By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Dialogue and discussion: critical for 21st century skills development
Tony Bates, online learning and distance education resources, Aug 05, 2014

According to Tony Bates, conversation is essential in learning as students (and people generally) struggle consciously to find meaning in the phenomena they experience, and this will change the structure on online learning in the future. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Shots in the heather
Dave Ferguson, Dave's Whiteboard, Aug 06, 2014
Following up from Danieel Lemire's characterization of research (which i endorse) from yesterday: "

Is iomadh urchair tha dol san fhraoch.
(Many a shot goes into the heather.)

That is to say, research (and learning) is about missing the mark as much as it is about success. Without failure, learning doesn't happen. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. This poster explains Creative Commons for the rest of us
Sean Connor, Saylor Blog, Aug 06, 2014

This is interesting, not simply because it explains Creative Commons for non-technical people, but because it changes the thrust of the message from what you can't do to what you can do. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Blogphilosophy: does #peace, pacifist education exist in #MOOC?
Inge de Waard, Ignatia Webs, Aug 07, 2014

In the last week I have sadly deleted dozens of Facebook contacts, all of whom have in one way or another promoted the war effort of one or another side through the posting of graphic images, propaganda, or justifications. With Inge de Waard I ask, is there nobody who will promote peace. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The Standards of Critical Digital Pedagogy
Chris Friend, Hybrid Pedagogy, Aug 07, 2014

"Educational standards limit the consciousness towards which critical pedagogy aims. Yet, those committed to developing critical digital pedagogies need to pay attention to standards anyway." More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. PersonalizED :: A Guide to Personalizing Learning in the Classroom
Mary Ellen Beaty O’Ferrall, Sara Henschell, Margaret Roth, Fieldmarks Blog, Jul 11, 2014

According to the authors, "Personalized learning is an instructional philosophy intended to address the distinct learning needs, interests, aspirations, and cultural backgrounds of individual students to create an environment and experience that best facilitates their learning." This post is a fairly good overview of personalized education. More...