OLDaily
by Stephen Downes
Jun 26, 2014
A Goal for Google and Carnegie Mellon´s MOOC Research?
Unattributed (UNESCO Chair in e-Learning),
Education & Technology for Social Change,
Jun 25, 2014
This post summarizes: "Under the Google Focused Research Award program, Carnegie Melon University received a two-year grant for research on and development of MOOCs platforms 'intelligent enough to mimic the traditional classroom experience'." He then comments, "It remains unclear if the word choice was a mishap or the concept was fuzzy." There has been a lot of back-pedalling but I think the original statement was probably the most accurate expression of the intent, as educational institutions continue to resist any redefinition of learning. See also coverage in the Chronicle: "Unless the MOOCs pay attention to how people actually learn, they will not be able to improve effectiveness, and will end up as just a passing fad." Oooo, burn. I'm sure we all looked at the list of Google funded focused research awards.
eLearning Africa’s memorable keynote quotes
Various authors,
eLearning Africa News,
Jun 25, 2014
Nice quick summary of the key messages from the eLearning Africa keynotes, and a quick snapshot of thinking from the conference. For example: "Everyone knows that knowledge is growing at an increasing depth and an increasing breadth, so you need people which can constantly learn and bridge that gap even while they’re in their current jobs." Iyadunni Olubode, Executive Director, LEAP Africa Ltd/Gte., Nigeria.
Coursera shifts focus from ‘impact on learners’ to ‘reach of universities’
Michael Feldstein,
e-Literate,
Jun 25, 2014
Just to note this, so we don't miss it: "Richard C. Levin, the new chief executive of Coursera [says] the talk of “flipped classrooms” and “blended learning” — weaving MOOCs into classroom experiences — is not mere hype. 'But that is not the big picture,' Levin said in a visit last week to The Washington Post. 'The big picture is this magnifies the reach of universities by two or three orders of magnitude.'" Feldstein comments (cynically?) "It is possible that Levin’s focus will indirectly improve the learning potential of Coursera’s products and services, but it is worth noting a significant change in focus from the largest MOOC provider." See also the Chronicle's coverage of the same announcement; "esearchers at Columbia University published a paper noting that many university stakeholders are unclear about why they are investing in MOOCs." Related: the value of MOOCs to early adopter universities, EDUCAUSE Review.
WWW-based online education turns 20 this summer
Phil Hill,
e-Literate,
Jun 25, 2014
Though the World Wide Web publicly launched in 1991, it didn't really take off until the fall of 1993 and the invention of the graphical browser. This it became that 1994 marked the start of web-based courses, and hence, 2014 became the 20th anniversary of that event. My first website and first online course (on the logical fallacies) didn't appear until 1995 (gosh! I'm such a newbie) (in the years 1991-93 I was still working with educational MUDs; in the 1980s it was with Bulletin Board Services (BBSs). This post from Phil Hill is mainly a recreation of this paper by Marc Eisenstadt describing the first web-based course, on Cognitive Psychology, offered to 12 students at the Open University. (p.s. this post is also notable for its links to the old Internet Underground Music Archive and to Charles Severance's Internet History and Technology course).
Pisa Declaration on Policy Development for Grey Literature Resources
Various authors,
GreyNet International,
Jun 25, 2014
'Grey literature' is not my favourite term but it will do for now I guess. It includes "research and technical reports, briefings and reviews, evaluations, working papers, conference papers, theses, and multimedia content." In other words, just about every publication related to research that is not a formal academic publication. The Pisa Declaration referred to here is a "call for increased recognition of grey literature’s role and value by governments, academics and all stakeholders, particularly its importance for open access." I'm not sure why a declaration is needed for this but I can't say I disagree with it. I wish it didn't feel like marketing for the 'Grey Guide' report. More at GreyNet.
Study: Teens Are Not Fleeing Facebook
Garett Sloane,
AdWeek,
Jun 25, 2014
There's a bit of cheek in this report as it not only debunks an earlier study by Princeton, it also refers back to a Facebook study, using the same methodology, that shows "that Princeton will have only half its current enrollment by 2018, and by 2021 it will have no students at all." The Forrester study makes it clear that "Facebook remains young users’ favorite social network. More than three-quarters of online youth use Facebook — twice as many as use Pinterest or Tumblr or Snapchat, and more than use Instagram and WhatApp combined."
The massive impact on economic growth of open data in government
Ross Dawson,
Trends in the Living Networks,
Jun 25, 2014
People sometimes say my push toward open learning is driven by ideology, and there is a bit of that. But it is driven by economics as well, as the value of open education to governments is in the hundreds of billions. And it's the leading edge of a wider benefit that is valued in the trillions. "The major figure from the report is that potential value from open data to the G20 nations is $2.6 trillion annually, or around 1.1% of GDP over the next 5 years. The major sectors where value accrues from open data policies are Education, Transport, Consumer Products, Electricity, Oil and Gas, Health Care, and Consumer Finance." I see this expense as a needless draining of resources from the public purse to private interests, a type of waste far greater in proportion and impact than inefficiency, and probably second only to corruption and war.
The 10 Things You Should Include In Your Website
Amit Agarwal,
Digital Inspiration,
Jun 25, 2014
Oh, I hate list-based click-bait articles ('listicles') because they're just so much filler. But like a speckled trout I clicked on this one to see if I was on the list of '25 of the Best RSS Feeds for Educators' (spoiler: I'm not) and from that followed a link to another listicle, this one on ten things you should include in your website. This is actually a pretty good list, will make your site mobile-friendlier, and I especially like the idea of a humans.txt file.
A Slew of Studies, Summarized
Doug Lederman,
Inside Higher Ed,
Jun 25, 2014
The general trend of these three studies reported on in this article is that the cost of higher education isn`t such a barrier to poor people as we thought. The undertone to all three is that they are based on hedges and misleading statistics. The studies show, respectively that: college is still worth it, student aid is harmful, and student debt is overstated. The first result, though, is based on the idea that opportunity cost is lower due to the bad economy. The second blames rising tuition on aid programs. The third is based on a small biased sample of rich people. The sort of question I ask when I see this is: what's motivating these studies?
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