By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Sense-Making and Path-Finding
I'm not sure that I completely agree with this diagram (it's the linear nature that bothers me), but it would take a subtle criticism to find the flaws. It is certainly worthy of reflection a and for cutting and pasting into your favorite slide show. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Alternate Reality Games SIG/Whitepaper
Scott Wilson links to this White Paper, now stored as a wiki, and comments, "I think I must be a bit unusual in the EdTech sector as I find ARGs fascinating and full of amazing possibilities, but find Second Life as being rather boring and lacking potential. Maybe I'm missing something." My assessment is similar. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Issues in Developing an International Movement On Open Educational Resources
Coverage of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Open Educational resources programme discussed yesterday. Graham Attwell writes, "Discussions, at least in the informal sessions, have focused on three main issues... internationalism and the role of the programme with relation to the developing world... the assumption of the leading role of universities in the OER movement." More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. YouTube Depends On Us
Some good comments on the Viacom lawsuit against Google, in response to Viacom general counsel Michael Frackas's article in the Washington Post. "Might we begin to suggest that they are beginning to fear spaces like YouTube that provide an open marketplace for user generated content that will quickly overshadow their own piece of the entertainment market?" Might we indeed. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The Might-Work Clearinghouse
Doug Noon is quite right and my own observation confirms what he says (and supports, with some interesting reading) in this post: "Nobody in their right mind would conduct real science experiments on kids without also planning on going to prison. The government calls the studies they're doing scientific, but they're really just statistical analyses. Education research isn't science. It's social science. But, of course, social science doesn't have quite enough of an authoritative ring to justify massively disruptive policy decisions. As a sales pitch, calling these government reports scientifically-based research does seem to be working". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. I Have Met the Enemy and It Is Tribalism
I have no email right now.
Many of this year's themes have revolved around this idea, from my criticisms of groups to my criticisms of corporations. Jon Udell says, "Tribalism is an aspect of human nature, so it must once have served a purpose, but it no longer does. It's a piece of evolutionary baggage that we can no longer afford to carry around. I don't know if we can let go of it, but we had better at least try." Something like that is true. It's not the only problem, but it's a big one.
Anyhow. Edu-RSS and Learning Networks represent by attempt to define some sort of mechanism for community other than what is here being called tribalism. We need an alternative. I am trying on one hand to define it conceptually, and on the other to define it technologically. I've been rewriting the code over the last couple of weeks (since my vacation). It's almost ready (I am also applying to NRC to open source it - I have verbal approval - but apparently there's a form...). Anyhow, today I made a small change and rebooted my web server - which then ceased to function. Not sure what happened. Anyhow, the site is back, but all my email functions have been knocked out of commission. More...