Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
August 3, 2009

Dumb Money or Dumb Coverage?
According to Newsweek, U.S. educators should be learning from the Canadian example. What is that model. Alexander Russo suggests Ontario has learned "most of what is popular to do in education -- class size reduction and school modernization, for example -- is least effective." Well, that's not true, it's no such thing, and both the original article and Russo's quick summation mislead in spades. My analysis is excruciatingly detailed, because I had a couple hours to write it up (ah, vacation) and because it is worth taking the time to show the sort of reasoning and foundation I use for the criticism that often appears as a short 100 word item in OLDaily.
Stephen Downes, Half an Hour, August 3, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Schools, Online Learning, Canada] [Comment]

Malaysian Sharein Tickles Real Potential!
"Sharein is an easy-to-learn/use tool that allows you to bookmark, rate, share, and discuss your internet discoveries with your friends in an efficient manner. You can share your favorite content via email with your friends or you may post it to Twitter or Facebook being the latest features launched." It's not perfect - Alsagoff offers some suggestions for improvement. Zaid Ali Alsagoff, e-Learning In Malaysia, August 3, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Twitter, Books] [Comment]

Feedback on the Big Question?
Though derivative (of 'The Big idea', even to the point of using the logo) the Learning Circuits 'Big Question' series has provoked some interesting discussion over the last three years. How, they ask, could they improve? That's a good question. Tony Karrer, Learning Circuits Blog, August 3, 2009 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

Quote 5 Words From the Associated Press? That'll Be $12.50
Just for the record: I will link to Associated Press if I feel like it (not that there will be anything to link to, I suspect) and I will quote them any time I please, protected under my right of fair dealing. Ben Parr, Mashable, August 3, 2009 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

IUSS reaction: Quality control' is the problem, not the solution
I'm in general agreement with this: "rather than boosting the quality of university education, the logic of quality control is a major source of the problems that bedevil the UK sector. Part of this lies in the apparent confusion between quality control and standardisation. While standards can secure a minimum of quality, they can also stifle the variation, creativity and maximum quality so essential to higher education." Florian Bieber, Times Higher Education, August 3, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Great Britain, Quality] [Comment]

This is MY Bully Pulpit
You can go look at the stuff for yourself. "I'm not going to rehash the whole thing here, when you can see it in action in any number of venues. Whether it's burning a freshman Representative in effigy, calling the President of the United States a racist, distorting facts, disrupting town hall meetings intended to work through concerns over the health care reform bills, or tossing a careless threat into a twitter stream (even if it is walked back later), the net result is the appearance of mob rule and thuggery. It's bullying. I'm not standing for it." We see the same sort of thing here, and you can see my short analysis in the comments. Karoli, odd time signatures, August 3, 2009 [Link] [Tags: United States, Twitter, Bullying] [Comment]

13 Point Checklist updated
Doug Johnson updates his checklist for school libraries. "Rapid changes in technology, learning research, and the library profession in the past 20 years have created a wide disparity in the effectiveness of school library media programs. Is your school's library media program keeping current? The checklist below can be used to quickly evaluate your building's program." It's a good, comprehensive, list, and worth a look. Doug Johnson, Blue Skunk Blog, August 3, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Schools, Research] [Comment]

Defining the Big Shift
If John Hagel hasn't been reading this website, he's been reading the same things I've been reading. It's interesting to compare his view today with what one would read in Net.Gain. The 'shifts' are: "From knowledge stocks to knowledge flows", "From knowledge transfer to knowledge creation", "From explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge", "From transactions to relationships", "From zero sum to positive sum mindsets", "From push programs to pull platforms", "From institutions driven by scalable efficiency to institutions driven by scalable peer learning", "From stable environments to dynamic environments." John Hagel, Edge Perspectives, August 3, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Push versus Pull] [Comment]

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