Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
July 29, 2009

What if Microsoft Had a Windows App Store?
The story's in the question in the title. And so long as the vendor maintains such rigid control over the mobile platform, mobile computing will remain a shadow of its desktop cousin, no matter how much it is pushed by telco advertisements and international aid agencies. As Michael Masnick says, "It doesn't take long to realize how much slower innovation would likely have been on the PC platform."
Harry McCracken, Technologizer, July 29, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Marketing, Microsoft] [Comment]

Stanford's STEP Teacher Education Program, Social Justice and Dressing in Drag
Um, wait a sec. Backup. An education student at Stanford was questioned because of the opinions expressed in her blog. The Washingrton Post's Jay Matthews wrote, They messed with the wrong blogger. "They appeared to have decided her anti-progressive views were disrupting their classes, alienating other students and proving that she and Stanford were a bad fit." Oh, it's all so unfair, conservative bloggers being subject to scrutiny when seeking positions in a progressive teaching program. Yeah. Well, try blogging as a communist while working at a bank. People don't get hearings if they don't toe the party line, they just get fired. Maybe the free market capitalists should get their own house in order before complaining about how progressive teacher education schools run their programs. Matthew K. Tabor, Weblog, July 29, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Schools, Web Logs] [Comment]

A TKO Victory for Desire2Learn against Blackboard
Al Essa reacts to the Blackboard verdict. "What began three years ago as a Blitzkrieg offensive by Blackboard is now frozen, dead in its tracks, and confronted with the onslaught of a Canadian counter-attack." Alfred Essa, The Nose, July 29, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Desire2Learn, Canada, Blackboard Inc.] [Comment]

Copyright Act - Feds launch country-wide public consultation
AUCC has staked out its ground in the copyright discussion in Canada. "It is AUCC's position that students and professors need to know they are not violating copyright law when using publicly-available works on the Internet, and thus the law should be amended to clarify that publicly-available material online can be used for education and training purposed without violating copyright. AUCC also argues that copyright law should allow a student to watch a lesson live online or later through a recording of a lesson." Its full position was adopted in 2007. Meanwhile Scott Leslie expresses his view to CNIE. Unattributed, CFHSS Newsletter, July 29, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Canada, Copyrights, Patents] [Comment]

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