Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
July 6, 2010

Having Reasons
In this blog post, I try to explain the importance of semantics, why we are studying critical literacies, and how this relates to knowledge and learning. "The whole concept of 'having reasons' is probably the deepest challenge there is for connectivism, or for any theory of learning. We don't want people to simply to react instinctively to events, we want them to react on a reasonable (and hopefully rational) basis." Stephen Downes, Half an Hour, July 6, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Connectivism, Semantic Web, Semantics, Web Logs] [Comment] [Tweet]

More Google Chrome web apps for you to enjoy!
I don't know - you begin to feel you've got a handle on things and the whole landscape changes again. Apple apps, Google apps - the shape of both the web and the desktop are changing as we speak. Lee Mathews, Download Squad, July 6, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Apple Inc., Google, Google Chrome] [Comment] [Tweet]

Free Google Guides for Teachers
It's nice that Richard Byrne has published a Guide to Google for educators. It's less nice - and downright weird - that it's published in Flash on DocStoc and Yudu. Are you kidding me? Angela Maiers, Weblog, July 6, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Books, Google, Open Access] [Comment] [Tweet]

On note taking
I agree with D'Arcy Norman - note-taking is an important part of learning, not just a way to record a lecture or event. "Note taking is not primarily about manual duplication of a set of resources produced by a teacher. It's an active process of sensemaking and internalization. Of visualizing the processes of thinking. There is no part of the valuable process of note taking that can be obsolesced by mere content being posted online." D'Arcy Norman, Weblog, July 6, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Visualization] [Comment] [Tweet]

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