Net Traffic Shows File-sharing Undented
Various studies showing a drop in file sharing are misleading, according to this report, which cites a wider survey showing that file sharing continues unabated through networks not covered in the other studies, especially eDonkey. More...
Nomic World: By the Players, for the Players
Faculty members around the world know that the purpose of faculty meetings isn't to make decisions but rather you allow administration to say faculty were consulted when the decision is finally made. More...
E-Learning Strategies - Embrace or Eschew?
With all the discussions happening in Britain (and just beginning in Canada) about e-learning strategies, it seems relevant to step back for a second and ask whether we need one at all, to ask whether "e-learning [is] really so special and different from what we know about pedagogy and student learning that, instead of viewing it as an integral part of a learning and teaching strategy, it requires a special strategy all of its own?" Good summary of the arguments in favour and against, with extended discussion. More...
The Flickering Mind
Review of Todd Oppenheimer's The Flickering Mind, a critique of the use of computers in schools. The review and the Slashdot discussion that follows show a scepticism about online learning that would not be expected in a forum for internet developers such as this, and while (as some commentators point out) the picture painted of online learning is exaggerated, some of the critiques are nonetheless valid. More...
Scholars Discover Weblogs Pass Test as Mode of Communication
This is a short introduction to research in blogging and education followed by an interview with four researchers in the field, including Alex Halavais and Jill Walker. Most of the focus of the discussion is on the question of whether blogs ae a form of journalism, something that has preoccupied writers in that field over the last yer. More...
Blog Navel Gazing
This article looks at what blogs are good for (and they're good for a lot of things), and while the comparison is between blogs and newspaper articles, the same comparison could be made between blogs and academic writing (up to and including the stilted Victorian style in which they are written). More...
InDiscover
Those of you who heard my talk in Winnipeg last week (or viewed the slides online) will recall my discusion of recommender systems. InDiscover is one such site, a service designed to help bring independent music to new listeners by recommending songs based on users' tastes. More...
Copyright Arrest in Japan
A Japanese professor who developed a file-sharing program called Winny was arrested "on suspicion of developing and offering free downloads" of copyrighted material. Isamu Kaneko, a 33-year-old assistant professor at the University of Tokyo, developed Winny in 2002. More...
Is a Degree Still Worth Having?
Questions are being raised about the usefulness of a university degree, at least according to a couple of new studies described in this BBC article (referred via elearnspace). In particular, the university degree is no longer the ticket to a better paying job that it once was, leaving students who take out large student loans looking at dim financial prospects. More...
What Is Social Capital
There seems to be this desire on the part of some to reduce every sort of good to some sort of 'capital' - human capital, knowledge capital, and now, social capital. Social capital is, according to one definition, "the degree to which a community or society collaborates and cooperates (through such mechanisms as networks, shared trust, norms and values) to achieve mutual benefits." According to another, "Over time, social capital builds what may be termed as social infrastructure." Bleah. More...
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