OLDaily

Microsoft unveils next wave of collaborative products for educators
Wyatt Kash, EdScoop, 2017/05/02

Just in time for the education buying season, Microsoft has launched a new education suite, "introducing $189 laptops, 3-D and collaborative apps, new Windows 10 S and tools for managing devices." Here's the Microsoft page with the news. The 'S' stands for 'security' (not 'server', as I had hoped (Windows servers are here)). More (as Richard Byrne says) "Windows 10 S will restrict users to installing only apps that are approved through the Windows Store."  We read "Windows 10 S integrates with OneDrive so files are saved to the cloud, in sync and accessible from your devices." Sadly, I find it hard to share OneDrive files - I wanted to embed my PowerPoint slides on OneDrive in web pages, but OneDrive offers no way of doing that (even though Microsoft owns LinkedIn, which owns SlideShare).

I'm sure this will be popular too: "an app called Set Up School PC in the Windows Store that enables educators to set up of entire classrooms of devices with customized experiences using a USB stick, in as little as 30 seconds per device." Though what we need is something like XAMPP on a USB to allow students to have their own server and share resources directly with each other. (p.s. EdScoop blacks out the screen for ten seconds when you access the site so click on the link and then go read some email). See also: eSchool News, Richard Byrne, How-to-Geek.

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This Week In Webo-plasmosis
Michael Caulfield, Traces, 2017/05/02

In what might be the worst-but-most-compelling analogy ever, Mike Caulfield draws a parallel between a parasite that spreads from cat to cat by infecting mice and making them less fearful of cats, and social media that spreads from site to site by infecting people and making them less fearful of advertising. How can you tell if you have webo-plasmosis? "Do you retweet headlines you agree with to help Facebook build a profile of you, while not reading the articles?" asks Caulfield. "Do you join Facebook groups that best express who you are?" These and eight other symptoms may be signs that you are infected by web-parasites. P.S. this is the third issue of Caulfield's new newsletter, to which you can subscribe here.

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How do Saudi youth engage with social media?
igel Stanger, Noorah Alnaghaimshi, Erika Pearson, First Monday, 2017/05/02

Interesting paper that reminds us (not that we should need reminding) that online behaviour can vary widely from culture. This report, which strikes me as fair-minded and relevant, makes the case by showing how Saudi Arabian youth use social media. "Saudis tend to respond better to social and online media messages addressed to the group, or to group leaders in the hierarchy, rather than to individuals. Saudis, including social media users, will also be strongly swayed by the opinions and instructions of those higher in the social power structure. Furthermore, online messages and content targeted at Saudi culture should refrain from imagery and content, such as photographs of women, that may be at odds with both cultural norms and personal interpretations of haya or 'shyness'."

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Who Are You? The Importance of Identity in Higher Ed Research
Tanya Roscorla, Center for Digital Education, 2017/05/02

This article doesn't discuss identity in the theoretical sense, but rather, identity in the technical sense, with respect to system security. How do you manage access, for example, for Jenny, a person who changes campus but who needs to continue collaboration with the same team for her PhD research? The article describes a five-level maturity model presented by identity expert Ian Glazer from Salesforce at the recent Internet2 conference, beginning with the idea of basic identity management, then protection from internal users, then bulk attacks, focused 'single-row' attacks, and finally, transparency of data access.In the case of Jenny, above, Internet2's InCommon identity management federation links 600 universities together, and last year, InCommon joined eduGAIN, a collection of some 40 identity networks worldwide. Meanwhile, Glazer and colleagues are forming an association for identity professionals called IDPro, which will deal with these and related issues.

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