Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
July 22, 2009

Web 2.0 How-to Design Guide
So I'm thinking maybe it's time to redesign my site again. No firm ideas, but I'm looking at things. Including this site. I like this. Ponder, ponder... Unattributed, Scratchmedia, July 22, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Web 2.0] [Comment]

Central Falls High launches academy system
Love this: "Imagine starting your school day with a global news briefing followed by a class on the history of terrorism. Next, you might study Arabic or go online to listen to the Arabic language television station, Al Jazeera." Yeah! I used to wake up in the morning eager for my World Politics class in high school. "Our kids are really bright," said Deanna Camputaro, leader of the Arts Academy. "But they were disconnected from what they were learning. We wanted to give them something that would make them want to come to school on time and stay in school." Via Tom Hoffman. Linda Borg, Rhode Island News, July 22, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Schools, Online Learning, Video] [Comment]

The Problem with Web 2.0...
Nice diagram that points to the confusion that is web 2.0 more eloquently than could any words. Michael Hanley, E-Learning Curve Blog, July 22, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Online Learning, Web 2.0] [Comment]

Jetpack to the future with recording Audio API
Not sure what to make of this. On the one hand, it's a pretty interesting idea. "Check out the Voice Memo demo which lets you annotate any webpage you are looking at with your voice." On the other hand, it's similar to Wikalong, which launched with a splash in 2004, but never really gained traction. Will audio make the difference? Can we extend it to actually create useful audio applications? Dion Almaer, Ajaxian, July 22, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Audio] [Comment]

Online youth need critical thinking skills
I agree with pretty much everything in this opinion item except for the assertion that we once had news sources that could be trusted. Yes, we did trust them. But, in retrospect, we shouldn't have. That said, as the author states, we won't be returning to that age, and so have to fend for ourselves, for better or worse, which means we all (and not just our kids) need critical thinking skills. I think we will find that this, rather than any particular technology, is the key change brought about by the information age. Larry Magid, CNet News, July 22, 2009 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

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