By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Rob Reynolds[Edit][Delete]: Parables on Learning -- The Basic Principles, XplanaZine [Edit][Delete]XPlanaZine [Edit][Delete]Xplanazine [Edit][Delete] January 6, 2006

Well I think it's a bit sappy but I think people will like it (I've been wrong - and sappy - before). "These ten basic Principles of Learning are really a series of actions that successful people people can take in their daily lives. In fact, since learning is such an integral part of living, these rules might more appropriately be called the basic principles of a good life". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. John Pederson[Edit][Delete]: Hard Rain, pedersondesigns [Edit][Delete] January 6, 2006

John Pederson writes about the "week of reinvention," quoting mostly from Bob Dylan.

And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin',
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world,
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin',
Heard ten thousand whisperin' and nobody listenin',
Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin',
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter,
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley,
And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Someone sent me this link this week, and I have been thinking about this link (do read the related items) and other things like it". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Thomas Bacher[Edit][Delete]: Another View on The Access Principle, Inside Higher Ed [Edit][Delete] January 4, 2006

It feels reading this article as though the Director of the Purdue University Press would like to support open access but just cannot see how it could work in beyond today's reality. Numerous points I could pick on, but I'll limit myself to this point, which comes up a few times: "In fact, the press would give away all scholarship if it could find a financial backer to allow this. However, the reality is that costs need to be recovered." One wonders, is the university library under the same constraint". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. James J. Duderstadt, Wm. A. Wulf and Robert Zemsky[Edit][Delete]: Envisioning a Transformed University, Issues [Edit][Delete] January 4, 2006

Forward-looking article that suggests that some of the things being talked about here (though interestingly the authors observe, "there is remarkably little conversation about the major changes occurring...") are beginning to be recognized at the higher administrative levels. What I like about this article is that it points not only to changing technology but also to correspondingly changing practice and pedagogy. "The university may need to reorganize itself quite differently, stressing forms of pedagogy and extracurricular experiences to nurture and teach the art and skill of creativity and innovation. This would probably imply a shift away from highly specialized disciplines and degree programs to programs placing more emphasis on integrating knowledge". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web.Stephen Downes[Edit][Delete]: An Introduction to Connective Knowledge - Audio Version, January 4, 2006

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web.Mark J. Drozdowski[Edit][Delete]: Why I Write, Chronicle of Higher Education [Edit][Delete] January 3, 2006

This resonates: "In addition to articles for The Chronicle, I write essays, reviews, and features for several other publications. I do it because I have to. Don't laugh. Many writers will tell you they write because they have to. I think everyone, deep down, craves some form of creative expression. Painters paint. Landscapers landscape. Writers write. We all need to yawp... Call it ego, call it sharing knowledge and insights, or simply call it doing something for a side income, crass as that may sound. For writers, there's no greater satisfaction than seeing your words in print. Seeing your name alongside them is equally orgiastic". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Eric Trembley[Edit][Delete]: Effective e-Learning Presentation: NewsU, e-Learning Acupuncture [Edit][Delete] January 3, 2006

Eric Trembley wrote in to have his blog, e-Learning Acupuncture, added to the Edu_RSS list and as I was reviewing the content I ran across this nifty little bit from November, a description and link to a Flash presentation plugging News U, an online school for journalists. It was short, punchy, and engaging (though my mind did wander a bit halfway through the five minutes - it was, after all, a Flash presentation). More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Graham Attwell[Edit][Delete]: Commodification and the Shaping of E-learning, Wales Wide Web [Edit][Delete] January 3, 2006

According to the author, "three dominant policy discourses in education have shaped the development and implementation of e-learning: commodification, privatization and a restricted discourse of lifelong learning," for example, "Even the development of individual learning portfolios has been inhibited by the desire to control and commodify learning". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Toby Ward[Edit][Delete]: Top 5 New Year wishes of an Intranet Consultant, Intranet Blog [Edit][Delete] January 3, 2006

This bit of well-grounded commentary reflecting today's reality includes the following observation: "A corporation is not a democracy. Corporations, including not-for-profit corporations and government agencies and ministries, are run from the top down... all corporations are run from the top. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Susan Smith Nash[Edit][Delete]: Text Representation and Cognitive Processes: How the Mind Makes Meaning in e-Learning, E-Learning Queen [Edit][Delete] December 28, 2005

I think this is a useful item even if I disagree with the theoretical background it presupposes. Susan Smith Nash outlines a discourse theory approach to e-learning, sketching textual components (such as surface code, textbase and situated text) and levels of discourse, all leading to an understanding of how the mind comprehends, or makes, meaning. You can tell the theory is a bit of a stretch when you encounter something like this: "Negative transfer can happen when there are no points of contact and students relate things to the wrong items." Now we can understand what that means, but try to envision the process - what would a 'negative transfer of information' look like? Imagine a 'negative phone call' or 'negative letter delivery'. More...