By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. eLearning 07: an Exemplary Model of Elearning Practices
I wanted to make sure I didn't overlook this summary of the design of the eLearning 07 conference by Vivian Evans for TAFE NSW ICVET (Australia). The event is well-anticipated with a variety of online activities, and then the in-person conference breaks from the norm, using posters, panels and project demos. The online component at the conference was a bit less successful, with participants finding themselves a bit on the outside of the online activities involving people like Barbara Dieu, Alan Levine, Nancy White, Dave Pollard and others. The lesson here is that even if you're at a conference in person, you need to stay connected to the online world. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The Emergence of Open-Source Software in North America
Good overview of the development of open source and open source projects in support of learning in North America (though I think there are many more projects than suggested by the table in the middle of the article). More articles from the current issue of IRRODL are now available online. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Copyright Delay Demonstrates the Power of Facebook
This is important writes Darren Kuropatwa. I concur. The Canadian government has delayed - but not canceled - the assault on reason a DMCA-style copyright law would represent. Michael Geist documents the rising tide of opposition to this bill (this website included) as demonstrated by an increasingly vocal facebook community. Other media have been taking note as well. See more on the copyright debate in Canada. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. A Few Months Back...
The Simpsons did a parody of Noah Kalina's Everyday video, a montage of photos of his face, one taken each day. But what makes the video work is the haunting background music by Carly Comando, and it's not so nice to see a report that she was not compensated for this work. I guess it's piracy only if students do it. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Didactics of Microlearning
I agree with George Siemens: "I find informal publishing in blogs and online articles more rewarding than traditional publishing processes. The feedback on what I write informally is more immediate and, as a result, plays a greater role in the subsequent formation of ideas. Writing a journal article, book, or book chapter, is concerned with presenting what one knows. Writing in informal spaces (such as a blog) is concerned with inviting others to join in an exploration of understanding a phenomenon not yet fully known." My interest in formal publication is, to be honest, pretty minimal. Not because I don't think my work stands up to scrutiny; I'm quite sure it does. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. American Students and Science
In the local bookstore - Chapters - in the science section, as of yesterday (when I checked) there were more titles containing the word 'God' in the science section than anything else. This is a recent thing trend that has been accelerating after their takeover by Indigo, a chain with what appears to be an agenda. I have no opposition to the discussion of religion and theology - I took a dozen or so religious studies courses in university. But the confusion of religion with science helps neither field. All this to lead to what I think is Chris Lehmann's best sentence of the year: "This is a crazy thought, I know.... but perhaps American students will do better internationally on the science tests when we start allowing our teachers to, you know, teach science." Couldn't agree more. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. An Exception to the Google Rule?
I've seen this in a bunch of places today: "Trying stuff is cheaper than deciding whether to try it." That is to say, it's cheaper to hack together some Perl or Python script to see if something works and is popular than it is to do needs assessments, feasibility studies, and all the rest of the usual planning before product development. I think this is true - and as a corollary, I would add that "trying stuff is the only way for small companies or individuals to see if something works." Which is why I spend so much time (not enough, alas) messing around in Perl. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. More Thoughts On Eduspaces
The impending closure of EduSpaces is still top-of-mind for many people. "The big issue for me," writes Graham Attwell, "is whether when a small company develops such a product and service, it should be supported by the publicly funded education community." And an explanation for the closure has finally been posted: "we need to pay our bills, and it has become clear that the educational community is not the best way for us to do that." Well and good, but on the opposite site of the world James Farmer, doing pretty much the same thing, is doing so well he quit his job at the Age and is working on Edublogs full time. He writes that EduBlogs is ready to pick up EduSpaces accounts and points to a tutorial by Alicia Wyatt explaining how to move your content. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. My Suicidal High School Years: A Happy-Ending Bullying Story
"I was bullied for two years in high school. Every day," writes Clay Burrell. "But this story does things differently. It's to the bullied. It tells them that, for me, over 700 consecutive days of bullying in high school was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. It just took me a couple decades to realize that." I'm glad Burrell got past being bullied. I'm happy for him. But his perspective is simply wrong. Being bullied is not a good thing. It's not something students should simply have to tolerate. It's not - as Rick Mercer says in his video - enough to say that high school is the worst their lives will get. Because, for people who are bullied, it might not be - it might just be the kick-off to years of fears, depression and anxiety. I'm really glad things worked out for Burrell. More...