By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Apple 'abandons' QuickTime on Windows
BBC, 2016/04/15

Thank goodness. Now if we could only get Apple to 'abandon' Safari on Windows (and everywhere else). Then all those annoying update messages for products I never use would stop. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. 20 Videos and a Poster Explaining Logical Fallacies
Richard Byrne, Free Technology for Teachers, 2016/04/15

I have it in mind to one day update my logical fallacies site and to incorporate into an online course. Meanwhile, there's this: "Your Logical Fallacy Is is a website that provides short explanations and examples of twenty-four common logical fallacies. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. More Recognition/Identification Service APIs – Microsoft Cognitive Services
Tony Hirst, OUseful.Info, 2016/04/04

Many of the people I work with don't seem to see this coming, but from where I sit we're on the verge of commoditized artificial intelligence. AIAAS - Artificial Intelligence as a Service - is here now, as this item indicated. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Microlearning, millennials and successful companies
Natalia Gan, teachlr blog, 2016/03/31

People are talking about 'microlearning' again. Today's learners, writes , "are equipped to research what they need to know and learn about it from various sources such as blogs, online courses, websites or YouTube videos." This, microlearning. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. 6 Reasons Platforms Fail
Marshall W. Van AlstyneGeoffrey G. ParkerSangeet Paul Choudary, Harvard Business Review, 2016/03/31

These are some good lessons; here they are, with some comments from me:

1. "Failure to optimize openness" - I see this a lot; the platform is 'sort of' open, but the developers hang on to key components of it (eg., 'we will only allow pre-approved content') which stifle the value.
2. "Failure to engage developers" - I always think of that famous Steve Ballmer video. You have to engage the broader developer community to invest in it, otherwise it's a flop.
3. "Failure to share the surplus" - everybody engaged in the platform has to win. If you favour one side over another in a buyer-seller marketplace, your platform will fail.
4. "Failure to launch on the right side" - I'm not sure I'd say this the same way the article does. The problem is, if you have a pre-existing content monopoly, you have to find a way to break that monopoly, either by enticing existing producers into the platform (as Netflix did) or by providing viable alternatives.
5. "Failure to put critical mass ahead of money" - I keep repeating the mantra here - companies don't acquire technologies nearly so much as they acquire audiences. If you're trying to sell a platform with no users, you have a real uphill battle.
6. "Failure of imagination". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Introducing Backchannel Technology into a Large Undergraduate Course
Ruth Neustifter, Canadian Journal of Learning, technology, 2016/04/19

It feels a bit odd reading about the use of backchannels in classrooms in 2016, since it was back in 2007 I was experimenting with them (and others well before that!). More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Gamification, personalization and continued education are trending in edtech
Sean O'Connor, TechCrunch, 2016/04/18
The real story here is buried: "While the market is small and fractured today, GSV Capital estimates that education will grow from 9 percent to 12 percent of America’s GDP over the next decade. This equates to a trillion-dollar opportunity." That's an awful lot of opportunity. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Connected to Learn: Teachers' Experiences with Networked Technologies in the Classroom
Matthew Johnson, Media Smarts, 2016/04/07

This post introduces a report (102 page PDF) on the use of network technologies in the classroom published by the Canadian Teachers Federation and Media Smarts. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. What’s the Difference Between a VPN and a Proxy?
Jason Fitzpatrick, How-to-Geek, 2016/03/31
Useful and clearly explained description of how VPNs and proxies differ, and what they're best used for. With a proxy, you simply route your internet traffic through another server; there is no encryption, but it hides where your original request is coming from. More...