By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Dann Siems[Edit][Delete]: Intelligent Design Honors Council Lecture, Worldview V [Edit][Delete] December 27, 2005

I enjoyed this concept map on intelligent design (be sure to click on the little concept map icons for more maps). What's nice is that the contemporary debate has been placed into a sociological and historical concept, including even a reference to Hume's refutation of the teleological argument (as a long time Hume devotee, this makes me happy). More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Christian Long[Edit][Delete]: Blog-Connecting to David Gurteen & Knowledge Cafes, think:lab [Edit][Delete] December 27, 2005

[link: 0 Hits] I have been thinking about the concept of 'community of communities' recently (as opposed to the mass-market concept of communities fostered by sites such as Technorati) and the question of how knowledge and ideas flow through such a distributed network. And it's like this, via connectors from one community to the next. And just so, this post from Christian Long connects me to the Gurteen Knowledge Community, something worth exploring - what is interesting is that Gurteen has explicitly adopted the model of 'Knowledge Cafés' as a model of learning, "mini-workshops where the participants engage in the theme of the evening. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Various authors[Edit][Delete]: Tata Interactive Systems Blog, December 27, 2005

[link: 0 Hits] Ankush (from the Learned Man) sent me a link, with a request for comments, to a new blog from Tata Interactive Systems. I thought it might be worth sharing my response: "Good blog, but needs more posts. I enjoyed the pictures. Giving us an insight into what it's like to work in that environment (stuff like Life as an Indian Instructional Designer), the sorts of things you think about, etc - that's good content. Instead of telling is about Jay Cross or Performance Consulting, tell us about how you interpret these, how they change how you do work, the sorts of arguments or discussions you have about them in your office, etc". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Dave Warlick[Edit][Delete]: What's it all For?, 2 cents Worth [Edit][Delete]2 Cents Worth [Edit][Delete] December 27, 2005

[link: 0 Hits] I ask myself "what's it all for" on something like a daily basis (I am always questioning myself, my motives, and my objectives) and so this short item gets to the heart of what we do. And the response - "to prepare children [or people] for the future" - doesn't satisfy. As Marco Polo asks, "When has mankind ever been ready for the future?" The problem with this isn't with the 'future' (after all, all our efforts are future-directed) or even 'mankind' (though it would be more inclusive to use the word 'humanity'). More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Krishna Kumar[Edit][Delete]: Democracy, Modernity, and the Indian Child, The Hindu [Edit][Delete] December 27, 2005

[link: 0 Hits] "I was born in Catherine Booth Hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on April 6, 1959, the first son of Bernard and Beverly Downes." Thus begins my biography. I feel fortunate to have grown up in an environment where learning and independence are of value. "The role of education is to make the child reflective and articulate, and to achieve this goal education does not have to start from scratch". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Graham Wegner[Edit][Delete]: My Mate, Tom, Teaching Generation Z [Edit][Delete] December 26, 2005

[link: 0 Hits] This is a great story not because it's so unusual but because it's so typical, and it shows how the internet is changing lives, one or two at a time. Today I have internet friendships with people around the world, and while I don't see them very much, if at all, they are important and meaningful to me. And so, too, for many of the billion people now online. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Grant McCracke[Edit][Delete]: Internet 2.0: the economic, social and cultural consequences of the new Internet, This Blog Sits At The Intersection of Anthropology and Economics [Edit][Delete] December 26, 2005

[link: 0 Hits] Observing that "our enthusiasm for the internet is returning," Grant McCracken offers a three (or four) part model describing the impact of the internet. "The Internet is a reformation machine. It will create new fundamentals of and for our world. It change the units of analysis and the relationships between them. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Jeremy Price[Edit][Delete]: The Emergence of Meaning: Wikipedia As Object-Centered Sociality, Smelly Knowledge [Edit][Delete] December 26, 2005

[link: 0 Hits] Synthesis of a few viewpointgs on what it means for Wikipedia to be thought of as an encyclopedia. The thrust is that what Wikipedia is up to is different from, but just as valuable, as a traditional encyclopedia. This is accomplished by leaving asidce ideas of being authoritative. Maybe so - but I read the value of Wikipedia differently. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Terry Heaton[Edit][Delete]: TV News in a Postmodern World, Donata [Edit][Delete] December 26, 2005

[link: 0 Hits] Next year's tech trend is probably the easiest to predict in years - next year will be the year of video. You read it last here. "This awakening of creativity among our youth -- and their ability to do something with it -- is the essence of what's known as Web 2.0. We've moved past the early adopter stage with young people, and that will continue to flourish next year". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Roger Riddell: eSN Seeks Nominations in First-ever 'Best of the Education Blogs' Contest, ESchool News December 23, 2005

The publication means, of course, its first-ever education blogs contest, as there have been two Edublog awards thus far (something the article acknowledges). Categories include "Best Classroom Instruction Blog, Best K-12 Administration Blog, Best Higher-Education Management Blog, and Best Education Theory Blog". More...