OLDaily

The top data structures you should know for your next coding interview
Fahim ul Haq, freecodecamp, Medium, 2018/08/15

This is very much an introductory article, but it's the sort of thing where, if you don't know it, you really don't know it. When people think about computer programs, they usually think about algorithms (for example, functions and procedures), but an equally important dimension is the data structure. This article surveys the most important types of data structure, beginning with simple concepts like arrays, stacks and queues, proceeding through more interesting things like linked lists and hash tables, and wraps up with a look at graphs and trees and tries. If you don't know what these things are, and your work involves technology, you should review this article.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Is The LMS A Distraction In EdTech Futurology?
Cristian T. Duque, Moodle News, 2018/08/15

This article makes it clear just how irrelevant the recent story about "Canvas overtaking Blackboard" really is. "If we generously round up the total market value of both Instructure Canvas and Blackboard Learn to $2 billion USD each, they still account for very little as the industry reached $107 billion in revenue in 2015 globally." The companies recognize this generally, which is why they're moving toward (or have moved toward) a platform and marketplace model. But significantly: "The one LMS company not involved in non-LMS endeavors? Moodle."

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Using Semantic Technologies for Formative Assessment and Scoring in Large Courses and MOOCs
Miguel Santamaría Lancho, Mauro Hernández, Ángeles Sánchez-Elvira Paniagua, José María Luzón Encabo, Guillermo de Jorge-Botana, Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2018/08/15

This paper shows "to what extent assessment software such as G-Rubric is mature enough to be used with students." G-Rubric is a tool to automatically evaluate student's open-ended answers in a MOOC - see the website (in Spanish). According to the authors, "It offers them enriched and personalised feedback that proved entirely satisfactory." Moreover, "Comparing tutors’ marks with G-Rubric grades, a remarkable correlation and no significant differences between the means has been found. Additionally, tutor scores presented a significant inter-group variability."

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Inside the Decades-Long Fight to Protect Your Children’s Data From Advertisers
Joseph Bien-Kahn, NYMag, 2018/08/15

I've said before that advertising is the original fake news. This article documents a decades-long effort to keep advertising away from children online, chronicling the work of Kathryn Montgomery and Jeff Chester to prevent "online playgrounds populated by the likes of Chester Cheetah and Ronald McDonald." Now they are working to prevent things like eavesdropping on children through the internet of things.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Education’s Latest Secret Trend: Networking
Betsy Corcoran, EdSurge, 2018/08/15

Networks! Of course! That's the secret trend in education nobody thought of until now. This article interviews the authors of three new books on learning networks at a recent conference. Networks " can happen in any community—among educators, among schools or districts themselves and, of course, among students. And so emphasizing learning networks nudges educators to think about learning in different ways."

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]