By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Albert Ip[Edit][Delete]: My Learning Outcome of the Britannica Vs Wikipedia Debate, Random Walk in E-Learning [Edit][Delete]Random Walk in E-Learning [Edit][Delete] December 28, 2005

Some good comments on the Wikipedia debate. Albert Ip writes, "The days when only a selected few can author have long gone. Reputation is likely to be a good indicator of the authority status in a subject domain. However, reputation is NOT citation count." Noting that "when there is no SINGLE best manifestation of any knowledge, the next best thing we can have is a dynamic manifestation of that knowledge domain," Ip argues that teachers should reconsider allowing students to cite Wikipedia. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Bill Ives[Edit][Delete]: Planet KM - Aggregating Knowledge Managament Blogs, Portals and KM [Edit][Delete] December 28, 2005

Localized aggregation (a la Edu_RSS) is breaking out all over, as exemplified by this aggregation of knowledge management blogs. This will have unintended consequences - create a mental image of what the network looks like when it is composed of these micro-aggregators rather than dominant central sources such as Technorati and then ask yourself what information flow looks like in such a system. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Leo Damrosch[Edit][Delete]: Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Restless Genius, Washington Post [Edit][Delete] December 28, 2005

"It is manifestly against the Law of Nature... that a handful of men wallow in luxury, while the famished multitudes lack the necessities of life." If you are not familiar with Rousseau, this review of Michael Dirda's biography is a gentle introduction, one that I would encourage. Rousseau is important to me. He writes, "Nothing is more depressing than the general fate of men. And yet they feel in themselves a consuming desire to become happy, and it makes them feel at every moment that they were born to be happy. So why are they not?" This strikes a chord with me - Rousseau talks about the imprisonment society imposes on people - "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Albert Ip[Edit][Delete]: Let's Take Some Action, Random Walk in E-Learning [Edit][Delete]Random Walk in E-Learning [Edit][Delete] December 30, 2005

Albert Ip is "tired" of the debate concerning learning objects and calls for some action. After sketching a list of propositions (with which I am basically in agreement), he outlines two sets of action plans, one "for those who subscribe to 'information transfer' model," which is fairly detailed, and another "for those who subscribe to 'social constructivitistic' paradigms," which is sketchier and is for me, unfortunately, recursive. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Christopher D. Sessums[Edit][Delete]: Where The Action Is, Christopher D. Sessums : Weblog [Edit][Delete] December 30, 2005

Link and discussion of Ulises Mejias's syllabus on Social Software Affordances along with discussion of a related text, Where the Action Is: The Foundations of Embodied Interaction (2004) by Paul Dourish. "According to Dourish, tangible and social computing are ultimately centered on the notion of embodiment. Specifically, embodiment focuses on three areas: the role played by the environment in which work takes place; how work really takes place (i.e., not work in the abstract, but in reality - the unplanned, unforeseen, the unexpectedness of working environments); and the recognition of the variety of roles artifacts play in our daily interaction with them. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Christian Long[Edit][Delete]: DreamWorks Does School, think:lab [Edit][Delete] December 30, 2005

Animation is important, especially to a young child. My first concrete memory as a child is, believe it or not, of the John F. Kennedy assassination - not because of the significance of the event (it happened when I was four) but because the coverage pre-empted my favorite television show, Fireball XL5 (which later morphed into the Thunderbirds). More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Alan Levine[Edit][Delete]: Kiwi Artichoke Barks At Learning Objects, Cogdogblog [Edit][Delete]CogDogBlog [Edit][Delete] December 29, 2005

Alan Levine cites Kiwi Artichoke, who says on learning objects: "When I question the digerati it seems that learning management systems are all about managing content for consumption, and digital learning objects all about creating the content for consumption." And the rumbling continues. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Wesley A. Fryer[Edit][Delete]: Classroom Audio Podcasting, Tools for the TEKS [Edit][Delete] December 29, 2005

Nice article, not too long, that introduces the idea of classroom podcasting, outlines some of the uses and some of the benefits, and offers a few examples. Good overview at an introductory level. Via Miguel Guhlin, who adds some urgency to the debate: "We either use computer labs to support information literacy or do online state assessments/test prep. We either train teachers on how to help students learn information-problem-solving strategies or how to help their students maximize scores on tests. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Miguel Guhlin[Edit][Delete]: Open Source Boondoggle? and Video Editing on Linux, Mousing Around [Edit][Delete] December 29, 2005

[link: 0 Hits] My experience with multimedia on Linux has been pretty poor, so I am sympathetic with the comment that prompted this post. I will look at some of the resources listed here for vide on Linux - but without a lot of hope. Right now, I can't even play video in my browser, much less create or edit it on the Linux system (and don't get me going about the work involved installing plugins for Firefox on Linux, or making wireless work (like this open content comic, which is probably good, but simply crashes my browser on Linux) - I have just about had my limit with this)). More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Jeremy Price[Edit][Delete]: Sticks and Stones and Snap Judgements, Smelly Knowledge [Edit][Delete] December 29, 2005

Jeremy Price responds to a comment posted on this site a couple of days ago complaining about the use of academic jargon. Price argues, "some issues, ideas, concepts, thoughts are complex and necessitate deep and thorough thinking. The issues surrounding the use and nature of Wikipedia is one such topic." I recognize the need to balance accessible content with deep thought, and while I try to post introductory material frequently, I will not back off from taking the discussion to a deeper level if the link warrants it. In the end, you choose what to read: if it's too simple, too academic. More...