OLDaily

GO-GN Conceptual Frameworks Guide
Rob Farrow, et.al., Global OER Graduate Network, 2021/10/21

This is a really nice guide (101 page PDF) by the Global OER Graduate Network (GO-GN) on the topic of conceptual frameworks, a topic that covers "brings together a set of ideas and articulates the different concepts that will be used in a study or research project." It should not be confused with related concepts such as models or theories. It includes things like metaphors (illustrated), positionality, construction, or social network analysis. Additionally, "Jabareen’s approach to conceptual frameworks is to see them as oriented towards deeper understanding rather than a theoretical explanation (which is what quantitative approaches offer)" (there's a good list on page 17). Usefully, the document also offers "a short description of some conceptual frameworks and how they have been used in doctoral research projects by members of GO-GN," which forms the bulk of the work

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The Mathematical Playground
Amplify, 2021/10/21

I've been playing with this website over the last week or so... it's just sitting in my browser and I keep going back to it and playing with prime numbers, Fibonacci sequences, and other mathematical concepts. I can easily imagine someone just using it to play, the way I am, or using it to work through all the courses to learn the broad range of skills and practices. There's also a scratch pad (called a polypad) where you can just make things.  It has just been acquired by Amplify, which I see as bad news, because now there's debt that has to be paid off, which means a business model. Also, not all of the courses and projects are finished yet. But enjoy it while it's still available

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How Do Microcredentials Stack Up?
Holly Zanville, Jackie Pichette, The EvoLLLution, 2021/10/21

This two part article (part 1, part 2) looks at the reasons why people are interested in microcredentials and argues that "successful implementation depends on a common definition, stackability and industry relevancy." By 'stackability' we mean that smaller credentials can be combined to form larger credentials, like full certificates and degrees. Also, there is a concern that breaking education into smaller components may means that "some important transferable skills and knowledge may be lost" unless microcredentials are thought of as a part of the greater whole. But I would observe that this is the whole reusability paradox all over again: the more tied a microcredential is to a specific degree or outcome, the less well it stands along as a portable credential in its own right.

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Online education, so what's changed?
Neil Mosley, 2021/10/21

The upshot of this post is that there is no real desire on the part of traditional residential universities to change after the pandemic, mostly because there is a continued demand for this sort of educational experience. At the same time, the pandemic revealed how unprepared they were, because they had't really invested any effort into online and distance education. The main result was that they learned something about what it takes to provide quality online learning, and are beginning to augment their capacity in the area. All of this seems accurate enough, especially as those already privileged enough to enjoy the residential university experience no doubt want to continue. In my view, change, as always, comes from the outside, and will be found in the millions of voices who began to enjoy MOOCs and other forms of online learning, and are wondering why governments are supporting the privileged experience for the few, when there's such a widespread demand for alternatives from the many.

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Education’s state of hegemony: Considering the contemporaneity of ‘conscientisation’
nelson ang, Journal of Applied Teaching and Learning, 2021/10/21

This (4 page PDF) could be written more clearly, with less jargon, but I think the central argument is worth considering. By 'conscientisation' we mean "a critical demystifying moment in which structures of domination are laid bare and political engagement is imperative." The question for educators today is whether education aids, or hinders, this process. The answer is: it depends. "The more they had to pay (England, Ireland, and Spain), the likelier they were to perceive employability as the main outcome of university education." And this suggests they are "meek in acceptance of the jobs granted to them, the ontology upon which the banking driven classroom mirrors itself." Lots of good quotes from Friere applied to a contemporary context.

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Eating the Cloud from Outside In
Shawn Wang, SWYX, 2021/10/21

I took note the other day that CloudFlare is acting as an Interplanetary File System (IPFS) gateway. There are rules and such and it's not as straightforward as one would like, but it really points to the company's advantage in providing cloud services - an already-existing network of cloud servers hosting content around the world. This makes their "declaring that they will be the fourth major public cloud" something to take seriously. "Cloudflare... is expanding into other value added pieces by leaning into a fundamentally different (high fixed cost, near zero marginal cost) business model the larger incumbents structurally cannot follow." Things like IPFS.

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Ask Delphi
Allen Institute for AI, 2021/10/21

So this is a little outside the purview of online learning, but not of my ethics and analytics course, and it's definitely worth sharing. The authors write, "Delphi is a computational model for descriptive ethics, i.e., people’s moral judgments on a variety of everyday situations. To learn more about the model and the dataset, please read our paper." I tried it out with a number of examples and it was generally good, though it also returned some poor responses on some trickier questions. It also failed due to overload a few times, so maybe try it during off hours.

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Street Data: A Pathway Toward Equitable, Anti-Racist Schools
Jennifer Gonzalez, Cult of Pedagogy, 2021/10/21

"Instead of looking at grades and test scores, attendance and graduation rates, the Street Data method looks at data from the ground up." This post provides an overview of the book Street Data: A Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation by Shane Safir and Jamila Dugan. There's also an interview (transcript) with the authors. “Street data are the qualitative and experiential data that emerges at eye level and on lower frequencies when we train our brains to discern it. These data are asset based... helping educators look for what’s right in our students, schools, and communities instead of seeking out what’s wrong” (p. 57). I like the concept. It shows a pathway toward achieving objectives without reducing everything to quantities. I'd rather the book was in open access so I could read it. But this post, at least, helps.

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Michael Tye on Vagueness about Consciousness
Eric Schwitzgebel, The Splintered Mind, 2021/10/21

If you're interested in the topic of consciousness, then you'll find this article rewarding, not the least of which because it offers a summary of Michael Tye's book Vagueness and the Evolution of Consciousness. The question of vagueness comes into play when we ask whether there can be a state between what we'll call 'fully conscious' and the state of being 'not conscious'. The answer depends on what we think consciousness is. If consciousness is a physical state or a physical property, then you either have it or you don't have it, it seems. But if consciousness is essentially representational, then it can be more or less vague. This gives us essentially two views of consciousness, which is what Tay develops in his book. It's an interesting discussion, and there's a lot more nuance than what I've presented, but that's why you'll enjoy

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