OLDaily

Transforming university students from consumers to developers of online content
Rebecca Quintana, Coursera Blog, 2017/07/12

This is presented as a "gee whiz isn't it amazing" sort of way. "What would it look like for university students to be the content creators for a Coursera social impact campaign course?" the author asks. My question is more like "why can't sudents create all their own courses (given some support and materials)?" And of course, they could. It would be a lot more work than an ordinary course, though, and students would need to be motivated by actually wanting to take the course. Anyhow, here's the course (page on UMichigan site). Note that you have to sign up and  "financial Aid is available for learners who cannot afford the fee" because, you know, in the brave new world of open educational resources, everybody pays.

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The Mechanical Universe
David Goodstein, James F. Blinn, CalTech, YouTube, 2017/07/12

O'Reilly summarizes this as follows: " a critically acclaimed series of 52 30-minute videos covering the basic topics of an introductory university physics course. So, like a MOOC or Khan Academy, but from 1985." So, yes, except now it's on the internet so everyone can view it for free. And there are no subscription fees (unline some MOOCs). The animations are lovely and there are snippets old old films and whatever. So 1985, but so good.

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YouTube Deja:View
Google, YouTube, 2017/07/12

This is very clever. It pits you against some other opponent (of roughly equal skill) in a quiz about recent popular videos posted to YouTube. You use your Google ID to keep track of your points across games. An excerpt of the video plays as an animation in the background; no sound. You are awarded points for correct answers and speed. There are various levels you can achieve, which matches you with stronger opponents. That's it. But that's plenty. The applications to learning are clear.

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How Losing SoundCloud Would Change Music
Micah Peters, The Ringer, 2017/07/12

If SoundCloud didn't exist, we would need to invent it. "Apple Music is filtered through artist curation; Spotify’s playlists are guided by label interests. Compared to the two, SoundCloud is something of a free-for-all — everyone and anyone can hear and be heard." That's what I have always loved about the internet and that's what is endangered by the increasing consolidation of online content into the giant silos we all know. We are in a golden age of music at the moment, most of it powered by indy artists, and it would be a shame to lose that. 

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