Review of Don Tapscott's, New Book Grown Up Digital
Curt Bonk reviews - and loves - Tapscott's Grown Up Digital. Yet as I read this, I can't help thinking o the Digg story. More...

How To Do Almost Anything With Social Media
Part of he reason I don't do many "how-to" posts (see more on this below): there is no shortage of "how-to" posts in the world. More...

An Insider's View On the Reason Why Most Research for Business Is Useless
One of the things I would like to spend some time on this year is the whole area of academic research. Because I think the word 'Business' could be replaced with the word 'Education' in the title of this post. Here's Aldrich on business research: "The big problem is that most business research relies on the same faulty intellectual constructs as other forms of linear content- it relies on linear analysis, case studies, and inspirational examples." This, though, means articulating what you want educational research to do, what you want education to do. More...

2009

It's a blizzard day today in Halifax as I begin 2009 where I left off 2008 - taking daily photographs. Stephen Downes, Flickr, January 1, 2009 [Link] [Tags: Flickr] [Comment]. More...

As Honor Students Multiply, Who Really Is One?
A story like this strikes me as mean-spirited. The gist is there is this school that has too many honor societies, membership in which is supposed to be exclusive. It has attracted the attention of the educational lobby groups. More...

Predictions for 2010
Bubblegum edupunk, consulting cartels, and the arrival of the big touch - great predictions for 2010. More...

A radical definition of Open Education
"If Open Education is to mean anything, it has to address the question of social divisions including class, gender and race," writes Graham Attwell. More...

Year End Notes
Terry Anderson catches up on some items, including a new journal and an online conference. I didn't cover the journal here because (unlike in education) because it requires people to register before they can view the contents. Why would they need this? We know why - it's because advertisers demand it. More...

Three's A Trend: The Decline of Google Search Quality
Anil Dash, Weblog, January 3, 2011.

Anil Dash links to three separate articles making the same point: that Google's utility as a search engine is declining (and from where I sit, the instant search and preview don't help; they just make messy searches messier). More...

The Case for the Virtual Classroom
Sarah Kessler, Mashable, January 3, 2011.

Mashable makes the case for the virtual classroom. It's nothing we haven't seen in these pages, and it's still stuck in old-world thinking about online learning ('classroom'?) but it's still remarkable to see such a plug in a mainstream online publication. More...