OLDaily

Why Podcasters Will Be Stuck Doing Video
Matt Deegan, Matt on Audio, 2022/03/23

The point being made in this post is that since so many podcasters either start as videocasters, or have added a video feed to their audio, the result will be that most podcasters will have to add video. I don't think it will work out that way; while video and video podcasting work fine for, say, "a pair, or gang, of people chatting", many podcasts don't follow that format, and would not work well at all on video (think, for example, of the Dinner Party Download, which was a series of mini-documentaries tied to the courses of a meal at a dinner party). And I think a lot of video just doesn't work on audio - my Stephen Follows Instructions series, for example, or hiking videos, or Tom Cruise movies where there's no dialogue. The increased commercialization of podcasting, however, could push online audio and video toward convergence, to the detriment of both.

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Pros and Cons of Self-Hosted LMS
Mikelya Fournier, LearnDash, 2022/03/23

This article delivers exactly what the title suggests. It doesn't go into a lot of detail but it's a good overview of the benefits and risks of self-hosting an LMS. To me, in the end, it depends on your expertise and comfort level managing your own server environment. There's one thing I would add: the risk to your business model when you depend on a hosted provider. Video uploaders, for example, were surprised to find themselves facing thousands of dollars of new costs last week as Vimeo suddenly raised its prices. It was "'Pay up, or get off our platform,' basically."

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ustralian indie publishers 'freeze news' in protest at exclusion from big tech bargaining
Bron Maher, Press Gazette, 2022/03/23

You might recall recent legislation in Australia "which forces designated tech giants to negotiate with the media for payment." So what was the outcome? Just as expected: "Many of Australia's biggest publishers have already signed deals that see them paid by the tech giants for their content, but many smaller titles have been left out." And that to me illustrates the flaw in such legislation. It benefits the large (and already rich) media producers, and does nothing for smaller or start-up media. The same would be true for educational media and the same risks apply to, say, national educational media buying programs.

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Reconsidering Access: Using Specific Impact Ranking Metrics to Manage Access in Conventional and Open Higher Education
Halima-Sa’adia Kassim, David Rampersad, Journal of Learning for Development, 2022/03/23

From the abstract: "the paper draws on data from The University of the West Indies (UWI) and provides examples from key plans and initiatives over 20 years to showcase how the UWI has increased access." Access is defined here as "increasing the capacity of the system" and "equity of access". With some 20 island nations and territories and challenges ranging from climate change to widespread poverty, access remains a challenge. Capacity has increased only 13 percent since 2008, almost entirely at the graduate level, while women outnumber men 2:1 and are 85% of the open campus population. The authors argue "greater analysis of other intersectionalities (e.g., indigenous, disabilities, etc.) to promote public accountability associated with access and boost institutional reputation is required." They also argue "a strategic exercise that maps the immediate and short-to-medium term needs of the labour market is needed to determine the type of programmes required are matched to access and participation."

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Neurodivergence and online learning through the pandemic
Neil Dixon, et.al., ALTC Blog, 2022/03/23

This is a three part series (part 1 – what is neurodiversity?, part 2 – studying at home, part 3 – recommendations) on neurodiversity and online learning. The recommendations make sense though they feel overly broad. Specifically, students should make institutions aware of their neurodivergence (and I would add institutions should encourage and make it easy and safe to report this). Institutions in turn should notify relevant staff, and staff should know how to support neurodivergent learners online. Additionally, institutions should be aware that neurodivergent student might not report for various reasons, but make adaptations available nonetheless.

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Internet Architecture and Open Standards
Dee Harris, Creative Commons, 2022/03/23

This article is one of a series from Creative Commons and talks about internet architecture as "an assemblage of diverse and independent networks." What makes this work is the set of open standards that ensure a decentralized network that (in principle) anyone can join. At the CC Global Summit, though, "there were concerns that there were barriers to true, collaborative, and inclusive standards development." For example, "people without large bankrolls feel that their concerns were not able to be heard in standards development" and "those traditionally left out of decision-making need to be at the virtual table." Image: IBM.

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