By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The broken edtech ecosystem investors once avoided is changing
Charles Wiles, TechCrunch, 2016/12/26
According to this article, " innovative apps have been unable to displace archaic, inferior technologies in schools because of restricted funding and a general unwillingness of schools to disrupt the status quo." This, however, is beginning to change. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. By The Numbers: MOOCS in 2016
Dhawal Shah, Class Central, 2016/12/26
This year's MOOC numbers from Class Central. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Making Change
Miles Berry, An Open Mind, 2016/12/21
This is interesting for a number of reasons. Probably my best practical learning in mathematics came while working at the concession stands in the local football stadium; I had to make change a lot. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Online learning in 2016: a personal review
Tony Bates, online learning and distance education resources, 2016/12/21
The inimitable Tony Bates offers his personal restrspective on 2016. Normally I don't post end-of-year stuff, but it's Tony Bates. And I really like that he begins with the Global Peace Index. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Open Education: International Perspectives in Higher Education
Patrick Blessinger, TJ Bliss, OpenBook Publishers, 2016/12/21
Here's some nice year-end reading for you. This collection of essays covers a range of perspectives on open learning around the world. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Districts Realize the Personalized Learning Vision, See its Future
US Department of Education, 2016/12/21
Obviously the messaging coming out of the US Department of Education will be in a state of flux. But one thing unlikely to change much is the emphasis on personalized learning. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. What is design thinking?
O'Reilly, Jonathan Follett, 2016/12/21
Design thinking is to a large degree what I do. “It's not as simple as [just] identifying a problem. ‘Yay! We found something that customers are frustrated with.'" You need to do more; you need to engage people and consider a wider set of possibilities. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Developing a Strategic Approach to MOOCs
Rebecca Ferguson, Journal of Interactive Media in Education (JIME), 2016/12/28
The authors write, "In this contribution we look at one substantial body of work, publications on MOOCs that were produced at the 29 UK universities connected to the FutureLearn MOOC platform. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Accessibility of MOOCs: Understanding the Provider Perspective
Francisco Iniesto, Patrick McAndrew, Shailey Minocha, Tim Coughlan, Journal of Interactive Media in Education (JIME), 2016/12/28
From the abstract. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Open Society Needs Defending
George Soros, Project Syndicate, 2016/12/28
Argument from George Soros to the effect that, yes, the open society needs defending. "Open societies are in crisis," he writes, "and various forms of closed societies – from fascist dictatorships to mafia states – are on the rise." A bit sgtrong but we'll accept thes. More...
/https%3A%2F%2Fprofilepics.canalblog.com%2Fprofilepics%2F1%2F0%2F1076071.jpg)
