Formation Continue du Supérieur

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Using Webb's Depth of Knowledge to Increase Rigor
Gerald Aungst, Edutopia, 2014/09/11
Just another example of a case in education research where a pointless taxonomy is developed and named after someone (one wonders how far education would advance if this practice were no longer allowed). Webb's "Depth of Knowledge" taxonomy is purported to "categorize tasks according to the complexity of thinking required to successfully complete them." In this case, "complexity" appears to be a completely arbitrary measure, especially as it applies to the difference between "strategic thinking" and "extended thinking". More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Mute the Messenger
Jason Stanford, Texas Observer, 2014/09/10
Walter Stroup offered evidence to show that standardized tests measure test-taking ability more than they measure knowledge, and that the teacher has only a small impact on the final assessment. "According to Stroup’s initial calculations, that constancy accounted for about 72 percent of everyone’s test score." A later recalculation suggests it's more like 50%. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Are Laptops Really Bad For Learning?
Darren Kuropatwa, A Difference, 2014/09/10
In this good summary of the results of the recent study comparing note-taking with pen and laptop Darren Kuropatwa also points to the underlying reason to be sceptical about the conclusion. In the three studies  students performed better on tests after taking notes with the pen, rather than the laptop. The study authors suggest "laptops may be doing more harm in classrooms than good." But that's not what the results show. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Just-In-Time Learning
Charles Munat, Charles Munat, 2014/09/09
Most readers will be familiar with the distinction, but if not, you may want to look at Charles Munat's new blog to read this post on just-in-time learning and just-in-case learning - JITL and JICL, or “jittle” and “jickle.” It forms one of the core arguments against traditional learning. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Reflections on community in #rhizo14 – more questions than answers
Frances Bell, Francesbell's Blog, 2014/09/09
A lot of people continue to value community in courses without, I think, comprehending what community is. It's really hard to understand the nature of a community from within. "How can we know about all of the flowers that bloomed? And some of the ones that failed to thrive or died?" Most people, I think, participate in community from their own frame of reference. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Twitpic is shutting down
Press Release, TwitPic, 2014/09/08
I don't know whether Twitpic is actually shutting down or whether this is just posturing to get Twitter to pack down, but either way it demonstrates how we can't depend on web service providers to have our interests in mind when they begin fighting (as they always do) among themselves. "Twitter contacted our legal demanding that we abandon our trademark application or risk losing access to their API," writes Twitpic, which has been operating since 2008. More...