Divide & Conquer? AOL Time Warner Book Group Falls To Pieces
Another full newsletter today as developments fold into each other one after another during an incredibly busy week. Adding to that is a backlog of must-view material from the last few weeks, missed while I was travelling. This article is a case in point. More...

Free and Open Source Movements: Part 1 - History and Philosophies
This article is well worth reading as it provides a concise survey of the history of free and open software spiced with quotes from the major players - such as Stallman, Raymond and Torvalds - in the movement. More...

The National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (NLII): An Interview with EDUCAUSE's Carole Barone
Interesting interview with Carole Barone, vice president of EDUCAUSE and head of the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (NLII). Online learning, argues Barone, challenges our assumptions about the nature of education. More...

A Model for Effectively Supporting e-Learning
The authors argue in favour of a three point plan for effectively supporting e-learning but spend most of the article describing their call center proposal. The three points are: (1) technological infrastructure, (2) one-stop student services, and (3) faculty and academic development support. More...

Text Message Essay Baffles British Teacher
"My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :- kids FTF. ILNY, it's a gr8 plc." So began an English essay submitted in instant messaging format by a student in Britain. More...

Different Learners, Same Learning

One thing leads to another, and... in this nice commentary, Clark Quinn calls on designers to think again about the concept of individualized learning. More...

Collaborative Development of Open Content: A Process Model to Unlock the Potential For African Universities
This detailed article looks at the need for and processes surrounding the development of open content for African universities. Of course, such an approach would help the cash-strapped everywhere, but it is particularly appropriate for developing nations. More...

Picking Apart Pick-A-Prof
The author of this article asks whether the popular professor ranking service, Pick-A-Prof, helps students find good professors "or just easy A's." It seems to me that this is the wrong question to ask. If what motivates students in their selection of courses (and hence, the allocation of the bulk of their learning time) is "easy A's" then the system - not the student, who is just playing the ropes - is deeply flawed. More...

10 Damaging E-learning Myths
This is a good list of cautionary tales, a list probably more useful for e-learning purchasers than suppliers (who will probably continue to prey on the uninformed). It's not a list to make people feel comfortable: much of it has to do with discounting the illusion that e-learning is simple, that it is just the conversion of existing content matched to satisfy learning or performance outcomes. More...

Reading The Apple Patent Tea Leaves
News about a series of patents obtained by Apple on the look and feel of its desktop, including a controversial patent for the garbage can icon, filed in 2002. More...