By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Like Cranky Talk Show Hosts
I think this is a very interesting observation: "The standards movement is not a national response to a grassroots outcry. It's a corporate business-initiated movement that has been sold to a fearful middle class worried about economic and social insecurity." Doug Noon is talking about 'educational standards', of course, but the same feeling permeates other standards movements, such as LOM and learning design. There is on the one hand the (quite legitimate) idea that standards ensure quality. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. First 35 Claims of Blackboard'S Patent Ruled Invalid
This is a huge win for Desire2Learn, as the court has ruled that Blackboard's first substantive claim, that of assigning access according to a role in a course, to be invalid. "Because that phrase is indefinite, all of Claim 1 is rendered invalid because of indefiniteness." Also, the court found for D2L's interpretation of terms in the remainder of the patent. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Havelock

We are now officially into the dog days of August. Yesterday I celebrated the season by cycling to Havelock (a town about 50 km west of Moncton) and back. Pictured above is the beautiful Canaan River, which flows about 10 km north of Havelock. Stephen Downes, Flickr August 6, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Flickr]. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. How Madison Avenue Is Wasting Millions On a Deserted Second Life
"There was nobody else around." He teleported over to the Aloft Hotel, a virtual prototype for a real-world chain being developed by the owners of the W. It was deserted, almost creepy. "I felt like I was in The Shining." Related: Karl Kapp describes a session in ProtoSphere (click under 'solutions' to find the unlinkable Flash page describing ProtoSphere). More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Cut the Panflu Patent Gordian Knot
The situation described in this post raises the possibility that the next influenza epidemic will result not from a superbug but because of patent law. You need to share data to fight influenza, but countries that are sharing data are getting tired of paying royalties to companies that use that data to create proprietary - and expensive - vaccines. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. How Much Do Schools Really Value Pupils' Views?
If education were on firm foundations, I think, then teachers and administrators would have no problem with students expressing their views. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Intro to Open Ed Class - Feedback and Enrolling
David Wiley has posted the syllabus to his upcoming course on open education. I think the readings are pretty good, overall, though I think the presentation in Week 7 (on licensing) is a bit one-sided. But I think it is well worth noting that I would not be in a position to make such a criticism were Wiley not willing to post his syllabus online. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. CCSSO - Quick Reflection
I read the Tough Choices of Tough Times report cited by Dave Warlick, but my reaction wasn't "Can they sell it?" but rather "What are they thinking?" It spends one paragraph on early childhood education - and pages and pages on things like 'Board Exams' and testing. This is touted as a recipe for competitiveness. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Putting It All Together... Privacy, Security, Cybercrime and Safety
Continuing coverage from the IFIPTMA Conference I am attending here in Moncton. First up was Parry Aftab, a cyber-lawyer advocating the sharing of information to counteract internet abuses. I also summarized quite a good talk by David Townsend, a Law professor at UNB, on PHI Meets PST: A PST Framework for Personal Health Information. Stephen Downes, Half an Hour August 1, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Security Issues, Privacy Issues, Information]. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Study: Food in McDonald's Wrapper Tastes Better to Kids
On the CTV newscast this morning the anchors kept trying to deflect the impact of this by citing 'the bright colours' used on the McDonald's products. What they don't want people to see is that advertising to children is harmful, not simply because it gets them to buy products that are bad for them, but because it distorts the way they perceive the world. I make a special attempt to shun and disparage brands that advertise to children, because I think that their marketing tactics are particularly distasteful. More...