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Presentation
Topics in Distributed Learning Technology
Stephen Downes, Oct 03, 2019, Faculty of Health Disciplines Professional Development Workshop, Edmonton, Alberta

These slides were used for a full-day workshop on distributed learning technology. They incorporate elements of the critical literacies methodology, and summarize with an explanation of personal learning. Topics covered include data, cloud, graph, resources, community, identity, recognition, experience and agency. Note that audio and video are 7 hours (with a lot of dead air). Also available is the 44 page handout (PDF) given to workshop participants. Photo: Shawn Fraser.

[Slides] [Audio] [Video]

Dennett’s Dead End
nick shackleton-jones, aconventional, 2019/10/03

I wouldn't exactly say this is simply Dennett's dead end, but it's as good a place as any for this longish - and convincing - argument about consciousness and reasoning. The core of the argument I think is a bit mis-stated: "Brains process experience affectively, computers process information digitally." What does this mean? "I suspect that simpler creatures have simpler feelings – but I can assure you that at no point is it necessary to introduce a new category of thing – ‘thoughts’ – distinct from feelings. No, allow me to be clear on this point: ‘thoughts’ are just a sophisticated type of feeling." I'm kind of OK with this, but wonder why he would use the word 'feeling' instead of the broader (and more accurate) word 'experience'.

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Why #edutube?
Kelli McGraw, 2019/10/03

I actually think that this subject could be a really productive field for researchers. I written before about how much I use YouTube for learning everything from Sterling Engines to bicycle repair to world history. So we could say there is a domain called 'edutube' (for lack of a better moniker). What is it?  Where does it lead? Take it slowly, advises Kelli McGraw. "The hyper-connected PLN/PLE learning culture that we thought could be around the corner remains stymied by over-crowded curriculum and a culture that is fixated on standardised (you say ‘high standards‘, I say ‘one size fits all‘) pedagogy and assessment.

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It’s not the claim, it’s the frame
Michael Caulfield, Hapgood, 2019/10/03

Mike Caulfield makes the useful point that framing matters in critical analysis. He offers an example where the framing suggests that a killing was political even though none of the facts support that suggestion. Using framing creatively is a good way to catch an opponent off-guard. "Have you stopped beating your dog?" I ask my opponent. "I have never beaten my dog!" he replies, outraged. The newspaper headline the next day: "Opponent denies beating his dog." The sidebar could read "Sceptics not so sure." Caulfield is getting better at this media analysis gig, which is good to see.

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Can the Lecture Be Saved?
Beth McMurtrie, Chronicle of Higher Education, 2019/10/03

I write both as someone who enjoys lecturing and believes he is good at it, as well as someone who has come close to falling asleep during numerous lectures. This article recommends saving the lecture by alternating it with learning activities. This makes sense for, say, a three-hour workshop, but I have on numerous occasions been riveted by and edified by the standard 50-minute talk. I think perhaps that one of the main problems with the lecture is that there are so few good lecturers, and also that many topics (like say, introductory algebra) don't really lend themselves to lectures. But for weaving a narrative, drawing our an argument, or rousing to action, a lecture can be a powerful tool.

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A court ordered Facebook to take down a post. The decision could affect social media around the world
Chris Isidore, Hanna Ziady, CNN Business, 2019/10/03

I am the last person to defend Facebook in anything, but I agree with them that this ruling is problematic. The gist is that a European court has ruled that its order to take down content applies world-wide. The implication, though, is that other countries can and should be able to apply the same principle, and if they did, it would result in informational chaos. If the national court of, say, Burkina Faso, say, were to reinstate its regulation that all photographers must have a permit, how would Europe respond? No court ought to be able to impose its rulings world-wide, except maybe the World Court.

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The Blue Book (Review)
Oets Kolk Bouwsma, Journal of Philosophy, 2019/10/03

I'm citing this review because I want to quote a comment from G.E. Moore at length: "He (Wittgenstein) went on to say that, though philosophy had now been 'reduced to a matter of skill,' yet this skill, like other skills is very difficult to acquire. One difficulty was that it required a 'sort of thinking' to which we are not accustomed and to which we have not been trained - a sort of thing very different from what is required in the sciences. And he said that the required skill could not be acquired merely by hearing lectures: discussion was essential. As regards his own work, he said it did not matter whether his results were true or not: what mattered was that 'a method had been found.'" Of course you should read the whole review, and then of course, the Blue Book itself, if you want to understand learning. Image: O.K. Bouwsma, in Wikipedia.

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Kill the Canadian Common CV, researchers urge the tri-council
Wendy Glauser, University Affairs, 2019/10/03

According to this article, "more than 2,000 CCV users and counting have signed an open letter calling for it (the Canadian Common CV (CCV)) to be killed." The objection is less an objection to a common CV than to a process that is awkward and cumbersome. "Pierre-Gerlier Forest, director of the school of public policy at the University of Calgary, says the CCV was designed for those with 'traditional, linear careers.' He says he signed on to the letter because it frequently took 'two weeks, with the help of an assistant' to complete the CCV for a funding application." Though I've never filled out a CCV application I have experienced more than a few processes inside government where I have been asked over and over for information they should already have. And I certainly see the need for free-form input rather than Byzantine classification systems. Another gift from Shared Services Canada. Image: Matt Rosemier.

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Pros and Cons of Virtual Reality-Based Learning
Anthony D. Burns, Quality Digest, 2019/10/03

I think this is a good assessment of the potential for virtual reality (VR) in education. "VR does have many specialized applications in industry, such as large-scale flight simulators, remote medical surgery, and astronaut training. However, for business-related training of the average employee, it fails to add any real benefits over interactive 3D on a PC, phone, or tablet." The author notes that lower-quality VR may produce nausea, and that because it is totally immersive, VR has limited application in combination with other activities. Image: Digital Leaders.

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