Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
June 23, 2010

The Representative Student
In this presentation I explore two related questions: first, what is the role of models and simulations both in delivering learning, and in learning about learning; and second, what is the relation between adaptive courseware, and the social network approach to learning based on creativity and communication? The Elluminate recording is available here. Presentation by Stephen Downes, Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute (TEKRI) at Athabasca University, Edmonton, Alberta,

SchoolToolBox Explained
Tom Hoffman explains the SchoolToolBox for us (thanks). "OK, take a wall-wart power supply, more or less double it in size, stuff the processing guts of a smartphone in there, add an ethernet jack and USB port, and install Ubuntu 9.04 server. It's a Linux server with a 1.2 gigahertz processor and 512 MB RAM and flash storage. All solid state, add whatever mass storage you want via USB." Tom Hoffman, Tuttle SVC, June 23, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Schools] [Comment] [Tweet]

Flow States in Sim Design: When to use it, and when to avoid it
New types of resources bring new vocabularies to education. Like 'flow'. Clark Aldrich writes, "The model of flow suggests that interactive experiences are at their best when they are always pushing users, while not being either too easy or too hard. Having said that, for any sim designer, flow needs to be implemented carefully." Clark Aldrich, On Simulations and Serious Game, June 23, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Experience] [Comment] [Tweet]

Open Educational Resources infoKit
Doug Belshaw writes, "Last night I helped launch the OER infoKit on behalf of JISC infoNet which is something I've been working on ever since I started my new role at the beginning of April this year." Doug Belshaw, Weblog, June 23, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Open Educational Resources, Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)] [Comment] [Tweet]

George Siemens – Connectivism: Socializing Open Learning
Just to make up for calling his approach "simple connectivism" here's a link to a George Siemens talk. "…Thinking in networks, it's having that experience that by being willing to be transparent, others can discover what are you're doing, and by discovering what you're doing, they can connect their own work to activities you are involved in." George Siemens, UOC, June 23, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Connectivism, Networks, Experience] [Comment] [Tweet]

The Revolution Will Be Tagged
Do you get the total irony of fake secrecy? Look here. "In 2009 a group of 42 researchers, educators, and entrepreneurs met together at the invitation of Union Square Ventures, a venture capital firm, to discuss how the Web could transform education. A major theme of the daylong discussion, which took place under the theme 'Hacking Education,' was 'unbundling,' the process through which online distribution of digital media and information breaks apart and erodes existing industries. At the center of 'unbundling' are new technologically-enabled relationships that democratize access to the means of production and collectively create plenty where scarcity once existed." Via D'Arcy Norman. Anonymous Authors, It's a Secret, June 23, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Research, Paradigm Shift] [Comment] [Tweet]

WikiEducator's Wayne Mackintosh: Open Education and Policy
Interview with WikiEducator's Wayne Mackintosh for Creative Commons. "Wayne is the Director of the International Centre for Open Education based at Otago Polytechnic in New Zealand, member of the Board of Directors of the OER Foundation, and founder of the WikiEducator project. In our interview with Wayne, we discussed Creative Commons and openness as a "competitive advantage" to closed systems, how OER "levels the playing field" through open licensing and file formats, and New Zealand's unique context andapproach to teacher empowerment and experimentation using OER." Timothy Vollmer, Creative Commons, June 23, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Open Educational Resources, Project Based Learning] [Comment] [Tweet]

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