Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
May 28, 2008

Belgian Newspapers Demand Google Pay $77 Million For All The Traffic Google Sent Them
I've got a better idea: shut down Google in Belgium. Let's see how long the government allows this sort of nonsense to continue once Belgian citizens see the long-term consequences. And maybe Singapore, too, while we're at it. Let's not forget - these people with their patents and their lawsuits and their copyright acts aren't trying to make things better. They're trying to wreck the internet. To wreck our capacity to speak freely with each other. Mike Masnick, TechDirt, May 28, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Google] [Comment]

Blackboard Responds to PTO's Rejection
D2L links to the Blackboard response. Blackboard keeps claiming originality. No surprises here. Various Authors, D2L, May 28, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Blackboard Inc.] [Comment]

You Just Might Find You Get What You Need
Keep pounding on him, you'll have that creativity and independent spirit beaten down eventually. Oh - and treating escape from school as a reward - good idea. That will make him value learning. Jose Vilson, The Jose Vilson, May 28, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Schools, Online Learning] [Comment]

Carry It On
Well this is great stuff, and well worth the read with your edupunk attitude on. Doug Noon writes, "Listening to Utah Phillips, I heard the voice of a teacher." But you know, for all the protests and the activism and the high-minded ideals, we still got the SUVs, the Iraq War, arbitrary detention and torture. This lesson is not lost on me either. "This isn't a court. This is a neon oven." The hippie is a romantic. The punk is a revolutionary. Doug Noon, Borderland, May 28, 2008 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

Pan Canadian Research Agenda
The SCoPE conference on the future of e-learning research in Canada continues. Last week, we heard from Gilbert Paquette and George Siemens and heather Kanuka. Monday saw Tom Carey complete his interrupted presentation. Now the assembled are working on a wiki outlining an action plan. I would prefer to see more people involved rather than a document written. Various Authors, SCoPE, May 28, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Connectivism, Online Learning, Canada, Research] [Comment]

For the Record...
Both Steve Dembo and Sue Waters write today that they did not accept money for promoting some quiz software service. I'm glad to hear that. They may not like the fact that I asked the questions, but when you look at the optics of their helping some company give computers away as part of a contest, the questions have to be asked. Because, you know, such companies have an intent to quietly manipulate the blogosphere to support their private interests. Steve Dembo, Teach 42, May 28, 2008 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

Kids Screen Time 'Alarming,' Says Study
Well, it got blanket coverage in Canada this week. But this report never tells us who 'Active Healthy Kids Canada' are, nor the basis on which they gave Canadian kids an 'F' for physical activity. They cite a 2005-06 from the World Health Organization along with "various other" unnamed studies. The newspaper simply reports this uncritically, as though this were fact (so do the 79 commentators). Supposing, as the report claims, kids have about 6 hours of "screen time" per working day. One wonders, how much of that is learning time (it is certainly not all leisure, as the article implies). And what happens during the remaining 18 hours of their day 9which, presumably, would include 10 hours of time awake). Our society is not in danger from inactive kids; it is in danger from irresponsible journalists who pander this tripe as though it were news. Anne-Marie Tobin, Globe and Mail, May 28, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Canada] [Comment]

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