The Rise of Learning Objects
The March issue of the International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning is now available online, a little late, I am told, because of ISP issues. This first article is my own introduction (I am an Editor at Large for the Journal) and is a fairly light treatment of the idea that we are in a transitional phase in the adoption of learning objects. More...

Wireless Digital: Coming to a Theatre Near You?
The move toward video on demand moves another step forward. I hope that movie studios keep in mind that it is distribution and convenience that people pay for: the ease of selecting and viewing a movie on the day it is released. This development is a step in the right direction. More...

How Working Groups Can Further Connect Without Adding Further Technology: Good Interviews Ross Mayfield
"We are social animals for whom networked software is creating a new kind of habitat," writes Jon Udell, quoted in the introduction to this interview. One wonders, though, whether we are only social animals - I think we are more. More...

Humanoid Robot Conducts Beethoven Symphony
We may not have robot teachers yet, but we have robotic conductors. More...

RSS and Education
Again I have to enter my email address to see the piece, a needless annoyance, but I could not resist viwing the WWWTools take on one of my favororite subjects, RSS and education. More...

Chalkface RSS
The Chalkface Project (home of the free balloon rides) now has RSS feeds linking to its online content offerings. In addition to the main feed, a link to the RSS feed for each category is available on the category page. More...

The RSS Bubble
Another RSS bubble article, this one looking at the business potential for the format. "The conventional wisdom is a Bubble. The Bubble isn't back—it never left. We are still surfing along on this mass hallucination called the Internet. Virtual reality? Give me a break. Mass customization? Dynamic real-time always-on always-connected mall in the sky? Free phone calls and video chats? Tablet PC? WiFi? What are you smoking?" But still, "I've yet to see anyone move to RSS and then abandon it. If that's a Bubble, bring it on. But if hype turns out to be true, is it hype?" What Gillmor misses, though, is that RSS could do everything it promises and still be called a disappointment if nobody makes a pile of money from it. More...

ISO Approves MPEG REL
ISO has formally approved the MPEG Rights Expression Language (MPEG REL), formerly known as ContentGuard's XrML, the cumulation of what this short article calls an "inevitable" processs. This is by no means the end of the story, however, as the competing ODRL has also been widely adopted, including by the Open Mobile Alliance and our own eduSource project. More...

WebFeat technology powers ISI Web of Knowledge Cross Search
It is interesting to see Thomson's ISI Web of Knowledge in the race to archive and index open access databases. The service is now up to eleven databases and climbing. I think this is a good development - I have long argued that free online resources should be offered alongside commercial resources, and that publishers are doing their best to keep the free competition out of the marketplace. More...

How to Live Stream on YouTube
Anthony Heddings, How-To Geek, 2018/09/07
It's funny to read that "YouTube’s live streaming support has gotten much better and is now a solid competitor to Twitch" but I guess it's true. I've been exploring the game-streaming world using YouTube with xSplit for the last few years. That's how I stream my talks. More...