By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Ben Winograd and Cheryl Lu-Lien[Edit][Delete]: Can Fashion be Copyrighted? The Debate Over Knock-offs, Wall Street Journal [Edit][Delete] October 11, 2006
They've done it to music and publishing, why not fashion? I'm not a fashionista but even I know that if they make knock-offs illegal that will be the end of the fashion industry. But that seems to be where the U.S. copyright industry is now headed. Carmen Marc valvo perhaps says it best: "Fashion is more evolutionary than revolutionary -- you're always inspired by something else. Besides, I don't think anyone copying me would be able to do it the same way". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Vernon C. Smioth[Edit][Delete]: Blackboard Backpack, EDUCAUSE Connect [Edit][Delete] October 11, 2006
The LMS company has found a way to copy another idea, creating a way to run the system offline. "The next release will be SCORM compliant and will be able to be downloaded to a Flash (USB) drive. At this point, the computer would still need have the Backpack client on it--but in the future--it may be a web-based solution so that a student could use it at a library or other public computing commons." Not too likely on that last bit. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Michael Chalk[Edit][Delete]: Learning Conference Granada, adult literacy meets technology (AL-T) [Edit][Delete] October 11, 2006
Sketchy converage of this conference being held in Spain. Wish there was more description of the sessions, as the papers are not online. Still, even the one-liners are pretty good - like this: "a Michigan professor, James Porter, tells us how Napster (the file-sharing craze) is affecting literacy development (and publishing), in ways that Marx would approve". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Michael Feldstein[Edit][Delete]: Oracle, Sakai, and the LMOS--Part 2, E-Literate [Edit][Delete] October 10, 2006
I half-typed a bunch of responses to this item and decided eventually to simply post it here. Let me just say I think it's a bad idea. Yes, a university-sponsored database containing a student's online content seems to have its allure. But how long before that service to students becomes control over students. How long, for example, before use of the university data store becomes mandatory? How long before the university begins applying copyright violation searches and content screening to the database? No, it's just a bad idea. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Press Release[Edit][Delete]: Mirapoint and Blackboard Partner, Mirapoint [Edit][Delete] October 10, 2006
Blackboard is continuing to consolidate, signing a deal with the Mirapoint email application, thus supporting single sign-on for LMS and email. This is a good thing. And any email solution that isn't Outlook is a good thing. But Blackboard owning the entire university infrastructure (and suing anybody who dares enter that space). More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Vicki A. Davis[Edit][Delete]: How to Search Google Educational Videos, Cool Cat Teacher Blog [Edit][Delete] October 10, 2006
In all the hoopla surrounding the story that Google bought YouTube I had forgotten about Google Video - funny, because I use it more than I use YouTube (larger video, bigger file uploads). Of course, you can search Google video - and this item shows how to narrow the search to educational videos. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Various authors[Edit][Delete]: Building Learning Communities, November Learning Communities [Edit][Delete] October 10, 2006

Podcasts from the Building Learning Communities conference are now available (they were available months ago, but it has taken me this long to link to it). I haven't listened to any of them (which is why it took so long to run the link; I always thought I would have time) but the list of speakers features everybody's favorites. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Stephen Downes[Edit][Delete]: Learning Networks and Connective Knowledge, ITForum [Edit][Delete] October 10, 2006
Though the discussion starts next week, the text of my paper, Learning Networks and Connective Knowledge, has been posted on ITForum (and I have also posted an MS-Word version on my site). This paper represents my latest effort to ground learning networks in a connective epistemology, and while there are still lose bits and questionable areas I think this is as close as I've come yet. For me, this is a major paper. I hope you enjoy it.
Here's the abstract: "The purpose of this paper is to outline some of the thinking behind new e-learning technology, including e-portfolios and personal learning environments. Part of this thinking is centered around the theory of connectivism, which asserts that knowledge - and therefore the learning of knowledge - is distributive, that is, not located in any given place (and therefore not 'transferred' or 'transacted' per se) but rather consists of the network of connections formed from experience and interactions with a knowing community. And another part of this thinking is centered around the new, and the newly empowered, learner, the member of the net generation, who is thinking and interacting in new ways. These trends combine to form what is sometimes called 'e-learning 2.0' - an approach to learning that is based on conversation and interaction, on sharing, creation and participation, on learning not as a separate activity, but rather, as embedded in meaningful activities such as games or workflows." [Tags: Connectivism, E-Portfolios, Online Learning, Experience, Networks, Interaction, Games and Gaming] [Comment]. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Press Release[Edit][Delete]: Blackboard and SAP Announce Global Agreement, Blackboard [Edit][Delete] October 9, 2006
If you have to use SAP (as I do) for anything, it's probably your most hated software. No surprise then that Blackboard is entering into a 'strategic agreement' with the company. "Blackboard and SAP are implementing this service-oriented architecture to help institutions deploy integrated end- to-end processes." Any chance of open APIs here? Thought not. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Hannah Edwards[Edit][Delete]: E-volution of Schools, Sydney Morning Herald [Edit][Delete] October 9, 2006
Is it really radical and impossible? "A 24-hour school with no traditional classrooms and where students use mobile phones and laptops to learn is being built in Sydney." Apparently not. "The traditional classroom concept will disappear, replaced by 'learning spaces'. The school will be referred to as a 'learning community' and teachers will be known as 'learning advisers', Mr Whitby said". More...