By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Albert Delgado: JotSpot Live: Live, Group Note-Taking, Educational Weblogs September 28, 2005

This is pretty neat: "JotSpot Live allows you, your colleagues or clients to take notes together on the same web page at the same time. Imagine everyone simultaneously typing and editing the same Microsoft Word document and you'll get the idea". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Greg Bolt: UO Spreads The Word On E-Textbook Appeal, Eugene Register-Guard September 27, 2005
Coverage of the sale of digital textbooks at the University of Oregon. Thus far, sales have been slow, partly because of the cost (though the article a bit misleadingly represents the cost as "well below the cost of a new paper text") and partly because of the DRM - the book can be copied to a computer only once. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. George Siemens: It's Not What It Is, It's What It Enables, Connectivism Blog September 27, 2005

George Siemens makes a good point, encapsulated in the title, with respect both to some of the new tools, such as blogs and wikis, and to connectivism itself. "What do they enable learners to do? They enable learners to connect, to dialogue." Why. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Paul Novitski: CSS Swag: Multi-Column Lists, A List Apart September 27, 2005

Some very practical advice on how to create multi-column lists using only CSS and XHTML (in other words - everyone can do it). Clearly written and offering advice that solves the sorts of problems that always snag designers. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Various authors: DailyRSS September 27, 2005

Pretty nice example of news aggregation via Alan Levine. What should be noted is that not only do news items come from a variety of sources, the service also integrates different media types, including weather and photos. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Aixa Almonte: Podcasting for Learning, ottergroup September 27, 2005
Personally, I wasn't that impressed with this article, though it has attracted a lot of positive commentary in the e-learning blogosphere. The author focuses almost exclusively on podcasting as offered through iTunes. And while some engaging (and very large) screen shots are offered, this article will not tell you how to podcast. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. John Willinsky: The Unacknowledged Convergence of Open Source, Open Access, and Open Science, First Monday September 27, 2005
The author discusses open source, open content and open access under the heading of three principles ("the price of admission matters","penness has been traditionally supported by various forms of patronage," and "open alternatives to intellectual property regimes still operate") with the intent of identifying, and encouraging people to address, the common ground unifying these three movements: "a common commitment to a larger public sphere. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Wolfgang Greller: Managing IMS Learning Design, JIME September 26, 2005
Most interesting to me was the section on the 'knowledge refinery'. The author contrasts "school sectors, the open and distance learning sector, as well as the commercial and military training sectors" where learning "follow mostly an industrial-style delivery model which almost exclusively passes on tertiary knowledge in a predefined way" with the university sector. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Adriana J. Berlanga and Francisco J. García: IMS LD Reusable Elements for Adaptive Learning Designs, JIME September 26, 2005
Interesting approach to learning design with is perhaps a little more subversive than is apparent at first glance. Seeking to develop an adaptive learning system, the authors "move from 'manifest-centred' schema, which forces static adaptivity, to a 'server-centred' approach". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Anders Berggren, et.al.: Practical and Pedagogical Issues for Teacher Adoption Practical and Pedagogical Issues for Teacher Adoption of IMS Learning Design Standards in Moodle LMS, JIME September 26, 2005
The authors compare Learning Design and Moodle, asking what it would take for the two systems to interoperate. Of especial interest is the section on bricolage, " the ease with which course materials can be developed and refined in an iterative fashion". More...