Presentation
Learning, Doing, and the Golden Ratio
Stephen Downes, Jun 16, 2016, Workshop, Kapuskasing, Ontario

Workshop I did for staff and others. I mixed two major threads of my recent work: first, the six critical literacies, and second, six 'new trends' in online learning. The workshop gave each participant roles with respect to these threads, mixed them together in different ways, then finally produced a set of six statements that represented the wisdom of the workshop - the emergent learning, if you will. I thought the results were great, and I may well try this workshop again. Three hours of audio, but maybe worth it.

[Link] [Slides] [Audio]

Susan Smith Nash
Susan Smith Nash, E-Learning Queen, 2016/06/17

Overview of Moodle cloud hosting. "The only downside that I can see," writes Susan Smith Nash, "is that it is in a beta mode, and it's possible that they may discontinue it. I hope not! But, that said, Moodle is very popular and I think that it's possible that it will be the first-choice solution of many users." See also: Moodle launches Moodle for schools.

[Link] [Comment]

How Ten Key Developments Are Shaping The Future Of Technology-Enabled Learning
TeachOnline.ca, 2016/06/17

Here's the list:

1. Student Expectations and Requirements Are Changing
2. Flexibility is Shaping New Ways of Delivering Programs and Courses
3. Competency-based and Outcome-based Learning Are Growing Quickly
4. Technology is Enabling New Approaches to Pedagogy
5. MOOCs are Offering Expanded Routes to the Delivery and Recognition of Learning
6. Assessment for Learning and Assessment of Learning Are Changing
7. Governments are Re-thinking Quality and Accountability
8. Equity Remains a Challenge, Despite Massification
9. e-Portfolios Are Emerging as Critical Resources for Students
10. The Role of the Faculty Member/Instructor is Changing 

The article includes an expanded discussion of each item. The main problem with this article is the same main problem for any listicle: there's no core theme or focus, no argument or overarching explanation. But the content is generally fine.

[Link] [Comment]

Vivaldi
vivaldi, 2016/06/17

Vivaldi is a web browser 'made for the power user'. "One of the things that makes Vivaldi unique is that it is built on modern web technologies. We use JavaScript and React to create the user interface with the help of Node.js and a long list of NPM modules. Vivaldi is the web built with the web." It looks like it's based on Chrome, and so supports important extensions (like AdBlock Plus). I'm trying it out for a little bit. Via a nice Doug Peterson post on browsers.

[Link] [Comment]