Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
August 18, 2010

Nowhere near critical mass
"Regrettably," writes David Porter, "it feels like we are no closer to critical mass and sustainability on the OER front than we were this time last year." He is calling on people to help find ways to change this. "If the best way forward is to give away knowledge for free, then maybe this is a good time to demonstrate a similar approach to marketing an open educational resource future, by identifying and promoting new advocates who are closer to the problem for which OERs are the solution." David Porter, Conviviality, August 18, 2010 [Link] [Comment] [Tweet]

The Open Media Revolution Is Over: Are We Better Off?
For the record - this open media outlet continues on, whether or not the revolution is over. As to what the people writing or selling mass market stuff are doing? I don't care. That's so old media. Anyhow, enjoy the videos where people like Perkins and Arrington and Scoble argue about it.
Andrew Bellay, Always On, August 12, 2010 [Link] [Comment] [Tweet]

A Kindle for every kid in Ghana
Honestly, I like a project like this a lot more than I like a project that pushes mobile phones for learning in Africa. If, that is, they can get power to them cheaply. Yeas, a Kindle isn't the best of any world, but it holds books - a lot of books - and can be passed from hand to hand and hence give entire generations access to libraries of reading materials, from primers to grade school stuff to the classics. Joanne Jacobs, Linking and Thinking on Education, August 12, 2010 [Link] [Comment] [Tweet]

Tripline - Create Travel Maps
I've been having fun mapping some of my trips with Tripline, a site that lets you create a map of your trips. Here, for example, is my trip to Australia in 2004. It also supports links to photos and a connection with Twitter. There's a movie playback, which I would love to see actually play the photos, but it only follows the line. Still, there's a lot of potential here. Score another win for the whole realm of automatically generated layout. Richard Byrne, Free Technology For Teachers, August 12, 2010 [Link] [Comment] [Tweet]

Does your org have a Facebook Page comment escalation flow-chart?

This is the sort of thing I imagine most experienced internet users know already, but I guess an organization needs a process and a flow chart. That said, the process and flow chart in turn becomes a pretty good teaching resource. So I guess it's all OK.

John Haydon, Social Media Today, August 12, 2010 [Link] [Comment] [Tweet]

Did Google Just Cross Over?
Google has come in for quite a bit of criticism after striking a deal with Verizon that "many critics say would lead to a tiered Internet at the expense of free expression." Among other things, they say, "the framework would leave wireless carriers free to charge for premium access to some features." Is that how it will shake out - neutrality for wired internet, predation for wireless? Kind of like, um, now? Mike Pearson, E-Commerce Times , August 12, 2010 [Link] [Comment] [Tweet]

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