By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Evidence-Based Learning
I guess my main problem with the concept of evidence-based learning is that it equates the concept of 'evidence' with 'measurement'. For example: "Evidence-Based Learning (EBL) requires us also to measure our own performance." I think that the emphasis on measurement has distorted the idea of 'evidence' (and empiricism in general). For example: my friend walks in through the door. How do I know my friend is here? Not by looking for certain qualities, like his height or his eye colour. Not by measuring anything - but by recognizing my friend. That's the problem with NCLB (which is not sound as a core concept). More...
Thoughts On Research
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Thoughts On Research
George Siemens posts an article on research methodology. He cites something I wrote (in the blog post, but not the paper, which is a bit weird): "The best argument Jonassen can advance for his theory is to describe the theory; the question of fit is determined, over time, by the cumulative experiences of a multitude of practitioners against nebulous and undefined criteria." That's just the way the world is; pretending you can whip out a tape measure and reduce it to numbers doesn't change that. More...
ScienceDirect Available with Single Sign-On
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. ScienceDirect Available with Single Sign-On
OK, here's the post: "Publisher Elsevier has announced that its ScienceDirect service is now available through the UK Access Management Federation, so users will be able to log on with their institution's ID." Now the point that I want to make here is that this is proprietary sign-on, not single sign-on. More...
Resistant, Clueless, Indifferent, or Just Defensive?
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Resistant, Clueless, Indifferent, or Just Defensive?
Doug Noon links to a number of posts on the subject of teacher resistance to systematic change. Here's Terry Elliot: "I can tell you why it has been slow - the entrenched won't move until they see their front line has been breached and that further dithering with the Hindenberg's tea trays is quite futile. I also responded further to Sessums' thought provoking post." Meanwhile, nothing but silence from the School 2.0 crowd - many of who are gathered at the Building Learning Communities conference, where they talk about the role of the teacher. More...
Photoshop of Horrors
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Photoshop of Horrors
Even as it sinks into insolvency, traditional media continues to press the case against new media. And the interminable debate continues. But as the most recent champion of traditional media, Andrew Keen, makes the rounds with the digerati, I am continually frustrated by the fact that the digerati won't state the knockdown argument: that traditional media is corrupt, and it is new media that is trustworthy. Of course, the digerati actually make their living from traditional media (look at their credits) so I guess they wouldn't. But I don't, and never will. So nothing stops me from observing that blatant bald-faced manipulation, such as the travesty described in this article, is commonplace. And not just that, but such manipulations of image and fact have had serious, long-term, and detrimental effects on society. And the thing is - I see numerous examples every single day! For example, also from today, the release and reporting of five year old Osama video as "new". Also, the description of a scientific study that doesn't exist. Or the smear campaign launched by an editor of the Daily Telegraph. Actually - that's just from this morning - I haven't done the evening rounds yet. Folks, in case you have missed it, traditional media is systematically and thoroughly corrupt, from the tabloid magazines to the corporate-owned newspapers to the advertorials to the product placements to payola placements. More...
CEGSA Day 1 Report
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. CEGSA Day 1 Report
I am working late tonight - very late - as I will be speaking by videoconference to the CEGSA conference currently being hosted in Adelaide, Australia. Mike Seyfang offers this report from Day 1, including a summary of Gerry White's keynote. "Gerry finished his talk with a little 'report card' for our education system. If my kids brought home a report card like that I would kick myself up the arse for being a lousy parent." Um. More...
Greenhouse Grant for Virtual Worlds
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Greenhouse Grant for Virtual Worlds
As the PDF says, "Blackboard is funding a single $25,000 (USD) grant for initiatives that promote the integration of virtual worlds into teaching and learning." This of course follows the successful development of Sloodle (PDF White paper) which integrates the open source Moodle LMS with Second Life. More...
Open Library
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Open Library
The Open Library demo has launched. "What if there was a library which held every book? Not every book on sale, or every important book, or even every book in English, but simply every book-a key part of our planet's cultural legacy.... most importantly, such a library must be fully open. Not simply 'free to the people,' as the grand banner across the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh proclaims, but a product of the people: letting them create and curate its catalog, contribute to its content, participate in its governance, and have full, free access to its data. In an era where library data and Internet databases are being run by money-seeking companies behind closed doors, it's more important than ever to be open. More...
Questioning the Student Use of and Desire for Lecture Podcasts
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Questioning the Student Use of and Desire for Lecture Podcasts
The authors conclude, " Although iPods and other MP3 players are common with students, the use of audio files as an educational device is still debated and has not undergone rigorous pedagogical research." Well fine. Of course, they are surveying whether students at Duke - who have already paid the gazillions in tuition fees and are actually on campus - listen to lecture podcasts. And sometimes they do. But I just think this is researching the wrong thing. What I want to know is, what is the effectiveness of a podcast compared to, say, nothing. More...
CREST+ Model: Writing Effective Online Discussion Questions
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. CREST+ Model: Writing Effective Online Discussion Questions
I think the acronym is a bit cutesy, but I like this discussion of question types and methodologies. We don't see a lot on question formation, but a good survey of recent work is provided in the introduction. As for the CREST+ model itself, it is mostly a taxonomy of question types. So far so good, but we want to be more probing. What do we do with different types of questions? What effects do they have? Questions don't merely query, they also frame discussions. They create some possibilities, eliminate others. What happens when these possibilities exceed the bounds of experience. More...