Stephen's Web

OLDaily

OLDaily is currently being produced by Barry Dahl (BD), Harold Jarche (HJ), and Gary Woodill (GW).

by Stephen Downes
July 8, 2008

Web Apps and Netbooks
Cloud computing is now one of my areas of interest, and in spite of the 45 minute outage of Google Docs today, I think that it is exploding as a trend. Cloud computing refers to the many services available for free on the web, which are replacing traditional software applications that run on individual computers. When you pair a mobile device like a smartphone or ultra-lite computer (what Intel is calling a "netbook") with web apps, you have a ground-shifting change in how we are productive using information technologies. Simple Spark, a directory for web applications has over 9,600 web apps listed. Tony Vincent highlights many that would be useful for education, and reviews the advantages and disadvantages of netbooks. -GW Tony Vincent, Learning in Hand, July 8, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Google] [Comment]

Individualism and Classism
Stephen Downes responds to an email from Nick Bowskill and clarifies his distinction between Individualism and Classism. His philosophy "is rooted in the self, [but] is not a form of primacy of the self." Stephen's position is founded on "a sense of connectedness between interacting individuals, each of which brings its own uniqueness, its own perspective, to the mix." While we are each individuals, we are mutually interdependent. For those who don't quite know what to make of Stephen, this clarification helps. -GW Stephen Downes, Half an Hour, July 8, 2008 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

Right Brain Functionality
Personally I think that the Right Brain - Left Brain model is way too simplistic, and based on a very small sample of people with severe epilepsy. Tom Hoskins reviews brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor's TED talk about her stroke on the left side of her brain, and the book she wrote about the experience, My Stroke of Insight. Whether you are a believer or not, this talk, the book, and Tom's comments are all interesting and recommended reading. -GW Tom Haskins, growing changing learning creating, July 8, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Books, Experience, Research] [Comment]

Obligatory Sell-Out Edupunk Post
I've seen many similar posts, but Stein's has been recently added to the pile about the whole Edupunk movement/mission/vision/whatever. "My problems with "edupunk" have been ... I have a hard enough time converting faculty to use edtech as it is; a label like "edupunk" will only further alienate those faculty. And as john Krutsch suggested, "cliques suck, especially when you are on the outside"." But seeing value in the other side as well, "the DIY, question-authority aspect of edupunk is not only attractive to me, it resonates with my daily activities–to an extent." It's a short post that likely sums up the feelings of many Ed-Techers, it's much more about a world view and much less about a new group to join. Jared Stein, Flexknowlogy, July 8, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Edupunk] [Comment]

Hide and Seek 2008 Rules Me - and Why Real-World Players Are so Game.
This long post is absolutely breathless - Jane McGonigal is having so much fun at the Hide and Seek Festival in London that the reader is out of breath just reading her description of the weekend. Jane lists a set of live group games that reminded me of playing Red Rover in the schoolyard in Grade 1. It shows that people really enjoy and get into face-to-face encounters, and there is still a thrill of participating in live action compared with sitting in front of a screen. -GW Jan McGonigal, Avant Game, July 8, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Schools, Online Learning] [Comment]

Linden Labs and IBM Break the Metaverse Barrier, Teleport Across Virtual Worlds
"Staff of Linden Labs, the creators of virtual world Second Life, and IBM announced last night that they have achieved the first recorded teleport of their avatars from one virtual world into another. Researchers from the two companies teleported avatars from the Second Life Preview Grid to an OpenSim virtual world." This does seem rather huge, but in exactly which way is somewhat difficult to say right now. Maybe the best news is that the dissatisfied SL people (referenced in the post) will have an easier way for their avatars to escape from LindenLand. Any predictions on how much longer before my daughter's Nintendog can teleport from her DS game system to leave a little land mind on Education Island? -BD Marshall Kirkpatrick, ReadWriteWeb, July 8, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Second Life, Gaming] [Comment]

I Still Don'T Have the Multiplication Tables Memorized
Daniel Lemire, PhD, professor of computer science, doesn't have the multiplication tables memorized and was diagnosed as having a learning disability because he couldn't tie his shoes on entering school. "Let us face it: the purpose of school should not be to teach specifics. And you should never judge kids by what you expect them to achieve. Let them surprise you!" -HJ Daniel Lemire, Daniel Lemire's Blog, July 8, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Schools] [Comment]

Emerging Mondays Sounds of the Bazaar LIVE Podcast : Edupunks
Everything you wanted to know about the Edupunks "movement" but were afraid to ask. Now available as a Sounds of the Bazaar podcast hosted by Graham Attwell, recorded yesterday with many guests from around the world (complete with appropriate music). -HJ Graham Attwell, Pontydysgu - Bridge to Learning, July 8, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Podcasting] [Comment]

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