OLDaily

D2L Introduces D2L Wave—the Future Of Upskilling And Reskilling
Desire2Learn, 2021/07/14

Normally I wouldn't just run a press release but it has been a week and there hasn't been any coverage from the usual suspects, so here we are. Wave basically provides employees with "an online catalog of curated, high-quality courses that are preapproved by their employer." Providers include institutions like Athabasca University and McMaster. The service is free for employers; they "only pay for the courses that employees take." The longer-term potential of this approach, I think, is to create a marketplace of learning opportunities generally, not just 'courses'. And I wouldn't limit the selection to university courses; there's a lot of quality non-affiliated course authors out there. And I'd want to ensure that the courses are backed up with support and community functions. And connect with organizations like gcCampus. Just saying.

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Instructure unveils its 'Edtech Collective'
Emily Bamforth, EdScoop, 2021/07/14

Instructure's Edtech Collective is essentially "a central, searchable directory of the companies that Instructure works with — like Slack and Zoom — and a new 'virtual lounge' where partners can connect." Here's the Instructure press release. What I would note here is that the Edtech Collective is in no way a collective. As usual, marketing trumps meaning.

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Why we must, and how we can, make the post-pandemic university a more intellectually productive learning commons
Andre Costopoulos, University Affairs, 2021/07/14

I wonder whether we will in a few years ago be regretting what we will have come to call a 'lost opportunity' to redesign teaching and learning in the wake of the pandemic along (say) the lines described in this post. It will be a lost opportunity because the return to normal will be almost as abrupt and unpredictable as the shift to remote learning was in the first place. Yes, we could and should "create universities in which students have access to course and program materials at any time, and in which they are supported by teachers in pursuing their learning goals in a number of settings." But we won't. There's no time.

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Concern trolls and power grabs: Inside Big Tech’s angry, geeky, often petty war for your privacy
Issie Lapowsky, Protocol, 2021/07/14

This is good coverage of the firestorm that has erupted around plans by Google and others to end the use of tracking cookies on the web. This article focuses on the efforts by businesses who depend on tracking cookies for their revenue, focusing on 51Degrees, the U.K.-based data analytics company. But of course the debate goes far beyond that; Google no longer requires tracking cookies because Google is everywhere.

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ALT Ethical Framework 2021 - Consultation Feedback
ALT, Google Slides, 2021/07/14

This slide presentation summarizes feedback to ALT's draft ethical framework for learning technology. The framework (found on page 2 here) needs work. I appreciate the authors' desire to conform to the CMALT accreditation framework and the DELICATE checklist for learning technology, but this may have distracted from the needed focus on ethics. Respondents suggested that the statements should be more explicit and direct and that the framework should include somewhere reference to such things as diversity, equity and inclusion. There were also suggestions on practice and tools for implementation.

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