By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Communication Theories
Nice list of dozens of communication theories, each summarized in an accessible capsule description. Some old favorites, such as Medium theory and Network theory. One thing that would have improved this collection would have been links to online versions of the primary literature. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Remembering the BBS Scene
Some time while working with Athabasca University in the late 80s I set up a Maximus Bulletin Board Service (BBS) and called it Athabaska BBS, the intent being to support my telephone tutoring through electronic means. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. A New Hope for cc.edu
David Wiley is floating the idea of a Creative Commons Education license again, this time returning to the idea of rebranding the Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike license as the Education license, an idea that was rejected by Creative Commons when it was floated in October, 2003, but is viewed more favorably today. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. SIdentifying and Developing Learner-Centered Practices
When I was in school we did book reports. They weren't learner centered then, and so I am wondering how they become learner centered today. So also with some of the other learning activities listed in this document: drill and practice, field trip, test and quiz. Learner-centered, it seems to me, becomes something different when viewed through the lens of instruction. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Third CETIS/LIFE Codebash Goes Public
A Codebash, much like an ADL plugfest, is an event where vendors and developers meet and see whether their products actually interoperate. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. CanCore Guidelines v 2.0: Electronic Bi-Lingual Version now Available
Norm Friesen writes: "CanCore released its 2.0 Guidelines in both French and English less than a year ago. These documents have since been available, free of charge, in PDF format from the CanCore Website. Now these guidelines are also available in three different dynamic formats." The versions are: a full-text searchable version, allowing users to locate particular terms and sections in the guidelines. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. LazyWeb Query: Are Creative Commons Licenses Legal?
A post by Tim Bray led me to Bob Wyman's post on the Atom discussion list about the use of Creative Commons in Atom, which led me to this blog post questioning whether the use of Creative Commons license is legal at all. The answer, of course, is maybe. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Creative Commons Search
For those (few) of you who don't know, Creative Commons is a type of license that allows you to use other people's work for free. In other words, it allows people to share content, rather than having to buy it from publishers. What will make Creative Commons really work is the ability to find this material. The Creative Commons website recent launched a Creative Commons search and this week's big news is the Yahoo Cretaive Commons search. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Shifting Mindsets: The Changing Work Roles of Vocational Education and Training Practitioners
Role expansion, role diversification, changing balance and tension: these are the changes in workplace being experienced by vocational education and praining practitioners as documented in this newly released report. Change, influenced by worldwide trends and reflected in new policy, has been sweeping through the system and has had an impact on how these practitioners do their jobs. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Bringing Theory Into Practice
This is a pretty good slide show looking at aspects of learner-centered learning and in particular some properties of learning (learning is engaged, learning is social, learning is locally owned) and the evolving roles of students and instructors. One quibble. More...