OLDaily

Welcome to Online Learning Daily, your best source for news and commentary about learning technology, new media, and related topics.

The Making of The Liberated Learner
Terry Greene, Learning Nuggets, 2023/06/02

---

This is a story of the making of Liberated Learners, an open book that aims "to enable a well-rounded and ready-for-almost-anything post-secondary learner. For Learners. By Learners." Terry Greene points to and credits a who's-who of the Canadian open learning community, from David Porter to Dave Cormier to Jenni Hayman, and too many to list here in between. As much as I love the original project, I also love that Terry Green wrote this, so that once all this is 'discovered' by some ivy-covered university professor, the right people will get credit.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Sleeping with the Elephant: Canada Deals with the Scourge of Censorship Sweeping Across America
Anita Brooks Kirkland, Canadian School Libraries Journal, 2023/06/02

---

I don't want to be like the Chronicle and do wall-to-wall culture wars coverage, but I do need to take note of the spillover from the U.S. into this country and point to this excellent analysis that identifies the source of recent campaigns here in Canada, decodes language like 'age-appropriate', and sends a clear message that we do things differently here. From the model for principles of selection, library collections should "represent the diversity of Canada's religious, ethnic, and cultural groups and their contributions to our heritage, Indigenous perspectives and ways of knowing, experiences and perspectives of individuals from diverse backgrounds,lifestyles, sexual orientation and gender identity expression, and people of varying abilities (and) gender, cultural, and racial inclusiveness." Anything else is unfree and undemocratic, and honestly, I don't think we should even be debating whether some groups deserve to be fully included in society. They all do. If you find this remotely controversial, you're the problem. Via Doug Peterson.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

My trip to the Alien Zoo: a virtual Biology 101 class
Olivia Sanchez, The Hechinger Report, 2023/06/02

---

This article describes "what about 8,000 students at Arizona State University are already doing on a weekly basis as a part of their introductory biology courses. Replacing traditional labs, this new technology from Dreamscape Learn is used to reinforce the foundational life science concepts they are learning in the classroom." So, score one for the marketing department. But also, the technology represents 8,000 animal lives saved. "I was shocked by how bearable the virtual dissection was... Virtually dissecting a make-believe animal that didn't have to die was far less troubling." Also, though, if you can't match the skin colour of hands to that of the user, put gloves on the hands.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Five Ways to Make a Splash with Wakelet
Destiny Wagner, TechNotes Blog, 2023/06/02

---

Quick introduction to Waklelet. "In Wakelet, a Collection refers to a curated grouping of resources around a specific topic or theme. On the other hand, a Space in Wakelet refers to a collaborative area where a group of people can work together, share resources, and engage in discussions."

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Yankee Shed Foxtrot
Martin Weller, The Ed Techie, 2023/06/02

---

Some intriguing thoughts here but ultimately I'm not supporting (also, I don't like Wilco). "Should we allow educators to have one course that they completely mess with? That is unmade from the convention?" asks Martin Weller. I commented, "They can already do this. I've been doing it my entire career. You don't need permission to offer a course. But if what is meant here is a course that students are required to take, the answer is no. You can't experiment on people without their consent, and in many cases, consent is impossible or impractical to give, especially in a teacher-student power relation."

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

We publish six to eight or so short posts every weekday linking to the best, most interesting and most important pieces of content in the field. Read more about what we cover. We also list papers and articles by Stephen Downes and his presentations from around the world.

There are many ways to read OLDaily; pick whatever works best for you:

• Read in your web browser on this web page, updated weekdays
• Receive a daily or weekly email newsletter by subscribing here
• Subscribe to the RSS feed using your favourite feed reader
• Follow @OLDaily@mastodon.social on Mastodon or elsewhere in the fediverse
• Follow @OLDaily on Twitter
• Integrate the open API using the JSON feed