Feature Article
A Model of Autonomy
Stephen Downes, November 24, 2010.

A proper model of autonomy will reflect a proper theory of decision-making or theory of action in general. So it should at least reflect the range of factors that go into decision and action.

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We Feel Fine
Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar, Website, November 24, 2010.

This is fantastic. "Drawing from a database of more than 12 million human feelings collected over 3 years from personal blogs on the internet, We Feel Fine presents a comprehensive contemporary portrait of the world's emotional landscape, exploring the ups and downs of everyday life in all its color, chaos and candor."

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Considerations for Creative Commons Licensing of Open Educational Resources: The Value of Copyleft
Charles Lowe, Computers and Composition Online, November 24, 2010.

Interesting paper on copyright and Creative Commons licensees that would have probably been best left as a single page, but nonetheless rewards a careful reading. It's clear that Charles Lowe has done his homework as he identifies a series of arguments and considerations that have informed the discussion around open licensing, including for example the preference for interoperability and the conditions under which non-commercial licenses might be used. In the end, he rejects blanket rhetorical appeals to use some particular type of license, which I appreciate. Here's more from Computers and Composition Online (should would be nice if it had an RSS feed).

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Upstart Facebook challenger Diaspora now sending out private alpha invites
Matthew Rogers, Download Squad, November 24, 2010.

Four months later than expected, Diaspora is sending out invitations for people to join the distributed social network. As someone who contributed financially to the project, I expect my invitation to arrive among the first. I'll let people know as soon as I know what to expect from the software. "Back in September, Diaspora released a 'pre-alpha' of their code for would-be developers and any other interested parties to comb through, and immediate reports were rife with complaints about pervasive security problems and poorly-written or just plain broken code.

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Lessons to Be Learned From Paulo Freire as Education Is Being Taken Over by the Mega Rich
Henry A. Giroux, Truthout, November 24, 2010.

This is, notes the article, a much expanded version of "Lessons From Paulo Freire," which appeared in a recent issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education (the Chronicle article is, ironically, paywalled).

"Freire believed that education, in the broadest sense, was eminently political because it offered students the conditions for self-reflection, a self-managed life and critical agency.... far from a mere method or an a priori technique to be imposed on all students, education is a political and moral practice that provides the knowledge, skills and social relations that enable students to explore for themselves the possibilities of what it means to be engaged citizens."

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