By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Google courting teachers with new tech resource, heyjude [Edit][Delete] October 13, 2006
This itm pulls me back and forth and I'm not sure what the author thinks, but I include it here in any case because of the ferocity of the reaction. She writes, "Google the world, use wikipedia, and scrap the school library for a virtual information locker! Nuts!" Well maybe the libraries are being destroyed, but there's a different sort of ethic at work here - we must be the first librry burners in history to scan all the contents first and make them available to everyone in the world, (hopefully) without charge. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. emint[Edit][Delete]: Reputation Systems: Some Comments for Designers, emint [Edit][Delete] October 13, 2006

A 'reputation system' is a mechanism that weights pots according to their source, where the source is weighted according to a 'reputation' derived from a series of metrics, such as clicks, replies or votes. Reputation systems are no gaining increasing currency in online communities. See Reputation and Social Currency, by Peter Barne. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. David Parry[Edit][Delete]: Why RSS is crucial for a Blogging Classroom, Blogs for Learning [Edit][Delete] October 13, 2006

"Writing for the internet, and specifically writing for blogs, is informed by a different context than the paper writing we ask of students for class." Thus David Parry argues that the use of RSS is needed in a blogging classroom, as it enables the linking and citation needed for internet writing. "Reading on the internet requires two separate skills: one, the quick analysis to find what is worth reading, and the second, a switch to slow analysis to carefully consider what has been found". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Unattributed[Edit][Delete]: Object Reuse and Exchange (ORE), Open Archives Initiative [Edit][Delete] October 13, 2006

The Open Archives Initiative has discovered learning objects. Or, maybe it hasn't, which is why they need to reproduce the idea here. Or, maybe they haven't throught through what it means to say that archive 'objects' are 'interoperable'. In any case, I'm sure that in a few years' time they'll be wondering what they were thinking. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Becky Stoppa[Edit][Delete]: Students lose ability to surf for porn, music, Anchorage Daily News [Edit][Delete] October 13, 2006

Not sure whether my site classifies as 'porn' or 'music' - - but it must be one of these, since students in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District are now barred from seeing it. I'm told I met the person who made this decision. Obviously,the meeting didn't take. "Beginning Oct. 20, only the databases paid for by the district or Web sites ending in 'edu' or 'gov,' which identify education or government sites, will remain unblocked." me, I'd be more inclined to block .gov web sites. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Various authors[Edit][Delete]: DART: Standards-based Data Tracking, Eduforge [Edit][Delete] October 13, 2006

John sent me this application today. me, I'm not really big on the whole tracking to standards thing. But others may be interested. "DART is an Open Source tool for tracking learner progress on standards and goals. Key features that make DART different include the ability of the system to 'cloud tag' the standards of highest need in any grouping into 'weighted lists' linked to resources, ability to interact with SIS and LMS systems, flexible reporting and the ability to add features in Open Source modules... The DART system will be modified this fall to 'talk' to the distric's ePortfolio system (Elgg) and LMS (Moodle), in addition to the district's curriclum wiki. DART is designed to be easily modified to hold any combination of standards in various goal areas. Groups are easily formed, and are temporary so that multiple teachers can share learners in any fashion, and for any time period they would like. All information is learner-centered, and not tied to student and teacher schedules. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. [link: Hits] I think Michael Feldstein's faith in market demand is touching (though naive) but I have some sympathy with his support for the common cartridge standard. Some. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Leon Cych[Edit][Delete]: Ning tong iddle I po, October 13, 2006

Just for Terry Freedman, who has just discovered ratings - an application authored by Leon Cych that allows people to rate learning management systems. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Stephen Downes[Edit][Delete]: School 2.0, Flickr [Edit][Delete] October 13, 2006
Brought to you by popular demand (OK, one person asked), my own version of the School 2.0 diagram. What the diagram proves mainly is that I'm a terrible artist and that I don't have the patience to fill in all the corners or hit all the concepts I would want to (this again because I'm a terrible artist). Still, I hope the picture gives you some idea of what I'm thinking about. If not, well, there's always the podcasts.
Speaking of which - I am travelling to Prince Edward Island on Monday and will be giving a talk that afternoon in Charlottetown. Where and when, exactly, I don't know yet - but I will post at the top front of my Schools, Podcasting] [Comment]. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Marie Jasinski[Edit][Delete]: Applied Research Project, October 12, 2006
Wiki describing Marie Jasinski's latest research project (though you'll have to write her if you want to edit it). "The focus is on embedding innovative practices in elearning." Of interest is the RIPPLES model employed throughout. "Think of it as a framework to capture the collective intelligence". More...