OLDaily

Turnitin User Agreement: I disagree
Hans de Zwart, 2018/01/11

This clause - not unique to TurnItIn - is a problem: "You acknowledge and agree that the form and nature of the Services and the Site which Turnitin provides may change from time to time without prior notice to You." I've seen it just about everywhere, and exercised by various service providers fairly frequently. It allows them to change the terms of the contract whenever they wish. The question here is: if you've accepted the terms in order to submit your paper and get a grade, how do you object or cease using the service if TurnItIn later changes the terms?

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5 big ideas for education innovation in 2018
Julia Freeland Fisher, Christensen Institute, 2018/01/11

It's getting past time to be predicting what will happen in 2018 but I wanted to add one more here. This article talks about what needs to be done in 2018, and as such, is a useful contribution. Included in the list: being clear about what we mean when we talk about just-in time supports; changing the debate from 'technology bad-or-evil' to 'constructivism or behaviourism'; talk about accountability; talk about student networks; and look internationally for dusruptions in education. All good advice.(It seems also to have been published in Education Next).

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Repository for Prior Art for Digital Credentials and Open Badges - Patents or Applications
IMS Global, 2018/01/11

From IMS today: "it has become known that one or more patents or patent applications have been filed that relate to the issuance, management, and display of digital credentials including Open Badges... IMS is making this location available to accumulate prior art—documented records or examples of designs and implementations of ideas similar to those described in a patent or application." The application in question might be the one from Pearson I reported on last November.

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National Research Council lays out a four-year reform plan
Brian Owens, University Affairs, 2018/01/11

This post covers recent developments at the National Research Council (NRC), where I work. It's generally accurate and reflective of the changes happening at the Council. Yes, there is an effort to re-engage with universities, as well as to begin hiring post-doctoral fellows. The former 'portfolios' are becoming research centres. But the core of the changes made in the Harper years remains. NRC continues to be program-based, with an emphasis on corporate partners and revenue generation, and is still pretty centralized. I am now attached to the 'Digital Technologies Research Centre'. The Learning and Performance Support Systems program I started has been discontinued (notwithstanding a strong set of research projects and revenues of more than a million dollars last year) and I am advised NRC will not be working on e-learning at all in the future.

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