Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
November 7, 2008

oDesk
Like Boris Mann, I fell into a rabbit hole this morning. On the bright side, this is me:

I am now a qualified Perl 5 developer. The test is very similar to Brainbench, and I can say for sure, if you don't understand Perl, then you're not passing this test. oDesk also allows me to set up shop as an independent contractor and obtain work based on my credentials. There's a lot of potential here, and adding online learning to the mix is a natural. Various Authors, Website, November 7, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Online Learning] [Comment]

Stumbling Blocks: Playing It Too Safe Will Make You Sorry
So what do you do when your school or your district blocks asccess to web 2.0 tools like Flickr, Twitter and YouTube? I am often asked that question and generally advise advocacy and alternate access. This article makes similar recommendations, but without the bristling that usually forms a part of my response. Suzie Boss, Edutopia, November 7, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Schools, Twitter, Video, YouTube, Flickr] [Comment]

David Lynch: Consciousness, Creativity and the Brain
A nice Friday video for you - film director David Lynch lectures at UC Berkeley on the topic of consciousness and creativity. Nice, too, that the lecture was free in person as well as online. Here's the blurb: "The inside story on transcending the brain, with David Lynch, Award-winning film director of Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, Mullholland Drive, Inl...todo... The inside story on transcending the brain, with David Lynch, Award-winning film director of Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, Mullholland Drive, Inland Empire (filming); John Hagelin, Ph.D., Quantum physicist featured in "What the bleep do we know?;" and Fred Travis, Ph.D., Director, Center for Brain, Consciousness and Cognition Maharishi University of Management." David Lynch, UC Berkeley, November 7, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Video] [Comment]

Invited Tutorial On Collective Intelligence
Two part presentation on collective intelligence (part one, part two). The downloads are large PDF files (sorry about that) but the content is a broad historical and contemporary overview of the concept of collective intelligence. I don't agree with everything (especially many of the definitions) but feel these slides are well worth a review, even if only for pointers to primary material. Epamiiiinondas Kapettttaniiiios, Twine, November 7, 2008 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

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