Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
August 19, 2009

United Breaks Guitars Song 2

The second instalment of 'United Breaks Guitars' is out. Appropriate music for my last post before my vacation. Now that my luggage has (finally) arrived from Air Canada, I can take my vacation and go camping for a couple of weeks. See you in September. Dave Carroll, YouTube, August 19, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Canada] [Comment]

If you had to pay for it, would you still use it?
Doug Johnson cites Miguel Guhlin, who asks, "Should school districts continue to allow teachers to post content online in Web 2.0 services that are 'free' now but may result in cost later?" Johnson adds, "Something in me shares Miguel's concern about the over-use of free resources on the web. Is this an economic model that is sustainable and what will be lost if a free tool goes away? (Especially as we think about moving into Google Apps for Education.)" But, of course, this is not a problem with using free resources online. It's a problem with using commercial services online, and in particular, those offering an 'introductory low low price'. As for the adage, "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch," that's a piece of propaganda that is proven wrong by charities and generous individuals in every city on every day. Doug Johnson, Blue Skunk Blog, August 19, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Schools, Web 2.0, Google, Marketing] [Comment]

Can Separate Be Equal?
I haven't always been of this opinion, but I've come around to it over the last few years. "Four decades of research has found that the single best thing one can do for a low-income student is give her a chance to attend a middle-class school... A low-income student given the chance to attend a middle-class school is likely to be surrounded by peers who are academically engaged and less likely to act out; a set of parents who volunteer in the classroom and know how to hold school officials accountable; and high-quality teachers who have high expectations." Via Tom Hoffman. Richard D. Kahlenberg, The American Prospect, August 19, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Schools, Research, Academia, Quality] [Comment]

World's First Mobile Augmented Reality Browser
Very interesting. "For every Point of Interest (POI), several actions can be taken such as: linking to a mobile site for more information, playing a live location based trivia game, linking to a video or sound clip, clicking to call for reservations, and looking at a route description to the POI. Content partners can fully customize their layer to provide a distinctive experience for the user. Gary Woodill, Brandon Hall, August 19, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Customization, Video, Experience, Linking and Deep Linking] [Comment]

About My New Header
Very clever adaptation of a very service called Personas, an MIT project that analyzes your personal profile and creates a 'DNA' of your online character. I tried it out; it sorts based on your name, which means that if you're "Joe Smith" it will be terribly inaccurate. For my name it was OK. David Warlick, 2 cents worth, August 19, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Project Based Learning] [Comment]

Report on the Learning4Content project
WikiEducator reports on its Learning4Content project as required by its funders. "Drawing on database statistics, we calculate that WikiEducator has produced the equivalent of 88 study guides or text books through volunteer authoring. The community produced 49 book equivalents during 2009." Content usage has also been very good. "Learning4Content workshops commenced on schedule during January 2008. The Learning4Content project has exceeded its target of 2,500 educators by 20% having registered 3001 participants from 113 different countries. The COL administered the presentation of 86 workshops under this grant." Wayne Mackintosh, WikiEducator, August 19, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Books, Project Based Learning] [Comment]

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