IMS Global Learning Consortium Announces Caliper Analytics v1.1
Press Release, IMS Global, 2018/02/16
The Caliper specification "was initially released in 2015, to enable the collection of valuable learning and tool usage data from digital resources, which can be used for predictive analytics." This is an update. More...

Anger at Google image search 'peace deal'
BBC News, 2018/02/16
The essence of the deal Google struck with Getty Images is that it has removed the 'view image' button from its image search application. Now I personally don't know why you would search for images unless you wanted to view them. But more to the point, it seems wrong to me that one company with a few million commercial images would dictate the terms of access to an entire web full of billions of all sorts of images (including my openly licensed images that I want people to be able to view). More...

What are the priorities for L&D in the modern workplace? Our survey says …
Jane Hart, Modern Workplace Learning, 2018/02/15
The term 'L&D' is being used as a noun in this survey, as in 'the Learning & Development Department'. So we see questions like "Do you think that L&D should manage social learning in the workplace?" The answer to this one, courtesy of 173 responses to Jane Hart's survey, was 'yes' at 33% and 'no' at 57%. I'm not sure how an L&D department would manage social learning. More...

I Wrote Down Everything I Learned While Programming for a Month
Sung Won Cho, Dnote, 2018/02/15
What if you wrote down what you learned every time you learned something. It would be a bit like taking classroom notes, but in real life. When I joined NRC people used to use scientific notebooks where they would capture everything. I use this newsletter for the same purpose, partially (but I don't capture all kinds of knowledge, like how to parse OPML files, for example). More...

Computer-Assisted Language Learning & Media Selection
Sandra Rogers, AACE Review, 2018/02/14
This is an application of Chapelle's media selection criteria for computer assisted language learning (CALL): language learning potential, learner fit, meaning focus, authenticity, positive feedback, and practicality. Once the domain of programmed instruction systems like Plato, CALL today is "based on the communicative approach to second language acquisition (SLA) with authentic communication derived from meaningful activities beyond academia." More...

Hearts on fire: How educators are using Skype to ignite idealism in their students
PK Dauer, Microsoft Education, 2018/02/14
I always worry about claims that something fires up students' idealism, because propaganda also does that, and it has nothing to do with learning. The jury is still out on this initiative. It describes a partnership between a group called Hearts on Fire and Skype in the Classroom where "teachers now have access to inspiring speakers and innovative content online." Microsoft's take is that it is Skype performing a valuable service. More...