By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. MOOC enrollment drops at HarvardX and MITx after free certifications disappear
Devin Coldewey, TechCrunch, 2017/01/16
This article gleans the relevant datum from the recent study of Harvard and MIT MOOCs. This year saw enrollments drop at each "to about 540,000 at HarvardX and 670,000 at MIT." This is against a background in MOOCs generally where enrollment (as reported by Class Central) doubled over last year. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The Evolving Economics of Educational Materials and Open Educational Resources: Toward Closer Alignment with the Core Values of Education
David Wiley, iterating toward openness, 2017/01/16
Overall this is a pretty good article from David Wiley on some of the basic concepts behind the use of open educational resources (OERs). I have a couple of quibbles. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Community Tracking in a cMOOC and Nomadic Learner Behaviour Identification on a Connectivist Rhizomatic Learning Network
Aras Bozkurt, Sarah Honeychurch, Autumm Caines, Maha Bali, Apostolos Koutropoulos, Dave Cormier, Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 2017/01/16
The difference between the research we see in a connectivist MOOC (cMOOC) and those offered by Coursea, Udacity, etc. (xMOOC) is striking, and nowhere better exemplified by this detailed diagram we see in this paper. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. World's eight richest people have same wealth as poorest 50%
Larry Elliott, The Guardian, 2017/01/16

This is a placeholder for when I need to respond to arguments like "we can't afford free tuition" or "OERs must be sustainable". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Best Practices for Long Scrolling
Nick Babich, UX Planet, 2017/01/16

It's worth taking note of how the display of page content has changed over the years. The rise of mobile devices and touchscreens has been influential. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The Two Resources Administrators Should Maximize for Personalized Learning Success
Grant Rivera, EdSurge, 2017/01/19
This is a good non-technology based definition of personalized learning: "it occurs as leaders empower teachers to go beyond the traditional role of a 'content expert' and organically diagnose, analyze, guide, instruct, and coach students." This definition, however, makes personalization very labour-intensive, which it has in fact always been. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Feds launch networking site for academics, students and public servants
Natalie Samson, University Affairs, 2017/01/19
This is a Canadian government initiative, "a digital networking platform called GCcollab.ca, a site it’s pitching as an easy way for academics and students to connect and collaborate with Canada’s public service." More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Students under surveillance
Helen Warrell, Financial Times, 2017/01/19
Post introducing readers to services like SkyFactor and VitalSource (formerly CourseSmart), data-driven learning analytics and retention systems. The point underlined in the article is that such systems represent an almost casual attitude of invasive surveillance on the part of British and American institutions. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The Big Shift in Platform Business Models
John Hagel, Edge Perspectives with John Hagel, 2017/01/19
Normally when we think of platforms we think of news or social media, but education too has drifted into the platform model and is influenced by the shifting business models. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education: 2017 National Education Technology Plan Update
United States Department of Education, 2017/01/19
This document might become obsolete very quickly, released as it was just a few days ago. But it's the first major update since 2010 and hence represents a landmark. More...