By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. BBC micro:bit forms part of Technology Day at Eastlea Community School
Andrew Robertson, Microsoft Developer, 2016/08/15
The story is super-local but the impact of this program is nation-wide. The BBC micro:bit "is a pocket-sized computer that you can code, customise, and control to bring your digital ideas, games, and apps to life." It costs maybe $15 or so. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Investigating the Potential of Blockchains
Open University, 2016/08/10
This is a very clearly written description of blockchain technology and how it can be used in education. It mostly quotes from John Domingue, director of the Open University's Knowledge Media Institute. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. MIL-CRED
Advanced Distributed Learning, 2016/07/15
"Imagine how helpful a fully vetted, fully automated, personally controlled digital resume would be for both the individual as well as potential hiring managers in military, academic, and corporate organizations," says the invitation to this webinar (register here). This work is very similar to the personal learning records project we were running. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Want a Deep Dive on How Silicon Valley's Best Will Fix Education? Here's The Full Interview With Max Ventilla, CEO and Founder, AltSchool
John Battelle, LinkedIn, 2016/07/15
That moment when things go off the rails. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Memory Machines: Learning, Knowing, and Technological Change
Audrey Watters, Hack Education, 2016/07/14

Good post from Audrey Watters representing a step forward in her thinking (as we write more, these steps become smaller and less frequent, and harder to take). More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. A bug in fMRI software could invalidate 15 years of brain research
Bec Crew, Science Alert, 2016/07/08

I haven't reported on fMRI research here over the years nog because I magically knew that it was flawed - obviously I didn't - but because I don't trust it. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Bitcoin and Blockchains explained
David Hopkins, Technology Enhanced Learning Blog, 2016/07/05

This is another useful attempt to help people get a base-level understanding of what a blockchain is and does. Transactions are encrypted and put into blocks. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The next wave of disruption: Graph-based machine learning
Kathryn Cave, IDG Connect, 2016/07/18

"It's at the intersection of machine learning and graph technology where the next evolution lies and where new disruptive companies are emerging," according to this article. More...