By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Neil C Cranston[Edit][Delete]: Game, Set and Match: Bureaucracy 1, Schools 0: Time to Change the Rules?, Centre for Innovation in Education [Edit][Delete] January 13, 2006

[link: Hits] Though the topic of this essay is the relation between schools and central administrative organizations, I think that the argument can be applied more broadly, to the relationship between any entity in an organization. Of most value is the table comparing 'traditional' and 'revolutionary' management of the organization. Consider, for example, the difference between "promotion is the reward of those who 'look' and 'sound' like their superiors" and "difference and diversity in thinking, attitudes and ideas are valued and rewarded." Which one more resembles your own organization. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Gabriel Jacobs[Edit][Delete]: Hypermedia and Discovery Based Learning: What Value?, Australasian Journal of Educational Technology [Edit][Delete] January 10, 2006

Interesting paper that should give us pause for thought. The author writes, "As I saw things, hyperlink technology would finally allow learning truly to mesh with the free association characteristics of the human mind. Once the technology had matured, it would be a teaching resource that would transform passive learners into active thinkers. Thirteen years on, I take a critical look at those optimistic conclusions". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Wick Sloane[Edit][Delete]: Questions from a Provocateur, Inside Higher Ed [Edit][Delete] January 10, 2006

"Somehow," writes the author, "I missed the meeting where the nation decided to exit public higher education. I was, after all, chief financial officer of a public university. This is no fantasy. This drama is under way across the nation. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Miguel Guhlin[Edit][Delete]: Banishing Disillusionment, Mousing Around [Edit][Delete] January 10, 2006

[link: 0 Hits] So today was proposal day at the office - a ten minute slot to argue for learning networks, web 2.0, open access, and the rest. And to explain why there is no "exploitation" or licenses or shrink-wrap 'products', why networks have value and why they should be distributed, why people need to be able to create their own content, why there needs to be openness, and to handle questions about the value of networks and why the (completely unrelated and unlamented) eduSource project was not a success. So now I reflect Miguel Guhlin's thoughts: "I read once that to pick up new things, you have to let go of the old. More...