By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. These Proposals Are Echoes When We Need Ideas
I have stated before that wealth does not confer expertise. Thus with the campaign by Eli Broad and Bill Gates to reform education via "a call for stronger, more consistent curriculum standards nationwide; lengthening the school day and year; and improving teacher quality through merit pay and other measures." My reaction is similar to Judy Breck's: "the above 3-plank education platform would sound perfectly appropriate for the elections of 1988, or 1948, or 1908". 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. 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...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Active Learning, the DS Lite and What Our Schools Should Look Like
Discussion of a recent report on the Scottish curriculum that emphasizes the importance of play for younger learners. "There is no long-term advantage to children when there is an over-emphasis on systematic teaching before 6 or 7 years of age." Ewan McIntosh remarks, "the same might not be said for older kids. However, there is much of this which does have a place somewhere in the early secondary curriculum at least." The definition of play changes, of course, as one gets older. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Rethinking WalMart Patronage
I am not a religious man. That statement offends some, dismays others, and confounds even more, as they wonder how I can advance a philosophy of education and technology as profoundly rooted in morality as in science. But, as I once commented to one of my friends in the faith, my morality and my beliefs come from my science. And not, importantly, the reverse.
This statement is to introduce two items. The first is an item in Science that has gotten a lot of discussion, on the topic of framing science (the article is behind a subscription wall - more discussion here, with follow-ups here and here and here). I personally do not care whether people believe in evolution or creation. I do care when one type of enquiry - science - is confused with another type of enquiry - faith. Because if you can do this - simply cross categories like this - then you can do things like substitute one type of belief - morality, say - with another - greed. And when I look at the rise of creationism, what I am seeing is not actually religion seeking to replace science, but rather personal greed and ambition seeking to replace religion.
The second item is a post by Wesley Fryer titled Rethinking WalMart Patronage documenting his reaction to a film on the corporate giant. he makes the right turns, to my mind, in this discussion, ending at the point where faith and reason merge: "ALL human beings deserve and have the right to be treated as ENDS, not merely means. (I share that view with Immanuel Kant as well as Jesus Christ, among many others.) The ongoing development and cultivation of literacy skills is an essential need for all people. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Oh, Boy. Just What I've Always Wanted
As Bud Hunt reports, "Yahoo is about to launch some sort of teacher tool." The Yahoo site says, "Get ready to create, modify, and share standards-based curriculum.". As Hunt says, "Oh, rapture." More seriously, Hunt questions the recent branding companies like Yahoo and Google have brought to education. "I wonder what others think about whether or not a few hours spent with a corporate cadre is a meaningful certification. Sure doesn't sound like one, at least from much of what I see. But teachers get something out of that deal, I'm sure. Why else would so many folks become Discovery STAR Educators, or Google Certified Teachers, or Yahoo Teachers of Merit?". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. These Lessons Could Ruin Your Life
I'm not completely sold on these 'lessons' offered in this e-book by Steli Efti. But I'm pretty sold, and they follow the theme that schools are teaching fear and compliance rather than courage and empowerment. Now I doubt that this is universally true - there are some pretty courageous people out there, and teachers who model that courage. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Personal Learning
I don't know. I'm a bit out of my element, speaking to corporate e-learning industry types here in Boston. I have been thinking of all the events of the last year, of where I was when I spoke in Tennessee. It feels like it was yesterday. Learning for 'a better life' just doesn't seem to be on the radar screen. I can talk about webs and networks and personal learnings and PLEs but there's a disconnect unless people see themselves as learners rather than teachers. Unless they are seeking to empower themselves and build their own lives, rather than seeing themselves as helpless before the whims of those with power and control. Anyhow, here are the slides and here is the audio. There is some new stuff on PLEs, especially near the end. Stuff to think about and develop further. "Use these technologies to develop your own learning," I said at the panel, suggesting that they can't tell people to use new technologies, they can only model and demonstrate. Is this what the audience wants to hear? I don't know - but it's the only story I can tell. Same as it ever was. Stephen Downes, Stephen's Web April 12, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Podcasting, Networks, Online Learning, Audio]. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. McLuhan'S Laws of Media and the PLE
When confronted with new media, McLuhan said, ask these simple questions: what does it enhance? What dos it obsolete? What does it retrieve? What does it reverse? If you have an answer to these, well, as Terry Anderson argues, "This brief mapping of PLEs to McLuhan's Laws of Media illustrates that PLEs constitute a new educational media. More importantly, noting the inherent adherence to McLuhan's four laws helps us understand how best to exploit this technology and what to be on guard against as the PLE cycles through exhibition of all four Laws of Media." Via George Siemens, who says it sort of does and sort of doesn't. More...