Formation Continue du Supérieur

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Robo-readers aren’t as good as human readers — they’re better
Annie Murphy Paul, The Hechinger Report, 2014/08/21

When I read that robots are "unable to discern meaning" my first thought is to wonder what the critic thinks it is for a human to discern meaning. Yes, you can fool computers with nonsense - but you can also fool human referees of academic journals with nonsense as wel. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Expert performance and training: what we really know
Daniel Lemire, 2014/08/21

Sometimes I don't agree with Daniel Lemire at all - this post on the culture of envy, for example, is wrong in so many ways - but in this post he nails it. Expertise isn't simply inherited, and isn't acquired overnight; while it does require some predisposition, it is primarily the result of practice, and not just any practice, but reasonably guided and reflective practice. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Four-day week will cut absences, superintendent says
Alison DeNisco, District Administration: Education News, 2014/08/21

I have long believed we should adopt what amounts to a 3.5 day week - that is, 28 hours. This allows us to have what amounts to 7-day coverage of any position with two staff, with the work divided between them. It allows for 7-day use of facilities and resources. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Show Your Work

Donald Clark, Big Dog, Little Dog, 2014/08/20

Donald Clark reviews Jane Bozarth's Show Your Work, which, he says, "beautifully describes how we need to rethink teaching and learning." I am in agreement with be basic premise of Bozarth's argument. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. How 'Google Science' could transform academic publishing
Liat Clark, Wired, 2014/08/20

According to Wired, "Google is allegedly working on a free, open access platform for the research, collaboration and publishing of peer-reviewed scientific journals. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Chromebox and Chromebase - definite contenders for desktop replacements
David Andrade, Educational Technology Guy, 2014/08/20

I'm not yet ready to make the leap to Google's Chromebox and Chromebase but my recent experience with a Windows 8 debacle (downloaded videos that refused to play because I was not online) pushes me away from Mocrosoft and back into thinking there may be alternatives. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. One chart that debunks the biggest myth about student loans
Libby Nelson, Vox, 2014/08/18

OK, first of all, people don't actually believe that the average student loan debt is more than $50K, so the supposed 'myth' being busted here is a straw man. Second, by focusing on the average balance the article focuses only on the amount still owing, not the amount that has already been paid back. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The Future of College?
Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2014/08/18

I studied the work of Stephen M Kosslyn back when I was in graduate school. At the time, he was defending a sophisticated 'picture theory' model of mind against cognitivists such as Jerry Fodor and Xenon Pylyshyn (who argue it's all rules, representations and sentences). I had a lot more sympathy with Kosslyn (though I've since before more of an advocate of J.J. Gibson). More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Highest Security for your Files in the Cloud
2014/08/18

So I've been thinking more about data security lately. Not data security in the sense of preventing the NSA or Chinese hackers from getting at my files if they really want to - that's probably not possible. But security in the sense of preventing average criminals and companies like Google from trolling my data and using it for commercial purposes. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Web Trolls Winning as Incivility Increases
Farhad Manjoo, New York Times, 2014/08/18

I don't think there's a "war" on trolls, exactly (the last thing the world needs is another war) but it seems  clear that the web is becoming increasingly uncivil. But rather than simply blaming the usual culprits - users and trolls - I invite readers to consider some related items to question whether it's a structural defect. More...