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The Unresolved Tension Between AI and Learning
Dan Cohen, 2025/01/17

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The article in a nutshell: "the key question educators face right now is this: Are we using AI to enhance learning, or to replace some learning steps that turn out to be essential?" This is a good discussion of the two approaches. I would not that it's not just a question about AI, it's a question about teaching method. Do you focus just on getting students to be able to give the right answer, or do you focus on the work and practice that enables them to actually use this knowledge?

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Language Models: A Guide for the Perplexed
Sofia Serrano, Zander Brumbaugh, Noah A. Smith, arXiv, 2025/01/17

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This paper walks the reader step by step through the basic concepts of natural language processing (NLP), expanding to large language models and terms like 'perplexity', and through to a look at what to expect in the future. "The vast majority of architectures are neural networks (sometimes called artificial neural networks
to differentiate them from biological ones)... A general observation about neural network architectures (but not a necessary or defining property) is that the relationship between their numerical calculations and the task-solving behavior of a model (after its parameters are set) is not explainable to human observers."

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Ace your NLP Interview
Notion, 2025/01/17

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This website looks super-temporary so download the content while you can. It's a set of questions and answers ablout natural language processing (NLP). It's comprehensive, and it's informative, and I imagine its primary use will be by hiring managers trying to figure out what to ask candidates. It was authored by a second year computing student who, it appears, prefers to remain anonymous. It's really informative and you will know more after reading it. Also, it made me think, what of you went through it point by point constructed a 'learning theory' out of it. Call it 'deep connectivism' or something.

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Comments now powered by Talkyard
Tim Owens, Throw Out The Manual, 2025/01/17

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I haven't tried Talkyard as an alternative to Disqus for hosting comments, but this article describes his search and decision, and I have enough confidence in the author to pass it along. I'm sometimes tempted to reinstate comments for OLDaily, but I never did get enough comments for it to be worth spending much effort on (my feeds on Bluesky and Mastodon draw the occasional remark, but that's it).

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2024 Pan-Canadian Report on Digital Learning
Nicole Johnson, Canadian Digital Learning Research Association, 2025/01/17

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This report (37 page PDF) is "based on the findings of two surveys conducted in Spring and Fall" and while not surprising is clear and to the point. "Respondents expect technology use in post-secondary education to continue to increase," writes Nocole Johnson. The most common tech is "learning management systems (LMS) to facilitate interactions, online polling and quizzes, and video-based technologies" while "Extended Reality (XR) technologies such as virtual and augmented reality are rarely used."

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How to break out of autopilot and create the life you want
Graham Weaver, Lenny's Podcast, 2025/01/17

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"Too much hair, too much weight, too much color." This is how Los Angeles music producers reacted to Rishi, a Canadian artist with a voice of silk. He pushed through, with the aid of his grandmother, and was featured on the morning news today. The sort of story we all love. This article gives us the oft-repeated advice "to envision a life where fear isn't a barrier and pushes you toward your most authentic ambitions." It sounds like Bashar (don't get me wrong, I love Bashar, I could listen to him all day, but it's not that simple, it's not real, that's all). Here's what they don't tell you: if you live your life that way, you will fail. A lot. Not just in the little things, but in the big things. You'll make less money, probably. You'll have fewer friends. People will think you're full of yourself. But... from where I sit, the trying is more important than the succeeding. The trying is what makes a person. Not the succeeding.

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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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