OLDaily

By Stephen Downes
December 28, 2004

Firefox Tweak
This tweak will increase the speed of your Firefox browser - in my case, it almost doubled the speed. Basically, what it does is to allow Firefox to download multiple objects at once. Do not use it, however, unless you have a broadband internet connection. By SarahR, FutureStep, December 28, 2004 [Refer][Research][Reflect]

Thinking About Links
Good discussion of network theory and how it impacts learning technology. Spurred by his reading of Albert-Laszlo Barabasi's Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means, Alan Levine looks at things like powers laws and the long tail. A lot flows from looking at the world this way: in my own case, the idea of an educational environment as ecosystem, the self-organizing internet, and learning on what George Siemens has called connectivism. By Alan Levine, CogDogBlog, December 27, 2004 [Refer][Research][Reflect]

Top Ten Trends for 2005
This is actually a pretty good list, including some dark horses I've been watching myself - the potential of the fueld cell, for example, and the rise of biocraft. One item deals with the lagging U.S. cullular phone industry, another with the potential for desktop search. Nothing specific to the field of education, but educators should read this list. By Various Authors, Red Herring, December 28, 2004 [Refer][Research][Reflect]

University of Phoenix Simulations
Some definition and description, along with some examples. The salient point here is that simulations are being used as a marketing lead, a portent of the hype to come. By Various Authors, University of Phoenix, December, 2004 [Refer][Research][Reflect]

Five Ideas for 2005-2010 (with apologies to Jay Rosen)
With a nod to Jay rosen's top ten ideas for 2005, Will Richardson directs his thinking to education and comes up with a pretty good list of five major themes, emphasizing that "the biggest change is in the transparency and active learning that these new models offer." Pretty much my thinking as well. By Will Richardson, Weblogg-Ed, December 28, 2004 [Refer][Research][Reflect]

Remember...
[Refer] - send an item to your friends
[Research] - find related items
[Reflect] - post a comment about this item

Know a friend who might enjoy this newsletter?

Feel free to forward OLDaily to your colleagues. If you received this issue from a friend and would like a free subscription of your own, you can join our mailing list at http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/website/subscribe.cgi

[About This NewsLetter] [OLDaily Archives] [Send me your comments]