By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Who will become the Uber of packaged elearning content?
Conor Gilligan, Training Journal, 2019/01/31
This article offers a corporate-centered discussion of e-learning trends, and specifically, that "the market for packaged elearning content will continue to grow as the hunger from corporates increases and requires more agility than ever. This will be driven by the growing demand for skills development." This ties into the 'Uber' in the headline in the sense that companies are offering to link content creators with these corporate markets. So, "one of the leading LMS providers has decided to join the race to become the Uber of elearning content — yes, Cornerstone on Demand. CSOD acquired a leading packaged  microlearning provider based in New York, Grovo, for $24m. Another leading LMS, Totara Learn, has also announced its plans to create a content marketplace". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Florida School Tests AI as Virtual Tutor for Online Course
Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology, 2019/01/29
This article is a rewrite of a press release issued a few days ago from Cognii about a trial of an AI system at Florida International University that "can automatically grade students' open-response (short essay) answers and extract rich pedagogical insights and analytics to improve faculty members' productivity." There's no reference or indication of progress from Cognii's 2016 trial at Colorado State University. Of course, the real value of such a system is to help students themselves write better essays (though I'm not sure whether using an AI to assess your essay before submission would count as cheating). More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Trends in e-Learning and Virtual Education
Stephen Downes, Jan 28, 2019, 7 Internacional e-Learning Seminar, Online, via Zoom
I outline a number of major recent technological trends in e-learning and virtual education, including the use of artificial intelligence and learning analytics, blockchain technology for resources and recognition, and virtual and augmented reality for immersive experiences. I draw examples from corporate, university, and elementary education development projects and implementations. These in turn inform the discussion of wider trends in pedagogy and curriculum, including new critical literacies, community network development and management, and personal learning management and support. [Link] [Slides] [Audio]. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Online peer assessment to improve students’ learning outcomes and soft skills
Daniela Amendola, Cristina Miceli, Italian Journal of Educational Technology, 2019/01/23
14 page PDF. This would seem to be unsurprising: "peer evaluation closely correlates with the grades the teacher assigned." Correlation improves if the number of assessors is increased to three. Also, "other conditions can significantly enhance the correlation between teacher and peer evaluations, such as random selection of assessors and assessees, peer assessment being  voluntary  instead  of  compulsory,  and  peer  raters  being  involved  in  developing  the  rating  criteria." The latter condition makes assessment more like following a recipe - you follow along the criteria and ask whether it was satisfied. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Voice is here - online learning has been traditionally 'nil by mouth' but not now....
Donald Clark, Donald Clark Plan B, 2019/01/22
The good bit of this post is the emphasis on voice in online learning. However, it's framed in an odd way. "Almost all online learning involves just clicking," says Donald Clark. This isn't true of any of the online learning I've either given or taken. Is there any online learning with no video, no assignments, nothing but clicking? He also says, "in real life, we don’t click, we speak and listen. Most actual teaching and training uses voice."  First of all, computers are real life. Second, I've had a lot of 'real' learning that's far less interactive than online - especially courses based almost entirely on (paper-based) reading. Again - there's no denying the efficacy of voice. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. How to Study Online Courses
David Thompson, Saylor.org, 2019/01/17
The recommendations are: create a space, set achievable goals, form a group, get out a calendar, and have fun. All reasonable. So are the bonus tips: take notes, and quiz yourself. But there's one more thing, and it's really important. Do the work. Online learning is very different from traditional learning in that in online learning there's no such thing as 'getting by'. When you're in online learning, you're in it for yourself. Not for the school. Not for the teacher. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Eric Trembley[Edit][Delete]: Effective e-Learning Presentation: NewsU, e-Learning Acupuncture [Edit][Delete] January 3, 2006

Eric Trembley wrote in to have his blog, e-Learning Acupuncture, added to the Edu_RSS list and as I was reviewing the content I ran across this nifty little bit from November, a description and link to a Flash presentation plugging News U, an online school for journalists. It was short, punchy, and engaging (though my mind did wander a bit halfway through the five minutes - it was, after all, a Flash presentation). More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Graham Attwell[Edit][Delete]: Commodification and the Shaping of E-learning, Wales Wide Web [Edit][Delete] January 3, 2006

According to the author, "three dominant policy discourses in education have shaped the development and implementation of e-learning: commodification, privatization and a restricted discourse of lifelong learning," for example, "Even the development of individual learning portfolios has been inhibited by the desire to control and commodify learning". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Susan Smith Nash[Edit][Delete]: Text Representation and Cognitive Processes: How the Mind Makes Meaning in e-Learning, E-Learning Queen [Edit][Delete] December 28, 2005

I think this is a useful item even if I disagree with the theoretical background it presupposes. Susan Smith Nash outlines a discourse theory approach to e-learning, sketching textual components (such as surface code, textbase and situated text) and levels of discourse, all leading to an understanding of how the mind comprehends, or makes, meaning. You can tell the theory is a bit of a stretch when you encounter something like this: "Negative transfer can happen when there are no points of contact and students relate things to the wrong items." Now we can understand what that means, but try to envision the process - what would a 'negative transfer of information' look like? Imagine a 'negative phone call' or 'negative letter delivery'. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Sabine Graf and Beate List: An Evaluation of Open Source E-Learning Platforms Stressing Adaptation Issues, ICALT December 20, 2005

This paper aims "to identify the most suitable open source e-learning platform for extending to an adaptive one," measured as "adaptability, personalization, extensibility, and adaptivity very well by a documented API, detailed guidelines, and adaptivity." Employing a multi-factored comparison, they select Moodle as having the most potential to adapt. More...