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by Stephen Downes
October 14, 2009

Economics Nobel goes to commons research
I'm loving the recent selection in the Nobel prizes. No, not that one, this one: the Nobel Prize for Economics, for research into the in formation commons. How good is it? It's an explicit recognition that "Information that used to be 'free' is now increasingly being privatized, monitored, encrypted, and restricted... Multiple forces are vying for capture and restriction of traditionally available knowledge." And it looks at the governance of this resource as a commons. The dominant "tragedy of the commons" is a special case, they argue, and a wider understanding of the commons reveals different types of goods, which are best managed differently. This sort of management is exemplified by projects such as the Open Archives Initiative (OAI). "Their multiple goals include not only sustaining the resource (the intellectual public domain) but building equity of information access and provision, and creating more efficient methods of dissemination through informal, shared protocols, standards, and rules among the local and global scholarly community." Gavin Baker, Open Access News, October 14, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Information, Patents, Content Syndication, Research, Project Based Learning] [Comment]

10 Killer Content Sources for Your iPod Learning Mix
As the title suggests, a list of ten great content sources for learning on your iPod. Jeff Cobb, Mission to Learn, October 14, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Apple Inc.] [Comment]

Personal Learning Environments & Personal Learning Networks - Day Two
The PLE/N conference continued today with presentations by Graham Attwell (MP3 Audio) and Josie Fraser (MP3 Audio). Tomorrow (Thursday) we look forward to hosting Steve Wheeler at noon eastern. See the schedule for times, and Abastracts are here. Access the conference via Elluminate here. , , October 14, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Audio, Podcasting, Personal Learning Environment] [Comment]

Why Email No Longer Rules…
This article from the WSJ suggesting that email "no longer rules" may have a point - but it also comes across sounding a bit like a Sharepoint advertisement. "Email was better suited to the way we used to use the Internet-logging off and on, checking our messages in bursts." Now we are, the author suggests, always online - well, maybe, but that (to me) simply means my email reader is always open. Right, Rod? Via Tom Werner. Jessica E. Vascellaro, Wall Street Journal, October 14, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Online Learning, Marketing] [Comment]

Using technology to improve the cost-effectiveness of the academy
Two part article (Part One, Part Two) from Tony Bates that looks critically at the future of universities (and you will definitely see the influence of Sir John daniel there). Bates's model for a university of the future includes:
- Abolition of the semester system
- Courses will be built around learning outcomes
- Strong emphasis on collaborative learning
- Focus on getting students to do the work: finding material, organizing it (etc)
- Large undergraduate courses will be designed and delivered by a team
- Classes will be broken down into small groups of 20-30 students
- Assessment methods willbe through ‘proof of learning'
- Ph.D. students will receive up to six months training in teaching and learning
- Most universities will belong to consortia to allow for automatic credit transfer
- Costs will be driven down Tony Bates, Weblog, October 14, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Online Learning] [Comment]

We Need Your Voice! : Adolscent Literacy Panel on Elluminate Oct. 19
Reports and discussion on research into adult literacy. I had a look through the summary report, Time to Act and it seems reasonable, though as always there may be devils lurking in the details. That said, you have to like the background research, for example, this report discussing literacy testing and critically assessing different literacy tests. Certainly people interested in literacy issues, especially in the U.S., will want to have a look and perhaps, as suggested in this post, offer comments and feedback. Angela Maiers, Angela Maiers Educational Services, October 14, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Assessment, Tests and Testing, Adult Learning, Research] [Comment]

FAQ for Universities Interested in WPMu
WordPress MultiUser (WPMu) is an attractive way for service providers to offer many people a blogging space, so it is not surprising to see it used by universities. In this item, Jim Groom offers a guide to WPMu. It's republished from a document offered by David Grogan, Ilene Chen, Stephen McDonald, and Hannah Reeves from the academic technology group at Tufts University. Jim Groom, bavatuesdays, October 14, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Books, Academia, Web Logs] [Comment]

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