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By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Notes on Teaching with Slack
Zach Whalen, 2016/02/25

As the author writes, "Slack is communication software popular for handling workplace information flow, project management, customer support, and all kinds of other things." It's popular in the developer and project management communities. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Growing minds
Steve Wheeler, Learning With Es, 2016/02/25
I have my issues with the rhizome metaphor (in particular, that it does not demonstrate a network of diverse entities, but rather an extended growth of identical entities). But it's a popular metaphor and does demonstrait one key aspect of learning: "When we learn we grow. We grow intellectually, but we also make actual, physical connections in our brains which count as physical growth." More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Video reflection on my #CoP lifelong learning experiences
Inge deWaard, Ignatia Webs, 2016/02/23

Inge de Waard has posted text and a video about her experiences as a community of practice (CoP) host. She writes, "As my own expertise changes, so does the body of knowledge and expertise that is out there (just look at the boom of mobile apps, where I used to be on top of it somewhat being part of those building the first iphone Moodle app, only 6 years ago). More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Trade agreements like TPP need radical transparency and meaningful public participation
Timothy Vollmer, Creative Commons Blog, 2016/02/23
This article discusses the Brussels Declaration on Trade and the Internet by Creative Commons and a coalition of organizations. It follows the recent signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which will have an impact on content sharing in general and educ ation in particular. "The TPP is an example of a trade agreement that has been negotiated in secret with input only from government and corporate interests," writes the author. "There has been no meaningful participation from civil society organizations and public interest advocates who work to protect consumer and digital rights". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The death of the digital native: four provocations from Digifest speaker, Donna Lanclos
Donna Lanclos, Jisc, 2016/02/23
She writes, "The original formulation even posited that there is something biologically different about the brains of these so-called digital natives, because of their early and frequent interaction with particular types of technology. It's not true and anybody who connects with students and members of academic staff in any kind of practical way knows that people who engage with technology are not motivated by their age category." More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. A Neuroscientist’s Radical Theory of How Networks Become Conscious
Brandon Keim, Wired, 2016/02/22
I don't think the theory is all that radical - it's the same theory I have! "Consciousness arises within any sufficiently complex, information-processing system. All animals, from humans on down to earthworms, are conscious; even the internet could be." It's like the charge on an electron, continues the explanation. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Stop writing specs, start finding needs - what I've learned working on Known
Ben Werdmuller, 2016/02/22

I've learned similar lessons with the LPSS program. "A lot of developers think of design as a superficial layer that you add at the end. Instead, if you're serious about making something that people can actually use, it should be the thing that comes first. And second. And third. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Can Blogs and Wiki Be Merged?
Michael Caulfield, Hapgood, 2016/02/22

I spent a few moments trying to think of what a merged product would look like. The main feature of a blog is that new articles can be written, with new articles at the top of the list, and made available through RSS and the website. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The non-Uberization of education
Martin Weller, The Ed Techie, 2016/02/22

I am somewhat sympathetic with this point, but for very different reasons. I think most of the apparent benefit of the so-called 'sharing economy' is based on offering an end-run around taxation or regulation. And unlike education, it's not immediately obvious that a completely unregulated transportation or housing service is a bad idea. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Natural Verus Unnatural Learning
Jackie Gerstein, User Generated Education, 2016/02/22

It's tempting to want to support informal learning because formal learning is unnatura. More...