By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Katy Campbell, Richard A. .Schwier and Richard F. Kenny[Edit][Delete]: Conversation As Inquiry: A Conversation With Instructional Designers, Journal of Learning Design [Edit][Delete] November 14, 2006
The authors write, "In this paper we offer instructional designers' stories of practice through which we explore two interconnected theoretical frames using four lenses: reflexivity, voice, strong objectivity, and power/authority. These lenses themselves are woven together by the idea of moral action." I'm not agreeing with everything in this paper - I certainly don't agree that "learning involves shared thinking or understanding" and would question the proposition that it is "most effective if embedded in social experience." I'm also not comfortable with the idea of theoretical 'lenses' you can just pick and choose like different settings on your microscope. I agree that the design is 'messy' and that "this 'messiness'should not be seen as a problem to be overcome, but as a stimulating and creative environment in which relationships, rather than content, are at the center of the action." But does this paper get at that? I'm not sure. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Garr Reynolds[Edit][Delete]: From Design to Meaning: a Whole New Way of Presenting?, Presentation Zen [Edit][Delete] August 30, 2006
I might have just noted and logged this item, as I would usually do, but it resonates so well with the article I wrote this morning I cannot let it pass by. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Michael Feldstein[Edit][Delete]: Conversations About Learning Design, E-Literate [Edit][Delete] June 22, 2006
The Sakai pedagogy discussion list tends to be, as Michael Feldstein reports, "technologist-heavy and teacher-light." So he posed some questions from the Sakai discussion list on when (and if) learning design is appropriate to the LAMS discussion list. Worth a read, especially for the longish responses from James Dalziel. And where can we read the Sakai discussion. Alas, we can't. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. David Squires[Edit][Delete]: Educational Software and Learning: Subversive Use and Volatile Design, Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences [Edit][Delete] June 20, 2006
Jeremy Hiebert takes us on a welcome trip back to the writings of David Squires. In this item, Squires states the constructivist dilemma quite nicely: "In trying to design effective learning environments we may at the same time constrain the levels of freedom necessary for learners to make decisions about their own learning." His solution, "incorporated subversion," is to build the freedom into the tools. "Rather than design with constraint in mind, design with freedom and flexibility in mind." Hiebert also links us to a Squires interview from 2000 where he describes the Peripatetic Electronic Teachers. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Rob Koper[Edit][Delete]: Current Research in Learning Design, Journal of Educational Technology and Society [Edit][Delete] February 8, 2006
In learning design, writes Rob Koper, "The major research issues are at the moment [are]: a) the use of ontologies and semantic web principles&tools related to Learning Design; b) the use of learning design patterns; c) the development of learrning design authoring and content management systems, and d) the development of learning design players, including the issues how to use the integrated set of learning design tools in a variety of settings". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Dann Siems[Edit][Delete]: Intelligent Design Honors Council Lecture, Worldview V [Edit][Delete] December 27, 2005

I enjoyed this concept map on intelligent design (be sure to click on the little concept map icons for more maps). What's nice is that the contemporary debate has been placed into a sociological and historical concept, including even a reference to Hume's refutation of the teleological argument (as a long time Hume devotee, this makes me happy). More...