Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
July 26, 2008

The On the Horizon Series Is Complete
Take the time to have a look at this series of guest articles in e-Literate by authors of a forthcoming volume of On the Horizon (a subscription-based online journal) on distributed learning environments. You can view all the articles by using the tag archive listing; be sure to click on 'previous entries' at the bottom; there's three pages of listings. Contributors include Jim Farmer, Glen Moriarty, Nathan Garrett and more. Michael Feldstein, e-Literate, July 26, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Academic Publications, Academic Journals, Subscription Services] [Comment]

Starfish Retention Solutions Launches Software
I received an email today from David Yaskin, a former VP of Product Strategy for Blackboard, advertising his new startup. The product, Office Hours, "will improve the delivery and assessment of programs which identify at-risk students, promote contact with instructors, deliver tutoring services, provide academic advising, and facilitate relationships with mentors." Press Release, Starfish, July 26, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Assessment, Marketing, Academia, Mentors and Mentoring, Blackboard Inc.] [Comment]

Browser-Based Virtual World - WebFlock
This is a good find from Mark Oehlert. "WebFlock can help you realize your goals for a social, fun and immersive web presence. A basic implementation, which includes the out-of-the-box feature set, custom 3D avatars and 3D space, and 12 months of the application services fees, is available for under $100,000." Gak! Mark Oehlert, e-Clippings, July 26, 2008 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

EFF: Yahoo Music Should Compensate Customers
Another DRM debacle, as Yahoo cuts off access to music purchased by its customers. "Some people think they can use music wrapped in digital rights management just like they do a CD," Corynne McSherry, an attorney with EFF, told CNET News. "This should teach everyone that you can't." Greg Sandoval, CNet News.com, July 25, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Digital Rights Management (DRM), Yahoo!] [Comment]

Favorite Moments @ NECC
Another issue of NECC came and went while I was gone. There was good coverage in the U.S. K-12 blogosphere, much of which can be accessed by following the links from this post. See especially the schedule for NECC unplugged. See also Social Capital and EduBloggerCon. Darren Draper, Drape's Takes, July 26, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Blogger, Google, Web Logs] [Comment]

Patent Filing the Future of Instructional Podcasts
This post concerns an Apple patent application for a device that switches from a lecturer to his or her slides. If you ask me, this one falls under the 'obvious' category. And I love how the images in this Apple patent application look like they came from the 1950s.

Alexandre Enkerli, Disparate, July 26, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Apple Inc., Patents, Ontologies, Podcasting, Copyrights, Patents] [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.