OLDaily

Thanks to rapid, 3D imaging, anyone can tour the fly brain
Robert Sanders, Berkeley News, 2019/01/22

This 3D view of a fly's brain shows even a simple insect's neural network can be large and complex. The accompanying video points to different areas of the brain that do different things, but it's important to keep in mind that they entire structure is densely interconnected. The images are the result of new scanning technology, which is described in this article. " Expansion microscopy (ExM) involves fixing tissue and then expanding it like a balloon while keeping the relative positions of internal structures unchanged." Via Gerald Ardito.

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Teachers and technology: time to get serious
Neil Selwyn, Impact, 2019/01/22

According to this article, "The most useful education technology knowledge does not come from globe-trotting ‘gurus’, keynote speakers and product evangelists. Instead, the best technology advice can often come from simply trying things out for yourself and/or speaking with colleagues working in similar situations and circumstances." This is both true and not true. It's true in the sense that nobody understands local needs and conditions better than the people working with them. On the other hand, the speakers and gurus are often longtime experts in the field. Not always, of course. But they often know about stuff you and your colleagues have never heard about and are not going to learn about just from local experience. Via Aaron Davis.

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Voice is here - online learning has been traditionally 'nil by mouth' but not now....
Donald Clark, Donald Clark Plan B, 2019/01/22

The good bit of this post is the emphasis on voice in online learning. However, it's framed in an odd way. "Almost all online learning involves just clicking," says Donald Clark. This isn't true of any of the online learning I've either given or taken. Is there any online learning with no video, no assignments, nothing but clicking? He also says, "in real life, we don’t click, we speak and listen. Most actual teaching and training uses voice."  First of all, computers are real life. Second, I've had a lot of 'real' learning that's far less interactive than online - especially courses based almost entirely on (paper-based) reading. Again - there's no denying the efficacy of voice. That's why I give talks, create podcasts, give interviews.

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