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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Identity Theft is no Joke - Here’s Some Free Advice
No doubt you've seen many dire warnings about identity theft, as I have. But this item contains the most useful advice I've seen in a post. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. A Non-Technical Guide to Technical Frameworks - Part One
If you have been hearing about the E-Learning Framework and have been left scratching your head, this guide is for you. This first part explains the concept of web services in general; part two (not released yet) will look at educational applications in particular. More...