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OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
September 16, 2009

Mobile Learning in the Workplace: conference proceedings
Phew! Another week's work of reading. Needless to say, I haven't read it, but Gary Woodill summarizes: "The 164 page downloadable document (5.29 MB) is edited by Norbert Pachler and Judith Selpold. As well, most of the slides from presentations are available to download. I found the first section, 'learning across contexts' to be particularly valuable in understanding the new possibilities of mobile learning. The other sections mostly related to schools, higher education and teacher training." Gary Woodill, Workplace Learning Today, September 16, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Schools, Online Learning] [Comment]

Bigwig ushered nonsense paper into top journal, say scientists
"It makes the extraordinary claim that caterpillars and butterflies have different evolutionary histories - that rather than being a single lineage that evolved through two different life stages, they are a hybrid that resulted from the accidental mating of a flying insect with a worm-like species." One way or another, the peer review / journal publishing process has failed here. What should have happened what that Williamson (author of the paper in dispute) should have published his thoughts and evidence on his website, to be considered by the community as a whole. Zoe Corbyn, Times Higher Education, September 16, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Books] [Comment]

Universities to Futurists: The Reports of My Death Are Greatly Exaggerated.
The discussion continues. Matt Crosslin, EduGeek Journal, September 16, 2009 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

Interview by Derek Morrison with Michael Wesch
I haven't had the chance to listen to the audio, but how could you go wrong? MP3. Uploaded by Seb Schmoller, ALT Open Access Repository, September 16, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Audio] [Comment]

Implications of Online Learning for the Conceptual Development and Practice of Distance Education
Randy Garrison examines "the foundational principles and practices of distance education in the context of recent developments in the areas of online learning." He writes "In the current culture of connectivity, the relevance of distance education may well be dependent upon developing and communicating a coherent theory that can accommodate transformational developments reflected in [online learning (OLL)] innovations." For example, "collaborative constructivist approaches to teaching and learning are central to developments in OLL in higher education. However, such approaches are problematic in industrial distance education." It's a good paper, but I think his approach - which, for example, depict online learning as "a direct descendant of instructional technology and computer-assisted instruction," is rooted in literature but not actual practice (such as, say, my own, which is rooted in distance education and online gaming). Via Tony Bates, who points to more articles from the recent issue of the Journal of Distance Education. Randy Garrison, The Journal of Distance Education, September 16, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Online Learning, Constructivism] [Comment]

A library without books?

A sign of the times, I think. We are likely to see more of this. Kerrie Smith, You are Never Alone, September 16, 2009 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

CCK09 begins
Our online course has started and people are already creating content and writing posts, including this one. This one is a bit critical of Connectiovism. "At one level we have a highly reductionist view – its all about the neural connections, how brains work at this low level. At the other level its about how people interact and make connections with other people. And entirely removed from this is any acceptance of higher level models or theories of how individuals may learn." If you want to follow along with the newsletter without subscribing, the . Daniel Livingstone, Learning Games, September 16, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Traditional and Online Courses, Connectivism, Newsletters] [Comment]

Myna: Garage Band in Your Web Browser
This is pretty neat. Garage Band is an incredible application, but you have to have a Mac to run it. But now there's an online service. "The service, called Myna, is sort of like Garage Band in your web browser. You can import audio directly into it, record a track into the application, or use clips from one of Aviary's provided clip libraries." Christina Warren, Mashable, September 16, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Audio] [Comment]

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