By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Ad Blockers and the Nuisance at the Heart of the Modern Web
Farhad Manjoo, New York Times, 2015/08/21

Interestingly, it would be very easy for me to insert ads into OLDaily that no ad blocker could block. Here's one: Drink Coke. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Material matters for learning in virtual networks: A case study of a professional learning programme hosted in a Google+ online community.
Aileen Acklanda, Ann Swinney, Research in Learning Technology, 2015/08/21

The major impact of this article, for me, is that it offers proof that people are actually using Google+. OK, just kidding. But it does raise the question of why they would choose this environment over others. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Connection and Locus of Control
Frances Bell, Francesbell's Blog, 2015/08/21

Frances bell asks, "is ‘connection’ an unequivocal good in human learning? and in machine learning?" Not necessarily, she suggests. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Game Element: Balance
Karl Kapp, Kapp Notes, 2015/08/21

Brief post outlining the importance of balance in game design. Balance refers to the fairness of a game (especially among multiple players) and the fine line between being too easy and too difficult. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Open Education and & Personal Learning
Stephen Downes, Aug 20, 2015, Lunch and Learn Workshop, Tempe, Arizona

This presentation uses the same slides as the presentation delivered in Banff in April, and the text of which may be found here. The context is updated a bit based on the last four months experience building the system being described. outline major aspects of the learning and performance support systems (LPSS) program as it relates to open education environments. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. ASU wants to be a new sort of University and they're getting there
Donald Clark, Donald Clark Plan B, 2015/08/20

I will be visiting Arizona State University as this post appears in the newsletter and it will be interesting to see how my experiences match up with Clark's. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. 10 reasons why Salman Khan is a more important educational theorist & practitioner than Ken Robinson or Sugata Mitra
Donald Clark, Donald Clark Plan B, 2015/08/19

It is easy to be dismissive of Salman Khan (and I am guilty of this at times) because his seminal innovation was to use YouTube videos of light text on dark backgrounds. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. And So, Without Ed-Tech Criticism...
Audrey Watters, Hack Education, 2015/08/18

Drawing on Seymour Papert's 1987 essay 'Computer Criticism vs. Technocentric Thinking,' Audrey Watters offers a defense of ed tech criticism. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Kohlberg's moralising and its revival - character education
Donald Clark, Donald Clark Plan B, 2015/08/18

Donald Clark uses Lawrence Kohlberg's account of education "as the development of moral judgement and behaviour" as a frame to introduce this commentary on the recent revival of character education (and I would include my least favourite word, 'grit'). More...