Managing Open Access Publication: A System Specification
Charles W. Bailey, Jr., DigitalKoans, 2015/02/06

This is interesting. The document describes the management of administrative data related to open access publications, and in particular (quoted):

• Describe the scope of such a system and the workflows it should support
• Describe an appropriate data model given the scope and workflows
• Provide illustrative wireframes for a user interface (UI) to such a system

Straightforward and to the point; it should be sufficient for a developer to work from. It's a 19 page PDF.

[Link] [Comment]

Everything You Need to Know About Becoming a Better Listener
Sarah Green, Harvard Business Review, 2015/02/06

This explains in part why lectures are so ineffective. "In a study of thousands of students and hundreds of businesspeople, they found that most retained only half of what they heard — and this immediately after they’d heard it. Six months later, most people only retained 25%." Why is this? They're bored! "The human mouth plods along at 125 words per minute, while a neuron can fire about 200 times a second." I read five times faster than that, which means that when I'm listening I have lots of time to think about other things. I stay engaged by giving myself another task to do, like taking notes - if the person is slow enough, I actually create whole sentences and paragraphs as they speak. Yes, it takes time to develop this skill; I learned in university, and my philosophy notes are often mini-essays of the lecture. But like I say, I have lots of time to think during a lecture, and this is more productive than worrying whether I left the stove on. 

[Link] [Comment]

Coursera sets sights on universities
Tim Dodd, Financial Review, 2015/02/06

According to this article, " Coursera was rebuilding its ­platform “from the ground up” to allow students to commence courses “on demand” and to give university ­instructors access to student data on progress and performance." To me what this sounds like is that Coursera is going to take on the LMS market directly. The big change will be that Coursera supports 'on demand' course access so people don't have to wait for the next class to start. Single-course certification will be popular, according to the article, because "there is a growing trend toward ­micro-credentials."

[Link] [Comment]

Standards Based Grading Gamified With Badges
Kyle Pearce, Tap Into Teen Minds, 2015/02/06

This is quite an interesting article that will reward careful reading and will reward even more following the background reading and working with the samples yourself. But be prepared to spend some time on it. In a nutshell, it basically takes standards-based student data reports and awards badges based on their achievements. It also proposes a mechanism of 'titles', rather than simnple badges, indicating levels of achievement: "what if we had hierarchical titles that can be earned as you get more badges? Like how some games start you off as a 'townsperson' and move up to “King” or how in one of Alice’s classes you begin as a 'Noob' and move up to 'Super Genius'" You can use Jon Orr’s Master Spreadsheet to try this out yourself. Via Doug Peterson.

[Link] [Comment]

MOOCs in Workplace Learning - Part 3: Launching a MOOC
ID and Other Reflections, Sahana Chattopadhyay, 2015/02/06

This is a continuation of the series on MOOCs and focuses principally on launching a MOOC. I liked this bit (quoted):

1. A MOOC is NOT an on-line course with a discussion forum and a couple of other "social features" tagged on to it. 
2. A MOOC is NOT a linear program (though xMOOCs do give that feeling) with a neat start and en end.
   

There are reasons for these criteria. MOOCs approach learning differently because they define learning differently, and they reflect the understanding that knowledge is not something that is copied and transmitted, but rather, something that is created anew by each person through their learning activities.

[Link] [Comment]