By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Announcement[Edit][Delete]: Google and Teach For America, Google [Edit][Delete] December 5, 2006
There have been a few fawning comments about this program, where Google places teachers into a classroom, working with a Google mentor, for two years before employing them. I am rather more sceptical. If Google wants to support education, why doesn't it simply pay more taxes, the way the rest of us do it (the same question could be asked of Bill Gates)? Why does Google focus on American classrooms - in my view it should focus on countries that really need teachers, not countries that merely don't want to pay for them. And what are the dangers of having company-selected teachers and Google mentors in the classroom? Do you want Google - or Coca-Cola, or Microsoft, or Disney, or Halliburton - teaching your kids. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Alfred Essa[Edit][Delete]: Blackboard Financials: Why Are Insiders Still Dumping the Stock?, The NOSE [Edit][Delete] December 5, 2006
With all the attention being paid to the company as a result of the Blackboard patent, questions are beginning to surface about its long-term viability. Alfred Essa, for example, asks why Blackboard insiders and continuing to dump Blackboard stock. "Even Forbes recently took notice ("five insider selling plays") listing Blackboard as one of the top five companies with significant insider dumping of stocks. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Masaki Kondo[Edit][Delete]: Nintendo's Wii Selling Out in Japan, E-Commerce Times [Edit][Delete]E-Commerce Times [Edit][Delete] December 4, 2006
I think the deployment of Nintendo's Wii (pronounced 'wee') has many more implications for online learning than does Second Life (though I can imagine an interesting sub theme around the idea of Wii-enabled SL interaction). What makes the Wii revolutionary is that its wireless controllers send input to the program based on its location and movement, and not merely what buttons have been pushed. I've been watching people play with the Wii in the local tech shops. The interaction with the game is a much more bodily interaction, much more analogue. I think (based on what I've seen) that it will be especially popular with women and girls. I think the marketing has been pretty good. But this video will really give you a feel for the product (ignore the offensive title and comments). More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Facebook Privacy Basics...
One of the rules of eduCamps - and bar camps in general - is that there is a lot of online participation - photo sharing, content sharing, more. It's like the tour we took in New Zealand last year, which was an extended bar camp. Everything went online. It is with this in mind that I link to Brian Lamb's post on Facebook privacy basics. Case in point: I saw my Facebook profile on public display at the conference today. Everybody walking by stopped to look at it. It makes me think twice about what I'm posting there (well, not so much, because I knew it was pretty tame - but you know what I mean). Related: Alan Levine complains about Facebook bacn. Totally agree. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Matt McKenzie[Edit][Delete]: Vista and More: Piecing Together Microsoft's DRM Puzzle, Computer World [Edit][Delete] November 27, 2006
The eSchool News this week came out with a very uncritical look at the upcoming deployment of Windows Vista and the choices educational institutions will have to make. Perhaps a more appropriate read might be this article from Computer World in Vista's digital rights management (DRM) technology. But that's something, I guess, that the promotional pieces will overlook; as the article states, "it's hard to sing the praises of technology designed to make life harder for its users." Vista also realizes the ultimate triumph of DRM: forcing you to use Microsoft (or certified partner) hardware. More...