I-Names Explained
Another effort to create a distributed authentication system, this time based on the appeal of blocking spam. Downside? It'll cost $25 for your name. More...

Issues of Interface
Summary paper describing literature on the effects interfaces on three kinds of interaction: interactions with course content, interactions with instructors, and interactions with classmates. The conclusion: interfaces matter. More...

Learning Objects, Metadata, Blogs And RSS: The Future Of Online Education According To Stephen Downes
Robin Good and I had a nice chat on Friday; he had the audio recorder running and links to the interview (the audio is also available on my site in MP3 format. Just to be clear, because a couple of people have raised this: I did not say I would never link to Robin Good again (my goodness), I asserted merely that I would not link to posts sponsored by Marqui. More...

State of the School, Blogging-wise
I was contacted by a writer from University Business yesterday asking about a set of 'best practices' for blogs in schools. The writer appeared very concerned that students might not have any restrictions on what they post. I tried to explain the wrong-headedness of this thinking. More...

News University
Poynter is previewing an e-learning project set for launch in April, 2005 - NewsU. Not thrilled with the sign-up, but many of the courses will be free. More...

The Intractable Problem of Informational Cascades
Michael Feldstein responds to my article in eLearn Magazine (which was originally a commentary on his earlier article in the same magazine) provoing that it is easier to poke holes in something than to sew them up again. More...

Research Buddy
It's hard to believe that Microsoft went years without adding any of these useful services to Internet Explorer. What an opportunity lost. More...

An End-of-Year Conversation with e-Learning Leaders... What s On Their Minds These Days?
The use of first names throughout the article is a little off-putting - I kept losing track of who was who - but this dialogue with a number of familiar names in the field was an interesting read. Mostly, though, I got a sense of dogged determination to keep plugging away despite the scepticism and the challenges. More...

Pulling Sense out of Today’s Informational Chaos: LiveJournal as a Site of Knowledge Creation and Sharing
When people think about blogging they usually think of Blogger. But that other blogging site - LiveJournal - has been around at least as long, has as many users, and is as viable a platform as Blogger. Perhaps more so - indeed, after Google took over Blogger it began to incorporate some of LiveJournal's features, such as the need to have a user ID in order to comment. More...