By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Wesley A. Fryer[Edit][Delete]: Classroom Audio Podcasting, Tools for the TEKS [Edit][Delete] December 29, 2005

Nice article, not too long, that introduces the idea of classroom podcasting, outlines some of the uses and some of the benefits, and offers a few examples. Good overview at an introductory level. Via Miguel Guhlin, who adds some urgency to the debate: "We either use computer labs to support information literacy or do online state assessments/test prep. We either train teachers on how to help students learn information-problem-solving strategies or how to help their students maximize scores on tests. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Stuart Yeates: SiteGround offer Moodle Hosting as a Commodity Service, Educause December 23, 2005

Interesting. Stuart Yeates writes, "SiteGround is offering Moodle hosting as a commodity offering. Starting at 5 USD / month, they're already hosting 400 Moodle sites, and at the price, I guess we can expect that to grow rapidly". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Daniel Lemire: AJAX RSS Display, Daniel Lemire's blog December 23, 2005

Daniel Lemire sends this quick guide to using Ajax to embed RSS in your web page, with an example. Here's the example running my feed. Nice, except as usual you can only use it if both the RSS and the viewer are on the same site. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Derek Morrison: The Virtual Learning Environment Takes it Personally, Auricle December 16, 2005

Podcast interview and follow-up article of an interview with Oleg Liber, Professor of e-Learning at the University of Bolton and Director of CETIS about Personal Learning Environments. Worth quoting: "Oleg Liber makes a further valid point. Despite years of development, the current generation of VLEs provide tools primarily for teachers, administrators, and system lords, not students. That doesn't fit easily with our protestations of concern with the student experience and in being student centred". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Dustin Diaz: Top 10 Custom JavaScript Functions of All Time, Web Standards With Imagination December 6, 2005

I've used a bunch of these, and have needed them all. Each function is described, though not as fully as they could be. Event and cookie functions predominate, as would be expected. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Jeff Lebow, Jeff Flynn, et.al.: EdTech Mega-Brainstorm #14b, Ed Tech Talk December 5, 2005

I am sitting here listening to EdTech Mega-Brainstorm #14b which, after a brief discussion of PowerPoint ("PowerPoint is not a gateway drug, it just leads to more PowerPoint"), launched into a lengthy discussion of whether blogging ought to be required in class. The show's hosts, surprisingly (and in my view, wrongly), aregued that it should. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Hannah Green, et.al.: Personalisation and Digital Technologies, NESTA Futurelab December 5, 2005

Scott Wilson points to this document, somewhat akin to a manifesto ('tis the season) calling for a greater emphasis on personal learning. "The logic of education systems should be reversed so that the system conforms to the learner, rather than the learner to the system. This is the essence of personalisation. It demands a system capable of offering bespoke support for each individual in order to foster engaged and independent learners able to reach their full potential". More...