By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Crypto Canon
Sonal Chokshi, Chris Dixon, Denis Nazarov, Jesse Walden, Ali Yahya, Andressen Horowitz, 2019/03/18
I've read a lot of these papers in my own research on blockchain but this list is well-presented and is more neatly formatted. On the other hand, my list contains a lot of excepts that indicate what the resource actually says. But this list is probably more canonical. I'll be running through it to make sure I haven't missed anything. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. What’s good ‘evidence-based’ practice for classrooms? We asked the teachers, here’s what they said
Nicole Mockler, Meghan Stacey, EduResearch Matters, 2019/03/19
This article doesn't go into a lot of detail but it does raise a core issue in our (or any!) profession: what counts as good evidence? "Too often, calls for ‘evidence-based practice’ in education ignore the evidence that really counts," write the authors. "Narrow definitions of evidence where it is linked to external testing are highly problematic." Looking at what teachers actually value as evidence in their practice, we see things like teachers' own classroom observations ranked at the top of the list and standardized test results (such as Australia's NAPLAN) at the bottom. So how do we support teachers with evidence? From where I sit, it seems to me that support helping teachers create their own assessments would best address the need. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. CC Search: A New Vision, Strategy & Roadmap for 2019
2019/03/19
In a project that may well impact the world of open educational resources (OER), Creative Commons (CC) is engaged in developing a new search service, releasing a new roadmap for the project today. "The vision centers on reuse," writes Jane Park. " CC will prioritize and build for users who seek to not only discover free resources in the commons, but who seek to reuse these resources with greater ease and confidence." This means a change in emphasis on the content side. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Project Gutenberg Canada Launches On July 1st (Canada Day)
I spent a good part of today reading Anne of Green Gables. Never read it before! Why read it now? Because "Michael Hart, the founder of Project Gutenberg (some 36 years ago, who says book digitization is new) sends along a note that Project Gutenberg Canada will go live on Canada Day, this coming Sunday". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. When Pay Ruins Everything
This post talks about 'money markets' and 'social markets', making the point that tying pay for specific work can actually lower motivation in some people (for example - if someone paid me specifically to publish OLDaily, I wouldn't feel the same attachment to it that I do). It suggests a work environment in which "you would be paid for being there, for being you, and your task load would be determined by the interplay of personal, interpersonal and team commitments. You would also have a context within with to distinguish yourself by the quality or quantity of your output". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Prince to Launch New Album As Free Newspaper Giveaway
I've been laughing all day about this. Music for free - a full album of ten songs - if you buy the mail or if you attend a Prince concert. The record lables are not pleased. As one commentator on Metafilter says, "The comments in that article seem to be one step below threatening to break his legs." The industry's thuggish behaviour - which has also seen them sue tens of thousands of music fans - is not lost on the performers. It will be the industry's downfall - a downfall that is already evident. Textbook and academic publishers, take note. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Namibian Schoolnet: Open Source for Education
"Namibia's open source based SchoolNet project provides computer labs to schools all across the country. Some are in very remote locations that are not traditionally suitable for this type of technology. It has been quite successful and has won many international awards. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Knowledge in the Workplace: Have It Your Way
Dave Pollard creates his own PLE diagram (though he doesn't label it as that) and thinks about the combination of learning and social networks. With McLuhan, he describes communications tools as extensions of our senses, then observes that we want to own, rather than share, such bodily extensions. "So perhaps it is not surprising that we want the information that we get in the workplace, our way, in our own space, organized in the way it makes sense to us. We resent getting sent information (e-mail and snail mail and by telemarketers) that we did not ask for and do not want." Interestingly, he says that blogs and wikis do not serve this need well. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Modders: Bringing Games to Quirky New Levels
One of the ways computer games support learning is through the use of 'modding'. To mod a computer game is to change the programming in some way, creatung a new game out of the old game. Teachers can mod games to import learning objectives, while students can mode games to ry out difference scenarios. This article is a bit of an undeserved plug, at the end, for Sony (which will not "bring modding into the mainstream") but will give you some of the terminology and some good examples. More...