OLDaily

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

We're getting the social media crisis wrong
Henry Farrell, Programmable Mutter, 2025/03/07

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This is not wrong, and shows a clear limit to the effectiveness of education in saving liberal democracy: "If we think that the big problem is disinformation, which might persuade individuals that what is false is in fact true, we are likely to look to one set of remedies. If we think of the problem as malformed publics, then we are in much bigger trouble, without any very obvious technical fixes." In particular, "What purports to be a collective phenomena; the 'voice of the people' is actually in private hands; is, to a very great extent shaped by two extremely powerful individuals." And "Can democracy work, if a couple of highly atypical men exercise effective control over large swathes of the public space?" Via the Fediverse Report.

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Reading, Writing, and Thinking in the Age of AI
Suzanne S. Hudd, Robert A. Smart, Andrew Delohery, JT Torres, Faculty Focus, 2025/03/07

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This article explores "the three cognitive moves of concentric thinking - prioritization, translation, and analogy" to show "how low stakes, informal writing assignments can leverage these moves to enhance teaching and learning in the AI era." I'm not sure these are cognitive moves, exactly (I would call them 'sorting', 'filtering' and 'pattern recognition') but I get the intent: "The true value of writing lies in the thinking it generates." What's important to understand is that this sort of thinking isn't generated only by stringing words together in linear order on (digital) paper. Indeed, this might not even be the best way to generate this sort of thinking; in my own life, I generate it equally well in the give-and-take of a conference presentation, in the precision of computer programming, in the challenge of long-distance cycling, and in the light-based discipline of photography. And the value here lies in doing this for myself, not as a means to some other (more commercial) end.

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I Used to Teach Students. Now I Catch ChatGPT Cheats
Troy Jollimore, The Walrus, 2025/03/07

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"I once believed university was a shared intellectual pursuit," writes Troy Jollimore, "That faith has been obliterated." He is quick to blame AI, but I think he should look into a mirror. Let me explain. I've been reading Mark Carney's book Value(s) and there's a section in chapter 6 where he notes, "commodification - putting a good up for sale - can corrode the value of the activity being priced." Now Jollimore can't understand why students are so eager to turn to AI to write their essays. It's because they're writing them as a form of exchange: submit an essay, get a grade (and eventually, a degree). We (educators) made it this way. AI did nothing more than reveal what we had done. Via Daily Nous.

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View of Three concepts for the metaverse: Between fading fashion and eternal style
Tom Barbereau, First Monday, 2025/03/07

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I think we can ignore the first part of the paper that defines two views of the metaverse, one which is "Europe's rudimentary and reactive vision of the metaverse" as contrasted with "Meta's vision", which I guess is not that? Tom Barbereau then offers us a literature review that brings us three concepts of the metaverse: technological, described as 'xReality', "consumer-accessible, Internet-mediated environments" where "individuals to become the viewers of the metaverse as well as the viewed" (his emphasis); infrastructure, described as a 'digital market', where members trade digital goods such as crypto, digital fashion, etc.; and as people and avatars, essentially being "the commoditisation of the self and relationships with others". It's a useful perspective.

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Digital Pedagogy Toolbox: Who Are We Leaving Behind?
Taruna Goel, BCcampus, 2025/03/07

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This article captures the conundrum for developers nicely: "While online/hybrid learning offers the promise of greater support for learners from marginalized groups... these are often the groups that are most identified as facing challenges of access to technology, the Internet, or accessible content." So while it's easiest to design for those with the most access and ability (you know, like designing iOS-only apps) we need to build access into our applications. But I caution: this does not mean simply reverting to older technology (eg., by insisting there be paper versions of everything). Remember, the older versions were what created the difference in access in the first place. Rather, design for openness and diversity.

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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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