The Importance of Being Permanent
Article touting the importance of permanent locations for online content, a dictum not followed by many nespapers and magazines (the focus of the article) but also educational staff and students, who must forge from scratch a new web identity every time they switch instititions. Having faced this myself twice in two years, I obtained my now permanent downes.ca address - but even so, my present employer insists that I use its official URL for web pages and email addresses - an address that it changed a year ago, wiping itself off Google and making my (minimal supply of) business cards obsolete. More...
Is Podcasting the Next New Big Thing?
Discussion of podcasting and especially a list of things that will be needed: "First of all, the types of media will need to be expanded... Second, the user needs to have more choices for playback and data storage on different devices... Third, we’ll need some options for authentication so that content can be personalized... Fourth, for some types of content, there is a need for ecommerce and epayment capabilities." Note: I've covered podcasting quite a bit lately; see the full coverage here. More...
Taking Tsunami Coverage into Their Own Hands
The Tsumnami was a turning point for citizen journalism, writes Steve Outing. "What's amazing is how many of the people who experienced and survived the disaster -- spread across several countries and thousands of miles -- were able to share their heart-wrenching stories, photographs, and videos with the rest of the world." I think what was also different about the Tsunami coverage is that the citizen journalists changed the point of view from the 'high profile' statements and expert opinions to the human drama struggle with, and report on, the disaster. More...
Blogging from the Bottom: A Cautionary Tale
The most recent edition of Lore, a journal for teachers of writing, is online and features a section on blogging in education consisting of a baker's dozen short articles. Consisting of first person reflections of the blogging experience, the quality is, um, spotty. More...
Can Many Agents Answer Questions Better Than One?
James Surowiecki, in The Wisdom of Crowds, proposes that a group of people answering a question emsemble can produce a better answer than an expert answering a question on his or her own. This could be a quirk of people, but the theory says it shouldn't be. Enter this paper, in which the author (without reference to Surowiecki) asks whether a group of computer agents can answer a natural language question better than a single agent. More...
Stand and Deliver
Short article on a neat idea - using podiums in wired school classrooms, instead of teachers' desks. And podiums are so cheap, I'm thinking of getting one for my home. More...
Ever Higher Society, Ever Harder to Ascend
While the bulk of this article discusses inequality and social mobility in general, some comments are reserved for higher education specifically. "America's engines of upward mobility are no longer working as effectively as they once were. The most obvious example lies in the education system... The education system is increasingly stratified by social class, and poor children have a double disadvantage. They attend schools with fewer resources than those of their richer contemporaries..." This problem is not restricted to the United States. More...
Maybe We All Own the MLE After All
Maybe We All Own the MLE After All
The invalidation of the Blackboard patent riday caught the attention of numerous writers over the week-end. The Chronicle's coverage, which added no new information, was linked by many. Meanwhile, Michael feldstein catches Blackboard playing fast and loose with statistics. More...
The Most Disturbing Presentation of the Year
The Most Disturbing Presentation of the Year
If all life is learning and all learning is a game, then - ? This is the scenario depicted in this presentation. More...
12 Principles for Responding to Negative Online Comments
12 Principles for Responding to Negative Online Comments
Charlie Pownall, Social Media Today, December 30, 2012.
Here is a good set of principles for dealing with complaints and criticisms on your website. I would endorse them all, but I would also add a couple of points. More...