OLDaily

Now is the Time to Build a New Field in Education
Lindsy Ogawa, Getting Smart, 2022/01/14

Like Lindsy Ogawa, I like to see myself as a proponent of learner-centered learning. However, when we talk about 'learner-centered' we have  to be very careful we are not simply substituting one person's set of interests for another's. For example, I don't see this as in any sense entailing the dismantling of the public education system. Far from it. And learner-centered learning is not about (as this document suggests) ensuring children become "constructive members of their communities, productive participants in the economy, and engaged citizens of the (nation) and the world." This is just a way of using children (and their education) to solve other people's problems. And while there's a lot in this Lexicon that I like, I don't see learner-centered learning as some sort of 21st century character education; this is just to substitute one set of imperatives for another.

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How Signal is playing with fire
Casey Newton, Platformer, 2022/01/14

I like to use the concept of surveillance as a talking point on ethics. Most of what we read depicts surveillance as bad and something to be avoided, especially online. But (I respond) we wouldn't want to live without surveillance. Case in point: Signal considering adding cryptocurrency payments to the platform. Signal messaging is already end-to-end encrypted; adding payments would create untraceable financial transactions. This would make money-laundering and 'know your customer' (KYC) laws unenforceable. We've learned enough from some high profile leaks recently to know how bad it could get. I'm not sure many people would side with the criminals on this one.

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Jarvis will do your writing for you
Joanne Jacobs, Linking and Thinking on Education, 2022/01/14

"Jarvis, which uses artificial intelligence to write, is offering to write blog posts and marketing material," reports Joanne Jacobs. She's clearly sceptical about the whole idea, and yet there's something about it that's compelling. "Jarvis’ writing is not very good, but it’s better than what many students turn out." This points to an important truth: AI doesn't have to be as good as the best we can produce. It only has to be better than the worst.

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The Journal Club
The Journal Club, 2022/01/14

This is something really simple, yet a lovely demonstration of a concept. The idea is that members of a journal club meet regularly to discuss a journal article. The site appears to have been designed for in-person meetings, though it would be effective (maybe even more so) online. It's connected to the arXiv library of papers so it's easy to recommend and select a paper for discussion. A presenter can then add slides and set up the meeting. That's it. This is a very small and seldom-used site, and I can't imagine it will become the next MeetUp or anything like that. But it really illustrates how you can create simple tools to enable self-supported learning in groups quickly and easily. I created an Ethics club and set up the first presentation in less than 5 minutes. I don't intend to actually hold it... but hey, if a bunch of members join, maybe I'll change my mind.

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