By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Underwhelmed by iTunes U
Good point about iTunes U from Jim Groom as he criticizes the general impression being fostered that "'everyone' is doing it." He notes, "In Virginia it seems like UVa, William&Mary, VCU, Radford, Va Tech, and many more have jumped on the bus. Why are they doing it? It could be because they haven't been playing with more sophisticated, web-based options for media-casting, aggregating, and customizing their own space with free, open source applications that have easily accessible RSS feeds built in". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Is Web 2.0 a Manifesto for Anarchism?
I had some discussions in Duluth on the nature of anarchism - understood strictly as 'no government'. So this post, a wonderful look at Colin Ward's Anarchy in Action, originally published in 1973, in today's context. "Could Web 2.0 likewise be a transitory period of flux, or does it offer a means of relating to each other, and to power, that could enable a 'permanent revolution'? None of us has a crystal ball. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Duluth

I'm home from Duluth after a nice four days at the foot of Lake Superior and as usual have a set of photos to share. Stephen Downes, Flickr July 13, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Flickr]. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. A Very Silly Challenge
I've commented on some blogs about the U.S. News and World Report college rankings. This article takes on another silly ranking system, the newsweek ranking of U.S. high schools. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. My Sicko Turn
Just for the record: I do not know of any Canadian who would exchange our health care system. Every citizen is insured and where we all receive free health care when we need it. Americans should know this. They are told a lot by the various media - but none of their media can ever explain why we stand by our system despite intense pressure from U.S. companies to change it, to privatize it. I think the same motivations inform our education system. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. How to Win When You Lose
I'm writing from the airport in Toronto, so we'll keep today's newsletter short. This is a nice item listing how to benefit from loss and defeat - or at least, how to make it bearable. I like the Japanese saying: "Fall seven times. Stand up eight." Now I should say, I don't think of life in terms of winning and losing, victory and defeat. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. A Web of Connections: Why the Read/Write Web Changes Everything
Wiki pages used by Will Richardson to support his talk from yesterday here in Duluth. Link that got the biggest chuckle from me: this page detailing errors in a physics textbook. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. It'S Not Plagiarism, It'S an Easy Essay
Leigh Blackall was offered money to link to this essay service, Custom Writing, from his blog. The service offers essays for sale to students - "the papers we provide are plagiarism free – neither TurnItIn, nor any other plagiarism detecting software cannot find any plagiarism. Papers are 100% custom written." He linked all right - for free - and as a bonus tossed in an interview with the service's representative, Andrew Schwatz. The result is a fascinating discourse on the mechanics of testing. The position taken by the company is that essay writing is not an accurate assessement of student performance, that they are essentially a waste of students' time, and so the service helps them get past an unreasonable and unfair hurdle. "When it comes to applying for a job – experience and testing conducted by a hiring company – is what does count, not educational credentials". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. One Identity, OpenID, and Social Network Fatigue
Sat in on a nice e-portfolio presentation this morning (Kenneth Chapman and Matt Fisher). The product will do everything you want, as well as unplug the kitchen sink. But I feel like the author of this post: "Creating a new 'self' every time we join a social network is a pain! Todd calls for a 'portable profile' that includes a suggestion by Tony MacDonnell for a 'portable friends system'." Yes, you can import your LMS ID into an LMS e-portfolio. And maybe I can carry the portfolio out into the world with me. But can I use the same profile on MySpace, Facebook, and in my school LMS. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Universities, Not Facebook, May Be Facing Collapse
Now this is how to start a blog post: "When I wrote my post on Facebook WILL Die I never expected to read a headline article on the front page of the Guardian which gave a Secret List of Universities Facing Collapse". More...