OLDaily

Documenting AI Models
Tony Hirst, OUseful Info, 2022/09/22

Tony Hirst points to the use of what are called 'model cards' used to document an AI model. "My first thought," he writes, "was whether this could be a 'new thing' for including in bibliographic/reference data (eg when citing a module, you'd ideally cite its model card)." Drawing on an example from Whisper, a model card could contain such information as where the model is intended for use, training data used to create the model, and information about performance and limitations. "The model card format is more completely described in Model Cards for Model Reporting by Margaret Mitchell et al." he writes.

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The Past and Future of Ed-Fi Descriptors: Change is coming – Here’s What’s New and a (Longish) History of Why
Eric Jansson, Ed-Fi Alliance, 2022/09/22

A 'code set' or 'enumeration' is a shared list of codes that is used in place of longer names or explanations. In Ed-Fi, where "such classifications are everywhere in school operations and processes", they are called "descriptors". This article discusses at some length the history of descriptors in Ed-Fi and describes some of the rethinking now in progress. "This third generation of thought goes beyond that to think about the mappings of descriptor values (and possibly other elements in the future) from one context to another as data itself." This allows different descriptor values to be used in different contexts, instead of demanding people choose one and only one value. It's a good discussion, and based on my own experience I would say Ed-Fi is moving in the right direction here.

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Logic as a science of patterns?
Jaroslav Peregrin, Czech Academy of Sciences, 2022/09/22

This paper (19 page PDF) is pretty close to my own view about logic and formal reasoning in general. "Logic, we propose, aims at a structure, at a system of inferential patterns and inferential roles. This system is not necessarily exactly instantiated by the natural language from which we start, it is a result of idealization." Logic is based on the actual patterns of inference we employ in natural language, argues Jaroslav Peregrin, and is much like a natural science in that way. "There is no reason for it to be seen as proceeding via some mysterious 'a priori analysis'." Right. Knowledge - including mathematical and logical knowledge - is (pattern) recognition. Image: Analytics Vidhya.

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Unselfing
Helen Blunden, activatelearning, 2022/09/22

Back in the early days of blogging and syndication, there were two major approaches: linkblogging, where you would post a link and summary of someone else's work, or journaling, where you would post your own thoughts and reflections. Most of the blogs and the blogging standards opted for the latter, and that's what eventually evolved into social media. My own work (and that of a few other edubloggers) tended toward the linkblog, which is what I do to this day. Sure, it's useful to write about your own thoughts and feelings, but I've always felt it was much more useful to write about someone else's work. And that's what this post is about, twenty years later. "I do wonder," writes Helen Blunden,"if we were a society that wasn't so narcissistic and self-obsessed, where we promoted and shared the great work of others, if somehow we could become 'more real' again and in touch with ourselves." I think it would make online discourse much more interesting and engaging, to be sure. And - obviously, I think - we would all learn a lot more.

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The Two Best Practices for Successful Online Teaching and Learning
Al Infande, Faculty Focus, 2022/09/22

The 'two best practices' listed by Al Infande are visibility and feedback. "To be visible in an online classroom is to be accessible to students," he writes. "Students need to know that the instructor is present and is available." And "Students want to know their grades from assignments and exams and don't want to wait. This quickness in grading shows the students that instructors care about the student." Well I've been hearing these since I was a teaching assistant. And I wonder, are these the best practices? And how best to implement them? The second, in particular, makes me want to employ an automated grading system. It would certainly be fast.

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