2010 Video Contest
Various Authors, Fraser Institute, May 7, 2011.

Exploring today the ways in which video is being used in learning, I came across this page, the winners of the Fraser Institute's 2010 Student Video Contest which explored the topic "The Nanny State: Is Government Regulation Threatening Your Personal Freedom?" It is worth keeping in mind that there is a very fine line between indoctrination. Winners include this third place finisher opposed to government regulation of trans fats in food, or Because It's Good for You, opposed to fluoride in the water (and other regulation), and the winner, I've got something to say, arguing that government takes away out personal liberties.

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Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education
Salman Khan, TED, May 7, 2011.

I really like what Salman Khan has done with Khan Academy, though I suspect that over time we will want diverse videos produced by many authors. I am a bit more concerned about the interest Bill Gates has shown in Khan Academy, as I think he must be thinking of ways to commoditize and monetize educational video.

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EdCamp Boston Morning Reflections
Richard Byrne, Free Technology For Teachers, May 7, 2011.

EduCamp Boston is taking place today and Richard Byrne contributes a set of noon-hour reflections, including a video he referred to during his talk on quality commenting in blogs originally from langwitches on Vimeo. View also Byrne's own slides from his presentation, "Every Teacher Should Have a Blog."

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Requirements and opportunities for the development of a mobile learning strategy in emergent countries
Claudia Aparicio, UOC UNESCO Chair in e-Learning Blog, May 7, 2011.

Claudia Aparicio, of Fundación Telefónica, Colombia, speaks on the requirements and opportunities for the development of a mobile learning strategy in emergent countries. Aparicio provides some concrete examples and evaluation results from projects using mobile technology to support learning.

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Rethinking Learning
Dean Shareski, Ideas and Thoughts, May 7, 2011.

Excellent presentation resource from Dean Shareski. "Activity one had participants choose one of three quotes that I selected out of the Great Quotes about Learning and Change. They were to have a discussion on one and record their findings in the google doc. We did some large group sharing after that was complete... The second activity is one I've used before. I've asked participants and those in my twitter network to post a photo to my Flickr account. Usually this involves something very easy such as the weather outside... We wrapped up the day with Show and Tell...." which was a really nice video featuring a number of conference participants.

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PLE Videos
Mohamed Amine Chatti, Ongoing Research on Knowledge and Learning, May 7, 2011.

Some videos by students of Mohamed Amine Chatti on the subject of PLEs. The content is OK, but I would pass on the message to Chatti that his students' videos - and educational content in general - should have audio tracks with actual spoken words, not just text displayed on the screen to background music.

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#OpenData" A film by the Open Knowledge Foundation
David Eaves, eaves.ca, May 7, 2011.

David Eaves posts this video from the Open Knowledge Foundation on his website describing open data, what it can be used for, why it should be available.

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