By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Behaviourism and adaptive learning
Philip J. Kerr, Adaptive Learning in ELT, 2015/10/13

This post looks at the connection between behaviourism and adaptive learning. The author notes that both oppoents and proponents of adaptive learning draw the association. But what, exactly, are the parallels between the two? This is what this article explores. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. MIT’s MOOC-based Micro-Master’s Degree: Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop
Jim Shimabukuro, educational technology & change, 2015/10/13

MIT continues its grand tradition of announcing a thing before it has done it - in this case, the 'micro-masters' that will be awarded partially based on MOOC credits (the first graduates from the '10-month program' will not see the light of day until 2020, according to this article). Jim Shimabukuro is "waiting for the other shoe to drop". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Algorithm objects: people are the things they do
Alex Reid, Digital Digs, 2015/10/13

This post dusts off an old concept in philosophy and presents it in shiny new computer clothes. But if it convinces people to reconsider their understanding of what makes a thing a thing, or what makes an object that type of object, then it is performing a valuable service. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Of MOOCs and Men
Akiba Covitz, Inside Higher Ed, 2015/10/13

Leaving aside the question of whether MOOCs work as educational delivery systems, the more interesting question is this: "Can MOOCs transform students as people?" Teachers can actually see this transformation in their physical classrooms, writes Akiba Covitz. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Australia moves backwards from online apprenticeship training
Tony Bates, online learning and distance education resources, 2015/10/13

Tony Bates points to a problem in Australia. He writes, "the Australian Federal government has recently shut down a two year e-learning apprenticeship program which had doubled the completion rate to 93%. Instead, the Australian government has introduced a new program that reverts to the previous model by removing the online component and now requiring apprentices to use a printed textbook.". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Onlea
Onlea, 2015/10/09

I got an interesting press release from Onlea in my email today (I looked for it on the site but it doesn't seem to be available). They are (self-styled as) "the world's first MOOC production company" (I have my doubts, but that's OK). But that's not what caught my eye. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The eCOTOOL Competence Model
Cleo Sgouropoulou, Charalampos Thanopoulos, Christian M. Stracke, Simon Grant, Carolyn Owen, Lenka Fišerová, eCOTOOL, 2015/10/09

This is probably far more detail than you require in a competence model, but if you wanted to map every related aspect of a com[petence, this is probably what you would arrive at. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Refugees To Receive Free Education From Online University
Joseph Erbentraut, Huffington Post, 2015/10/09

I think this is a good initiative. "The Berlin-based Kiron University has partnered with more than 20 universities throughout the world in order to offer a free, three-year program that will grant students an internationally accredited degree." More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Higher Education for the Sustainable Future We Want
Contact North, 2015/10/09

This 9 page PDF document places higher education into the wider social context. "It is clear that 'business as usual' and 'more of the same' are not what is intended here. To meet the commitments and the expectations they give rise to, education systems are challenged to think differently and much more inclusively about their future." More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Google wants to speed up the mobile web with AMP project
Cassandra Khaw, Ars Technica, 2015/10/09

I greet this development with cautious optimism. In a bid to respond to services like Facebook's 'instant articles' Google and Twitter are releasing an open framework that acceperates web and (especially) mobile delivery of articles. More...