By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. 2018 review of online learning
Tony Bates, Online learning adn distance education resources, 2018/12/24
I'll save a place in this post for the fift installment of this series, which is forthcoming, but here are the previous four:
For each of the different topics, Bates gives the following scores. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. LRNG + Badgr: Unlocking Opportunity Through a Shared Digital Backpack
Connie Yowell, Wayne Skipper, LRNG, 2018/12/19
This announcement portends a developing ecosystem outside the traditional LMS infrastructure. LRNG - which recently merged with Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) - allows cities to create an openly accessible network of learning and employment opportunities accessible to schools and youth (see here). More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web.2-Factor Authentication with Security Keys – now available for Boxcryptor
Jonathan Zimmermann, Boxcryptor, 2018/12/19
By itself this announcement is no big deal, but it is an indicator of a wider trend whereby we will eventually all be using an encrypted USB key to access our online services. Boxcryptor is an application I use to encrypt content before storing it into cloud services like DropBox. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The Greatest Enemy of Creativity in Schools Isn’t Testing. It’s Time.
Stephen Noonoo, EdSurge, 2018/12/19
After having just written a draft article on experience and creativity saying such uplifting things as "It is the history, process and provenance of the creation that gives it meaning, relevance, and ultimately, truth" it is a disappointment to read this item on the same topic from EdSurge that depicts "assessment as the key to everyday creativity in the classroom” and that " there will be the layer of assessment that relates directly to the content." Be as creative as you want, the message seems to be, but don't create the think wrong. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. A Rubric to Identify Online Course Plans for a Community of Inquiry
Sandra Rogers, AACE Review, 2018/12/19
A common pattern for publications like this one is to take something that looks legitimate and research-based and to use it to support what amounts to a description of what teachers are actually doing now. That way, they can feel progressive without having to change a bit! The legitimate and research-based concept in this case is the community of inquiry. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The Authoring of School Mathematics: Whose Story is it Anyways?
Alayne Armstrong, in education, 2018/12/19
This is a great article challenging what Lakoff and Nuñez call the “standard folk theory of what mathematics is for our culture,” specifically, the idea "of mathematics as authorless, as an eternal absolute." In fact, argues Alayne Armstrong, the development of mathematics is "a process, an evolving aspect of culture." It's something we create, not discover. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. (The Very Last) Hack Education Weekly News
Audrey Watters, Hack Education, 2018/12/19
As someone who creates my own news summary I have a pretty good idea of the effort that goes into it. So I know what it has taken for Audrey Watters to produce her listing over the last eight years, and yes, I can understand why she's calling an end to it. It think, though, there's a difference in what we did over the years. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. On liberal education surviving the 21st century
Bryan Alexander, 2018/12/20
In response to the question in the headline Bryan Alexander begins with a survey of what can be meant by 'liberal education' before reaching the conclusion that this article basically addresses learning in the humanities at a particular college. Even in this college, the humanities is likely to survive, albeit at a reduced scale. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The Trouble With Institution-Led Boycotts
John Villasenor, Chronicle of Higher Education, 2018/12/20
Last week in a memo entitled Important Notice Regarding Elsevier Journals UCLA leaders urged faculty to consider "declining to review articles for Elsevier journals until negotiations are clearly moving in a productive direction." The University of California system is engaged in a dispute with Elsevier over the publisher charging the institution for access to papers authored by its own staff. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. A call for promoting ownership, equity, and agency in faculty development via connected learning
Maha Bali, Autumn Caines, International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 2018/12/20
"In this article we advocate for and give examples of educational development opportunities for educators that encourage heutagogy with outcomes that focus on ownership and agency which can potentially lead to transformative learning," write the authors. More...
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