By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Annalee Newitz[Edit][Delete]: Your Second Life is Ready, Popular Science [Edit][Delete] October 4, 2006
Well I made my first Second Life (aka 2L) character a couple of days ago (Labatt Pawpaw, if you're looking for me) and have been exploring a bit. Thus far what I am seeing looks a lot like the MUDs I used to enjoy, except that its graphical and has a lot more casinos. Anyhow, here's a Popular Science article about 2L. The article is pretty interesting but now I'm wondering if the 'Mitchell Kapor' mentioned in the article is the same 'Mitch Kapor' I know online. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Mitchell Weisburgh[Edit][Delete]: Education and Training Research from BMO Capital Markets, PILOTed [Edit][Delete]PilotEd [Edit][Delete] October 4, 2006
Mitchell Weisburgh summarizes the BMO Capital markets' Equity Research on Education and Training report (aside: I never did like the name switch to BMO. Contrived and artificial.) "There were $200 billion of private investments in the education market in 2000. There was $181 million in 2003. This bounced back to $364 million in 2005... Digital content represents about 20% of supplemental content market, but is expected to grow to beyond 25%". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Clarence Fisher[Edit][Delete]: Walled Gardens and Open Parks, Remote Access [Edit][Delete] October 4, 2006
The walls argument, again. "Without adding pictures and links, without the ability to connect with others and push forward your common thinking, bloggingGate is just online publishing without any of the benefits. A network is formed to drive people forward, to invite controversy and discussion. People need to connect to make this happen. Walled gardens may be put together for a reason, but open parks, spaces where people can roam a bit, see what they want, and sure, sometimes cause a bit of controversy, are the realities of our lives. It is in these commonly built open spaces where we learn about other people and other places. More...