By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Kitchen coding
Brett Terpstra, BrettTerpstra.com, 2016/01/11

I found this via Doug Belshaw's weekly newsletter. It identifies the similarities between cooking and coding. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Review of Smart, Skilled, and Striving: Transforming and Elevating the Teaching Profession
Elizabeth J. Meyer, Research, Great Lakes Center for Educationm Policy, 2016/01/08

This review basically shreds the recent Center for American Progress (CAP) report outlining a vision for elevating and modernizing the teaching profession. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Newton’s New Law of Teaching: When Quality Instruction and Technology Intersect
Gary Waddell, EdSurge, 2016/01/08
According to this article, " we can borrow from Sir Isaac and posit that in terms of student outcomes, Achievement equals Quality Instruction times Innovation (A = QI x I)." The point the author is trying to make here is that "Both of these variables—good teachers and good technology—can transform a student’s learning experience. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The Triumph of Email
Adrienne LaFrance, The Atlantic, 2016/01/08
I had a long and interesting conversation with someone from a technology company on Thursday and he asked me for examples of connectivist-style learning networks in practice. The closest think I could think of was the cMOOC, but on reflection I was able to think of two really good examples: the telephone network, and email. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. You Can’t Trust What You Read About Nutrition
Christie Aschwanden, FiveThirtyEight, 2016/01/08

We could probably substitutre the word 'education' for 'nutrition' in this headline and still have the same article. I read (and you probably do too) a lot of articles relating this or that think to educational outcomes. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Three Vegas psychics predict the year in tech
Joseph Volpe, Engadget, 2016/01/08

This will be my first and last article featuring psychics in OLDaily. But I have to admit Joseph Volpe's article in Engadget held me spellbound. It's actually two psychics making predictions and one psychic trying to scam him, but it is Las Vegas, after all. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. A better start for children in Tonga
World Bank, 2016/01/05
Account of a World Bank effort to support community play-based activities programs in Tonga. The fact that it's Tonga makes it interesting, because there isn't a lot of news from Tonga. But more significantly, it highlights the importance of early childhood development with respect to longer term learning outcomes. More...