By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Bring on the Bling
I have observed in the past that as their exclusive hold on learning erodes, traditional universities will begin to market themselves based on lifestyle and amenities. In this article we see this happening. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. ODRL Workshop 2005 Report
If you've already read the papers from the recent ODRL conference in Lisbon, linked here last week, then you won't need this item. If you didn't, however, this summary will be useful. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Keeping It Simple
- is it too late? Asks Derek Morrison, "Does what we have now really represent the best we can do?" Even when your virtual learning nenvrionemtn incorporates open source, it merely swallows it whole, making the institution ever more dependent. "We seem to be trapped in a reality of constantly reinforcing the monolith's walls." - if it's not too late?. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. We Are the Web
Kevin Kelly looks back on the emergence of the web, the launch of Netscape, and how his magazine - Wired - took it all in. "Wired offered a vision nearly identical to that of Internet wannabes in the broadcast, publishing, software, and movie industries: basically, TV that worked." Something very different happened, though. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The Dark Underbelly of Napster Deals
It's as bad as we always thought it was. "The University must exclusively promote the Dell branded DJ, secure two Dell kiosks on campus to feature Dell products and services, facilitate a Dell launch event in the back-to-school timeframe, host Dell information on the UW website, execute an email campaign and participate in a case study." Oh, and pay $24,000 for 8 months of its service. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. How To Be Heard
How do you get people to read your blog? This guide will tell you how to gain readers, how, in effect, to be heard. It discusses how to approach blog content, design, launch, writing your blog, marketing and revisions. Thanks to Little Train's Brad Carson for prompting this article (and for providing comprehensive coverage of the recent MERLOT conference, worthwhile work that should have received more attention than it did). By Stephen Downes, Stephen's Web, July 28, 2005 [Refer][Research][Reflect]. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The Passion for Learning and Knowing
Proceedings from this knowledge management conference held last June in Trento, Italy, are now available as two massive PDF files - volume one (6.6 mb) and volume two (10.3 mb). Many good papers. A sampling: in 'Writing learning stories' Claudia Jonczyk develops a case writing approach consisting of three phases: the descriptive, the reflective and the critical. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Educational Imperatives for a Digital World
Talk given at the Australian School Library Association XIX Biennial Conference in Canberra in April. Looks at the changing needs of students in conjunction with studies sceptical of computers in learning (such as the PISA study, which is still (unfortunately) making the rounds). More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Downloading 'Myths' Challenged
This should be no surprise, but as the article states, "People who illegally share music files online are also big spenders on legal music downloads, research suggests". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Feed Me, Academia
fast Company writes, "Need more ideas and insights for your work? The University of Saskatchewan Library offers an online directory of academic journals that offer RSS feeds." That's the entire article, though there are some amusing comments. More...