By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Microsoft to Buy Groove Networks
Groove had its problems but it was still far ahead of anything Microsoft ever produced. That makes Microsoft's acquisition a good move for both companies. More...
Microsoft to Buy Groove Networks
A Wealth of Knowledge Free to the World: JHSPH OpenCourseWare
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. A Wealth of Knowledge Free to the World: JHSPH OpenCourseWare
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has announced the initial phase of its pilot OpenCourseWare (OCW) project. Good stuff. More...
Developing Self-Directed Learners
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Developing Self-Directed Learners
Summary of research on self-directed learning, including a useful chart matching specific work to types of self-directed learning. Most of the article addresses student motivation and linking student choice to responsibility. More...
Structural Holes, Part One
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Structural Holes, Part One
I torn, at least on the surface. As I stated a couple of days ago, and see increasingly in my own work, no one person can master everything in a domain; innovation is therefore the product of a group and not an individual. So the answer is to form a team, right? But I'm not about subsuming my ideas under some sort of corporate or messianic 'vision' or 'programme' - I function best when I am pursuing my own agenda and my own ideas. I want autonomy. More...
Google News: Customized News
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Google News: Customized News
The blogosphere is gaga over Google's new customized news. From where I sit, Google has now replicated the functionality of the 1998 My Netscape page - except without the RSS feeds that allow you to select your own sources. More...
Annotating the Planet
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Annotating the Planet
Where is this image from? You know it's probably Palermo, but where? The Botanical gardens. But what is it? I can't help you with that, except to observe that it is probably Roman. There was no annotation at the site - and annotating Palermo would be a major expense. More...
A Day in Washington Discussing Tech-ed Policy
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. A Day in Washington Discussing Tech-ed Policy
Synopsis of a briefing, with commentary, on Education policy given by the SIIA (Software and Information Industry Association). Mostlyh a discussion of Scientifically Based Research (yes, in capitals). More...
Leapin' Lizards!
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Leapin' Lizards!
There's something about students correcting their science textbooks that just appeals to me. And the idea of learning integrating with real-world endeavour (in this case, farming) is also attractive. More...
The Online Universities Weblog
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The Online Universities Weblog
This is getting annoying in a hurry. I use PubSub to find content from a wide range of blogs; I subscribe to PubSub's custom RSS feeds in Bloglines. The Online Universities Weblog publishes an RSS feed which shows up in my PubSub subscription. So far so good. More...
Learning Networks: Theory and Practice
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Learning Networks: Theory and Practice
So I arrived in Palermo Tuesday evening, still muttering about bureaucrats and travel agents after two days of travel. First thing Wednesday morning I was up to deliver my talk at the opening of the International Conference on Methods and Technologies for Learning at the Palazzo dei Normanni. More...