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AI-based auto-tagging of content: what you need to know | Kontent.ai
Michael Andrews, Kontent.ai, 2023/11/28

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This article won't take you from zero to auto-tagging, but it does frame the topic really well and offers good food for thought. I've played around a bit with chatGPT and autotagging and have learned you have to be reasonably precise in what you want - if you don't give it any instructions you'll get really specific tags (like 'AIEnhancedAutoTagging') that will carve out thousands of niche topics across a large of content. Being more precise in your ask might give good combinations you can work with (like 'AI' and 'tagging'). Another approach (which I haven't tried) might be to specify a list of tags that suits your needs and ask it to select from those.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Embracing Authenticity: Why Non-Algorithmic Social Media Platforms Are More Social Than Instagram, Tumblr, or Threads
David Field, You've got to go there, to get there, 2023/11/28

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The fallacy shared both by social media services and educational services is one of trying to engineer the perfect mix of content for their clients. What we find, I think, in both education and online media is that authentic content - that is, content based in a person's actual life and relations with other people - is the best content. But of course, you can't create a 'one size fits all' version of that, which makes it uneconomical to be a content provider. This article shows how "a new wave of non-algorithmic social media platforms, such as Mastodon, is challenging the status quo and offering users a refreshing alternative that promotes genuine social interaction." Look for the same approach to begin to thrive in education.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

XQ Competency Navigator
XQ, 2023/11/28

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These competencies represent a bit of a middle point between specific content knowledge (like economics and government) and general skills (like creativity and interpersonal relations). "These aspirational, research-based outcomes describe what all students must know and be able to do in order to thrive in the future—college or other postsecondary education, careers, and all the opportunities life has to offer." I don't think having a single list that tries for both specific and general skills is really the way to go - things like 'community advocacy' and 'mobilization' are very different in different societies, and detract from the more important underlying skill of developing empathy and getting along with others. And honestly, I don't think the core issue with high school education, in the U.S. or elsewhere, is the curriculum (I'm thinking equitable and adequate funding, proper facilities, nutrition and social support: the things that address the disadvantages social-economic status bring). Still, it's an interesting list overall.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

The Content Every High School Student Should Learn (But Doesn't)
Nate McClennen, Mason Pashia, Getting Smart, 2023/11/28

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We all agree, I think, that the world is becoming more complex every day. And so there are more things, and more types of things, people need to learn. This list points to some, and the items get pretty specific: things like next-generation economics, neuroscience, data science, etc. Compare this list, which will date pretty quickly, with what I recommended seventeen years ago, ans which holds up pretty well, I think. That's the problem with these lists: creating value that will last a lifetime versus specific stuff that is useful today. The 'content knowledge' people tend to focus on the specific, arguing people can't learn the general. But I would counter, if you don't learn the general, you can't learn the specific. The trick, I think, is to combine them: the specific content is the McGuffin, that draws people in, but the educator is always focused on the things you really need to learn.

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.

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