August 8, 2011
Wikipedia says it's losing contributors
Daniel Estrin,
Associated Press, August 8, 2011.
I have long complained about Wikipedia's revised contribution and editing procedures, a system that devalues new contributions and elevates beyond all reason the negative critiques, reversions and deletions that constitute the net contribution of super-editors. It appears I am not alone. Wikipedia's new contributor-hostile policy has resulted in - surprise! - fewer contributors. My recommendations: stop deleting articles, remove all the little 'the neutrality of this article is disputed,' or 'the following section doesn't cite any sources' notifications, and stop catering to the criticisms of the print media (who, after all, would rather see Wikipedia fail).
Charge academics fronting ghostwritten medical journal articles, say U of T professors
Lucianna Ciccocioppo,
University of Toronto, August 7, 2011.
Count me as among those who agree that "academics who ‘lend’ their names, and receive substantial credit as guest authors of medical and scientific articles ghostwritten by industry writers, should be charged with professional and academic misconduct and fraud, even if they contain factually correct information."
Summer PD: New Teacher Boot Camp Week 5 - Using Blogs
Lisa M. Dabbs,
Edutopia, August 7, 2011.
Edutopia blogger Lisa M. Dabbs wraps up a five-week 'new teacher boot camp' with this article about an Argentinian teacher using blogs to support learning. "Blogging," she writes, "is a wonderful way to motivate our students to write. Students can share their stories, thoughts and reflections on their blogs. Writing for a real and global audience makes blogging an engaging and meaningful experience. Blogging has made a difference for my students. Their writing and reading skills have improved significantly." There's a video and examples on the site.
AgriOcean DSpace 1.0
Various Authors,
Website, August 7, 2011.
Stuff like this is still in the realm of pilot projects and funded projects, but they will eventually become mainstream and will be a major part of dunamic online learning offerings. "AgriOcean DSpace is a joint initiative of FAO and UNESCO-IOC/IODE to provide a customized version of DSpace. Its objective is to make literature in digital form using standards for metadata, thesauri and other controlled vocabularies commonly used in the field of oceanography, agriculture and related sciences." Code is available on Google code.
[Link] [Comment][Tags: Project Based Learning, Customization, UNESCO, Google, Metadata, Online Learning]
Stanford University does a MOOC
George Siemens,
elearnspace, August 7, 2011.
George Siemens posted this item, provoking a flurry of discussion on various lists about what counts as a MOOC. The Stanford University Artificial Intelligence is being offered as an open online course, he writes. But as people examined the course - and the required textbook costing around $150 - questions began to emerge. Was it open? Could all people participate equally? Or how about this window box farming site - is it a MOOC? This post makes the case that we need a more precise definition of what constitutes a MOOC. But of course, as always, the sticking point is around what counts as 'open'.
[Link] [Comment][Tags: Connectivism, Traditional and Online Courses, Books]
Do Generational Differences Matter in Instructional Design
Thomas C. Reeves,
IT Forum, August 7, 2011.
Good summary and assessment of recent literature regarding generational differences between learners, and whether styles of instruction should be differentiated on that basis. "The major question addressed in this review is whether generational difference is a variable important enough to be considered during the design of instruction or the use of different educational technologies. At this time, the weight of the evidence is negative." Note that I had numerous difficulties reading this item because fonts were 'unavailable', resulting in blank pages. Via John Mak in the Connectivismeducationlearning group.
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