Lean-In Technology, Safety Nets and Psychology
Online learning is a "lean in technology" according to this paper, meaning that the demand mouse clicks forces the student to 'lean in' to the computer to click the mouse and type responses. But how often, and on what basis, do we make students lean in? And of course the answer is that it varies depending on the learner. More...

Genesis Of An Anthill: Wireless Technology And Self-Organizing Systems
This article, drawing on Hofstadter's description of the anthill as a self-organizing system, describes similar behaviour involving connected wireless devices. The article describes the physical conditions characteristic of such systems: a connection between small devices that is that is always on. More...

New Breed of Bullies Torment Their Peers on the Internet

Just what we didn't need: cyber-bullying. More...

Putting a Faculty Face on Distance Education Programs
The Triad model resurfaces in this article from Syllabus devoted to defining and describing the role of the on-site facilitator, the third link in online learning (after student and subject expert). More...

Embrace File-sharing, or Die
As the summary reads: "A record executive and his son make a formal case for freely downloading music. The gist: 50 million Americans can't be wrong." What follows is an extended critique to the music industry's approach to copying (and by extension, the content industry as a whole). More...

Beethoven's Message
In a famous demonstration, philosopher G.E. Moore demonstrated the reality of a chair to an audience of sceptics by kicking it across the stage. In a similar manner, this author refuts the nihilism of post-modernism by referring to Beethovin's Ninth Symphony and asserting that there is musical perfection. More...

Landmark for Schools
From the website: "This web site is dedicated to the idea that Information will be the raw material that drives the 21st century, and that today's students should be learning to build with information." A rich resource base; as one commentator said today on wwwedu, it "is by far the best website to provide resources for classroom teachers of all ilks. More...

Bug Bytes
Ah, this is what the internet is all about. This library contains about 40 clips of insect sounds. What grade 3 student could resist? Certainly not me. More...

German Patent Office Mediator Wants Copyright Levy on PCs
If Germany goes ahead with this plan to impose a copyright tax on computers, I have only one question: how do I get my share of the royalties for all the content I've made available over the internet? Oh, that's right: I don't. More...

Looking to Profit From Patent

Today's patent shakedown is from a company called Tect central, which claims to own the patent to conducting testing over the internet. More...