On Next Generation Digital Learning Environments
Jim Groom, bavatuesdays, 2017/03/10

During my talk yesterday someone asked, "which will I see first: a PLE, or a unicorn?" The money seemed to be on the unicorn. But something like a personal learning environment seems to e getting closer and closer. Case in point: the Nordic model for human centered personal data management and processing. Jim Groom writes, "I really am compelled by the MyData model in the Scandinavian countries because they may be able to pull it off." And his own model of the web as e-learning platform is finally getting some traction from no less than the Horizon Report (for what that's worth). "The reframing of how we imagine personal data and the work we do inside and outside of a particular course does become an interesting moment for re-positioning the faculty or the student as a node within a broader network through which they share with one another." As I said yesterday, one of these days the PLE will be "invented" by someone at Stanford or MIT. That's how these things go.

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What we’ve learned about VR ads after 100 millions impressions for brands
Brad Phaisan, ReadWrite, 2017/03/10

It's hard to believe that virtual reality (VR) has already served 100 million advertisements, but there you have it. What have advertisers learned? Probably a lot more than this article tells us. But we do learn that "All data suggests that VR experiences gain higher attention from audiences. With higher engagement from audiences, brands can ensure that their message is delivered more effectively."

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More loans misery as provider goes under
Billy Camden, FE Week, 2017/03/10

The big difference between corporations and societies is that corporations can fold while societies can't. The people in a society don't disappear, the obligations don't just go away, the debts cannot simply be written off. That's one of the major reasons why essential social service, like education, should not be left in the hands of private industry. All the measures we take to protect investors in the case of a business failure end up harming the people in society who depend on these services.

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Learning from Beyoncé and Kanye: Profs use stars to highlight wider issues
David Friend, Globe, Mail, 2017/03/10

First they were getting honorary doctorates. Now celebrities and musicians are teaching university classes. or, more accurately, being used as vehicles to teach university classes. "Mahmood says her professor warned students this wouldn’t be a series of breezy lectures on Beyonce’s glamorous life. Instead, the pop singer would be a vehicle for exploring broader issues like race, feminism and performance theory, though her self-titled 2013 album." I suppose i could change the format of OLDaily to match. Each day I could use a new actor or singer to highlight developments in media literacy, learning theory, and instructional technology. Today: Elton John's glasses give him a "lens" on the world.

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