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by Stephen Downes
February 16, 2009

Los Angeles


I spent Saturday wandering through Los Angeles by foot, by bus and by rail. I also have some other sets from my trip, which I'll link to tomorrow. As usual, I recommend the Slide Show. Stephen Downes, Flickr, February 16, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Flickr] [Comment]

Access2OER: The CCK08 Solution
I am very jet-lagged today, having just returned from California. Sometimes that's a good thing - I used the template provided and didn't waste any words in this post describing our Connectivism course for a UNESCO conference on open educational resources, resulting in one of the more structured and concise treatments of the subject. Stephen Downes, Half an Hour, February 16, 2009 [Link] [Tags: UNESCO, Connectivism, Open Educational Resources] [Comment]

Advice for Small Schools On the LMS Selection Process
This is a very good post with solid suggestions on a very practical matter for small schools. "Lots of schools in your position have managed to migrate to a new LMS," he advises, and such migration, while not pleasant or easy, is inevitable and necessary. But it can be done. And you don't need to agonize unnecessarily. "Any of the major systems available in the US that I have some familiarity with (ANGEL, Blackboard, Desire2Learn, Moodle, and Sakai) will provide you with adequate functionality." Michael Feldstein, e-literate, February 16, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Schools, Desire2Learn, Blackboard Inc.] [Comment]

Let's Disrupt the Educational Status Quo!
"How do we move to a student centric system?" asked Michael Horn. The video embedded in this web post offers a look at some approaches. Lisa Durff also links to an Edutopia article. Lisa Durff, Durff's Blog , February 16, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Video] [Comment]

Google and the Future of Books
This article gives the reader pause for reflection, once over the oddness of such a nationalist tone in a globalized world. "Who could not be moved by the prospect of bringing virtually all the books from America's greatest research libraries within the reach of all Americans, and perhaps eventually to everyone in the world?" Well fine, but as the author points out, a private company is basically being granted a monopoly over the enterprise. One wonders, though, whether having a monopoly over books is becoming increasingly like having a monopoly over the railroads: driving people toward a more personalized, more distributed and more flexible alternative. Via Norm Friesen. Robert Darnton, New York Review of Books, February 16, 2009 [Link] [Tags: United States, Personalization, Google, Research] [Comment]

Hodge Podge World
Rich Hoeg writes, "Thomas Friedman says 'The World Is Flat'. I say, Not!" This slide show and video make, I think, the refuting case. Rich Hoeg, eContent, February 16, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Video] [Comment]

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