Flash Controversy Continues - Is It a Good Choice for Development?
Tony Karrer, eLearning Technology, February 18, 2011.

If I'm surfing the web and my browser suddenly becomes unresponsive and slow, generally one of two things has happened: either I've hit some Java, which will eat its way through the most robust computer, or I've hit some Flash, which will devour the most stable browser. So from this I think that the era of Flash is nearing an end. But not quickly, because there isn't really a good alternative for video, and small agile Flash games continue to be incredibly popular.

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The Evolution of the VLE
Ray Tolley, eFolio in the UK, February 18, 2011.

Useful background paper on the evolution of the learning management system (LMS, also known as the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)). There's an impressive list of VLEs, with links, at the end of the document.

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Cyberbullying: An Interview with Parry Aftab
Bonnie Bracey Sutton, educational technology & change, February 18, 2011.

Best line in a cyberbullying interview this week. "Experts in cyberbullying and bullying need to stop bullying each other." Parry Aftab explains, "We in the cybersafety field could learn from this model as well. Instead of taking potshots at each other, we should stop being cyberbullies and bullies ourselves and put aside our egos and decide we have a common goal – protecting our children, encouraging safe and responsible use of digital technologies and empowering all stakeholders." It's not just people in the cyberbullying field who need to learn this - so much of what constitutes public discourse, especially in television and talk radio, is one form of bullying or another.

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Unfettered by Stuff - or "Why I don't lug stuff home every night"
David Andrade, Educational Technology Guy, February 18, 2011.

I think that once people get used to working with online technologies, they will reflect in wonder back at the days when they used to carry stuff around. David Andrade writes, "everything I use is available online, anywhere I go. 90% of student work is done and submitted electronically. All my resources are electronic and available to me anytime. Instead of carrying pounds of notes, books and student work with me, I carry a 138.5 gram (4.89 oz ) smartphone and let the internet carry everything else."

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What's wrong with online courses
Mark Guzdial, Computing Education Blog, February 18, 2011.

Mark Guzdial: "The author's point about online courses 'lacking the third dimension' (social, face-to-face interactivity) is a good one (and that's where OpenStudy comes in), but the side point he makes is more interesting to me. The media of online courses just is nowhere near what it needs to be! Powerpoint slides, PDF tests, and no feedback is just abysmal, and we can do so much better!" And then there's the stuff we've been doing with Connectivism and web radio and all of that, and I think there is a third dimension, but you have to kind of break a few rules to get to it.

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