [Comment]

Hitting A Drum and Object-Centred Sociality
A litle more on this subject. Take a look at this video. Now ask yourself, did a community form around this video? Maybe, but only in the most minimal sense possible, right? This video is not the 'object' of our community (of of any community you may belong to). Rather, it is better viewed as the medium through which we, the members of our community, express ourselves. Not a 'medium' in the sense of wires or radio waves or data chips. More like a 'medium' in the sense of language or music or art. This video is one piece o that medium, one' word' in that medium. What does it mean? "This video could act as a metaphor for this notion, the idea that people from different backgrounds, of different ages, are drawn together by an object, in this case a drum." Except - they are not 'drawn together' in any significant way; they are associated the way words in a sentence are associated. Meaning - the arrow of life, or some such thing - is created by that association. Our communities are created through clusters o such meanings - but we need to be clear, that it is th meaning around which our communities are cleated, not the objects we use to express that meaning. Alec Couros, Couros Blog January 11, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Video] [Comment]

Two Very Different Views of Publishing (Here's a Hint...I Think One Is WAY Wrong!)
My reaction to traditional publishing is much like Mark Oehlert's: "So in an age when we have the Public Library of Science Journals and the Directory of Open Access Journals, and when we have academic journals working with publishers who are pricing their product out of the reach of almost everyone and not to mention the Creative Commons; why then do academics still work with these dinosaur publishers and limit the accessibility of their work to all but a handful? Wake up people! You own the content. Publishing has never been easier. You can still maintain all the rigor of peer-review but take back the content from these people who seek nothing but to profit from your own work." Mark Ohlert, e-Clippings January 11, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Academic Publications, Academic Journals, Books, Public Library of Science, Accessibility, Academia] [Comment]

Ten Common Objections to Social Media Adoption and How You Can Respond
The content of this article is as suggested in the title. Common objections include information overload, the struggle against meaninglessness, time constraints, usage patterns, random brand damage, and competition form traditional media. Via Jennifer Maddrell. Marshall Kirkpatrick, Read/Write Web January 11, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Branding] [Comment]

The Truth About Facebook?
Hand up people who did not think Facebook was collecting personal data and selling it to anyone who asks? Hands up anyone who did not think Facebook was also helping the CIA or some such secret service agency collect data. That's what I thought. See, here's the thing about Facebook: we know they're watching, but we use it anyway. Why? Partially because we don't care, partially because it allows us to, in a sense, sculpt our public profile. For my part, I think that being surveiled is a fact of life, and started long before Facebook. There's no point getting all upset about it, because the Powers That Be aren't going to stop watching us, no matter what the law says. How do you thrive in such an environment? Well, it's like the old saying: dance like there's nobody watching... David Davies, Blue Box January 11, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Privacy Issues, Books] [Comment]

Recap: Women in the Edublogosphere 2007
If you think the edublogosphere is dominated by men - and sometimes it's pretty easy to get that impression - it may be worth your while to check out this list of women edubloggers offered by Janet Clarey. Janet Clarey, Brandon hall Research January 11, 2008 [Link] [Tags: none] [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.