Who Forgot the Learner?
As Charles Churchman pointed out already decades ago, note the authors: "To conceive of knowledge as a collection of information seems to rob the concept of all of its life... Knowledge resides in the user and not in the collection. It is how the user reacts to a collection of information that matters." This forms the basis for this paper's sustained and intelligent criticism of the learning object paradigm as defined by SCOs and SCORM. More...
What Do Instructional Designers Design?
I haven't read this - it's a .pdf powerpoint note format in a zip file and I just don't have the patience which such a user-hostile format - but it is being quoted all over the blogsphere. More...
We Learning: Social Software and E-Learning, Part II
The second part of this look at social software in e-learning (the first part is here) looks at the mechanics of it: wikis, social network analysis tools, proximity tools and virtual worlds. It's a good discussion, but my recent experiences with Orkut have left me feeling empty - just as content is pointless without conversation, conversation is pointless without context. More...
Content Delivery in the 'Blogosphere'
George Siemens comments of this item, "Short exploration of blogging as a content delivery tool in education: Content Delivery in the 'Blogosphere'. Personally, I think the article misses the point...blogging is less about content delivery, and more about expression, self-exploration (and in some cases, dialogue)." I agree with this assessment. Blogging isn't about content delivery, it's also about interaction and engagement. More...
The appointment of a national research and innovation council was approved by the cabinet in Cyprus to promote research and entrepreneurship, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said. He said a series of decisions were taken aimed at strengthening research and innovation for the “development of appropriate conditions which will encourage innovative entrepreneurship”, writes Evie Andreou for Cyprus Mail. More...South Africa is wasting billions of rand on university students studying ‘soft’ degrees. According to a report in the Sunday Times, money meant for the National Skills Fund for the development of “badly needed artisans” is being used to fund all university students instead, reports My Broadband. More...The Centre for Independent Studies is calling on the Australian government to fine universities that fail to adequately protect and safeguard freedom of speech on campus. According to the think tank, universities are no longer a place where a robust exchange of ideologically diverse ideas springs forth, writes Michael McLaren for 2GB. More...The education ministry in Lebanon has fined three universities, recommending one lose its licence, as a judicial investigation looks into allegations that the institutions were involved in cash-for-degrees schemes, writes Gasia Trtrian for The Daily Star (Lebanon). More...Cambridge University is to offer disadvantaged students a year of free tuition after their A-levels to give them a ‘leg up’. The ‘Transitional Year’ programme will be for bright but poor pupils who are offered a place to study at Cambridge but fail to achieve good enough grades in their A-levels to meet their offer, writes Camilla Turner for The Telegraph. More...The Federal University Dutse in Nigeria’s Jigawa State has expelled 485 students for poor academic performance and sundry offences. The affected students were drawn from all the academic departments in the university. The management said more students would be axed soon, writes Abubakar Ahmadu Maishanu for Premium Times. More.../https%3A%2F%2Fprofilepics.canalblog.com%2Fprofilepics%2F1%2F0%2F1076071.jpg)
