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OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
March 6, 2008

A CEO Search Result: Negroponte Leaves One Laptop Per Child
To be clear, Negroponte hasn't left OLPC - that's just Vota's (misleading) headline. But the organization is searching for a new CEO, according to a Business Week article. This is either the end for OLPC or the new beginning the organization has needed as its plan to sell laptops a million at a time has fallen far short of such lofty goals. "I say that this is the first step in the departure of Nicholas Negroponte himself.... No, there can only be one head chief in the kitchen. So no matter if Negroponte intends for his CEO search to be his exit or not, if we want OLPC to rebound, it has to be. And without a MiniMe." Wayan Vota, One Laptop Per Child News March 6, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Portable Computers] [Comment]

Student Faces Facebook Consequences
Via Harold Jarche, we read that "Ryerson Polytechnic has charged a student with academic misconduct for creating a Chemistry study group on Facebook." As Mark Federman says, "This charge is wrong on so many levels, revealing the complete cluelessness of the Ryerson administration." We will find thta Ryerson will recant in short order - the charge is patently ridiculous. As student Kim Neale says, "actually it's no different than any study group working together on homework in a library." I remember my own Chemistry classes. Students were expected to work together. Someone who worked alone - like me - was at a serious disadvantage. Louise Brown, Toronto Star March 6, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Patents, Books, Academia, Copyrights, Patents] [Comment]

Relying On Inner Teachers
This post is a big part of what I have been trying to say. "When we assume each student has an inner teacher within their minds, we will stop interfering with the discovery, cultivation and trust building with that inner teacher.... When we had over the learning to the students and their inner teachers, there is no more need for putting over-powering, controlling, authoritative and silencing instructors in the learners' faces." And so on. Great stuff. And, if you actually believe what Haskins writes here (as I do) you realize that your approach to educational techn ology can't be business as usual, can't be some version as 'technology in the classroom' or 'technology in the curriculum'. See also Harold Jarche. Tom Haskins, growing changing learning creating March 6, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Online Learning] [Comment]

First Monday'S Critical Perspectives On Web 2.0
Summary of the current issue of First Monday, which features a number of critical perspectives on Web 2.0. This observation by Trebor Stoltz is telling (and accurate): "The takeover of the Web by business interests is also apparent when examining public discourse. The most visible authors, writing about the Social Web are lawyers, legal scholars at elite universities, business strategists, and corporate social media consultants. The bibliographies and acknowledgments in their books are almost exclusively pointers to others in their closed elite circle. This is surprising, especially as the phenomena that they write about (and frequently glorify), include the democratization of expert culture." Alex Reid, digital digs March 6, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Web 2.0, Mergers and Takeovers] [Comment]

My Techno-Activist Students: See Their Projects Speaking Out for Genocide in Darfur
I have my disagreements in the details with Vicki Davis, but in the larger things I think we're of one mind. "We can't do everything. We're not omnipotent. We're not everywhere. But you know what? I don't teach these kids about technology just to let it be something they'll use one day, they should use it to make the world better NOW! Speak out NOW! Do something NOW! It is not just about technology for me... it is so much more. It is a mindset that a person in small town Camilla or small town anywhere doesn't have to have a small mind. And that a big mind in a small town can change the world through a broadband internet connection." See also Ed Tech Talk on the same subject. Vicki A. Davis, Cool Cat teacher Blog March 6, 2008 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

Additional Connectivism Resources and Discussion
The papers and presentations from last year's Connectivism conference - including my own contribution, The Recognition Factor - have been transcribed. They should probably also be published as a Lulu book or some such thing. George Siemens, Connectionism Blog March 6, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Connectivism, Books] [Comment]

Welcome to iReport.Com From CNN!
A writer on the Second Life Educator's mailing list pointed to this site. The article he wrote has long since cycled off the home page, but the site is worthy of a look in its own right. It should be widely noted as a phenomenon shortly. "Welcome to a brand new beta site for uncensored, user-powered news. CNN built the tools, you take it from there. All the stories here are user-generated and instant: CNN does not vet or verify their authenticity or accuracy before they post. The ones with the "On CNN" stamp have been vetted and used in CNN news coverage." This, my friends, is the future of news. It is also the future of learning. Various Authors, Website March 6, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Branding, Second Life] [Comment]

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