Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
June 2, 2008

Defending Edupunk
Not that it needs any defense, but I wrote a diatribe in response to John Connell this morning, before my flight to Washington D.C. More on edupunk - Dave Warlick started a Wikipedia article on it (the irony is that Wikipedia only accepts published sources these days, which makes the glaringly incorrect Chronicle article the 'authority' on the subject). Also, brian lamb, Punks hate Hippies. Reverend Jim builds a pacemaker. Stephen Downes, Half an Hour, June 2, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Edupunk, Online Learning, Books, Wikipedia, Web Logs] [Comment]

The Community Is the Curriculum
Coverage of Dave Cormier's paper in Innovate on the rhizomatic model of learning. "In the rhizomatic model of learning, curriculum is not driven by predefined inputs from experts; it is constructed and negotiated in real time by the contributions of those engaged in the learning process. This community acts as the curriculum, spontaneously shaping, constructing, and reconstructing itself and the subject of its learning.." Graham Attwell, Pontydysgu, June 2, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Online Learning] [Comment]

Facebook Platform Now Open Source: fbOpen Released
Well, let's be clear here. "Parts" of their application platform has been open sourced. But hey, they're still ahead of Second Life (which promised... when was it again? that they would open source their platform). Michael Arrington, TechCrunch, June 2, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Second Life, Books, Open Source] [Comment]

Form and Reform
OK, this is just fantasy: "How can 'talk of change' not pose a threat to the status quo. By speaking the language of the those 'who need to be reformed'." Why is it fantasy? because the language itself precludes change. Tom Haskins, growing changing learning creating, June 2, 2008 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

How Identity and Access Management Can Help Your Institution Touch Its Toes
This presentation was both fascinating and infuriating. I really liked the style of presentation - page forward through it quickly - and I think the argument is well reasoned. But - it is well reasoned from an institutional perspective. Which make things like fingerprints sound reasonable. Kevin Morooney, EDUCAUSE Connect, June 2, 2008 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

Evolution to Education 3.0
Subtitled "The role of Free and Open Source Software and Free and Open Resources for Education (Open Educational Resources)." Derek Keats writes, "There is a deeply disturbing and absurd movement to try to accredit the so-called 'open educational resources,' with UNESCO seeming to wish to do this for reasons that are of dubious benefit. Any attempt to accredit content will only serve to slow down the rate of production, and is as sensible as accrediting books on library shelves." Derek Keats, Terra Incognita, June 2, 2008 [Link] [Tags: UNESCO] [Comment]

Metadata for Learning Resources: An Update On Standards Activity for 2008
Learning objects and metadata have not disappeared, as Sarah Currier make clear in this Ariadne article. "In light of not only a fast-evolving Web 2.0 environment within which providers of educational resources now operate, but also the need for harmonised metadata for education, the IEEE LTSC (Learning Technology Standards Committee) is going back to first principles to decide on a way forward for the LOM." I am sort of involved in this - if I can get my schedule together well enough to attend the meetings (synchronous is for people who have time). Sarah Currier, Ariadne, June 2, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Web 2.0, Metadata] [Comment]

Re: The Business of Education
Some back and forth between myself and Martin Weller on the business of education. lewis responds, to me: "To Stephen: Learning for free. It's a great vision. But how on earth do we get there? We need nuts and bolts to move in that direction. How about providing some?" Fair enough. I will say that I have been writing about that topic all along. But the idea of providing learning for free is something maybe worth shaping into a more comprehensive work. Gary Lewis, Educational Imaginations, June 2, 2008 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

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