By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Open Access Learning Environments
According to the author, "Although there are logical reasons for moving toward closed environments, we may be erring too far on the side of caution. Educators and administrators are encouraged to consider the advantages of alternative models that respect the need for privacy while opening learning opportunities to a wider population." Reasonable. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. An MIT OpenCourseWare Course Via an OPML Feed
Tony Hirst pulls a Peter Shanks and shows MIT how it should be done. I love this commentary: "The download bundle is - I guess(?!) - a standard (?) IMS - err - package? (can you tell I'm not up on educational material interoperability standards?!;-) That is to say, the zip archive file opens into a set of nested directories with an imsmanifest.xml document. The archive file also contained copies of the HTML pages used on the course website as well as the PDF versions of the course lecture notes. What I had been hoping for was a 'clean' XML version of the course webpages (i.e. a single source document from which they had been generated)". More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Censorship, Audience, and International Collaboration
Clarence Fisher wrestles with some words and imagery right on the edge (these days) of acceptability. People don't censor only that which is offensive and hurtful, they also from time to time censor messages they don't want to hear. I think these instances fall into that category. It's a concern, though - when a class uses a public video service, like DivShare, to distribute a powerful message, it creates a much greater need for caution. But I think that excess caution is as harmful as excessive expression. Anyhow, I would have allowed the image - it is not inherently offensive and expresses a point of view. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. How to Moderate a Panel
I think this is good advice. I think the biggest mistake is to overplan a panel. "Do not get everyone together beforehand. Do not have breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Do not start an email thread and make everyone participate. All this does is rob the panel of any spontaneity". More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Educationau Jimmy Wales Seminar
Today's lesson is that the best laid plans and all the ambition in the world are no match for a nasty cold picked up while travelling. Sniffle. Anyhow. Sniffle. This post is a summary of Jummy (Wikipedia) Wales's recent presentation in Australia. Sniffle. See also (from the same author) the and the reflections on barriers to knowledge sharing. Sniffle. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Cross Now Claims to Have Invented Personal Knowledge Managment
I'm not sure there's a side to take here. I have been reading both Cross and Pollard for a long time and am the 'other participant' in the conversation where he is said to have made the claim. Certainly Pollard has done a lot of work in personal knowledge management. But Cross doesn't appear to have made any laim to have invented. And in any case, the PLE is not the same as personal knowledge management. But the reason I am linking here is not the controversy, it's that this is an article with links to numerous resource on the subject(s). More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. You Do Not Enumerate the Freedoms You Want
A slightly different take on the 'code of conduct' debate: "Am I being overly simplistic to equate this to the contrast between a 'planned' society - where everything is banned unless specifically permitted in an enumerated list of freedoms - and an 'evolving' society - where everything is permitted unless specifically banned? ... How do I know what freedoms I want until I've experimented? How can I even explain them until I've experienced them?" More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Educational Change? What the Research Says
When introducing technological change to teachers, according to this post, we should keep in mind that "competence/credibility (is) defined by the degree to which a communication source or channel is perceived as knowledgeable and expert" and "defined by the degree to which a communication source or channel is perceived as trustworthy… not likely suspect… of having selfish motives or manipulative intentions". More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Naming Does Not Necessitate Existence
Response to Learning is Scaffolded Construction, an ITForum paper posted by Mark H. Bickhard. Includes n extended response to Bickhard's reply. The length of this item quite explains why this newsletter is a bit brief. Stephen Downes, Half an Hour April 23, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Newsletters]. More...
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