Stephen's Web

[Chat] [Discuss] [Search] [Mobile] [About] [Archives] [Options]

OLDaily

OLDaily is currently being produced by Barry Dahl (BD), Harold Jarche (HJ), and Gary Woodill (GW).

by Stephen Downes
June 27, 2008

Kids Are Quick
There's not a lot of humor in the learning field, but because it is Friday afternoon, I thought this might bring a smile. Albert Ip lists some student responses to teachers that show that they are quick thinkers. Enjoy! - GW Albert Ip, Random Walk in Learning, June 27, 2008 [Link] [Tags: ] [Comment]

Mail-Only Repositories
Neil Fegen describes how he uses e-mail as a personal repository, and introduces Xoopit, a new product (in beta) that stores and organizes all your e-mail attachments for easy retrieval. I am always looking for tools that improve personal productivity, so I will give this one a try. -GW Neil Fegen, Neil's Blog, June 27, 2008 [Link] [Tags: ] [Comment]

It's the Method, Not the Medium
"I've long thought that method and medium are often confused as concepts when the pros and cons of technology-assisted learning are being argued." Shepherd includes some links to additional readings on the subject that are with the time it takes, and closes with a money quote: "As such, e-learning is neither effective nor ineffective; it's just a channel. What you put through this channel is up to you." -BD Clive Shepherd, Clive on Learning, June 27, 2008 [Link] [Tags: ] [Comment]

The Banned Collection - Issue 1
Stager is releasing some of his lost episodes, meaning those columns or articles that must have been too controversial to get published, or where "the publisher or Editor-in-Chief objected to the content of a column and refused to punish (sic) it. On other occasions I would not make changes I felt would dilute my argument or insult the intelligence of the reader." Issue 1 is a six year old open letter to Steve Jobs asking him to not promote sales of laptop carts to schools. The magazine didn't want to offend Apple or Jobs so they wouldn't run it. Stager lists 11 reasons why Jobs "should help schools think different about laptops and education." That list includes 2) kids can and should be trusted with a laptop, 4) teacher professionalism is enhanced, 6) the digital divide may be closed, and 11) new models of learning, teaching and schooling may emerge. He closes with "Here's to the crazy ones who will free computers from the shackles of computer labs and newfangled carts by giving kids freedom to be their very best." -BD Gary Stager, Stager-to-Go, June 27, 2008 [Link] [Tags: , , , ] [Comment]

Things That Make You Go Hmmmmm...
David Truss has listed nine things that make you go hmmm about learning and education. His challenge is to "Create your own ripples. Pick one of the nine THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMMMM and share it with your staff. Or create your own (and please share it with me as well as others)." I like the Mr Winkle Wakes video, a new way of presenting an old theme. -HJ David Truss, Pair-a-Dimes for Your Thoughts, June 27, 2008 [Link] [Tags: ] [Comment]

Reason for Using Weblog to Keep Information Bits
Lilia Efimova is back to blogging on her new WordPress site with a recent post that discusses how your blog can help you keep things found on the Web. The list includes "Context (remembering why it was saved) / Reminding. Most of my weblog posts contain a commentary that provides a context for a specific thought or reference; I also use multiple strategies to establish connections between different posts." Lilia introduced me to the concept of personal knowledge management (PKM) several years ago and I'm sure her almost-finished PhD dissertation related to blogging will become a major reference in the field. -HJ Lilia Efimova, Mathemagenic, June 27, 2008 [Link] [Tags: , , ] [Comment]

This newsletter is sent only at the request of subscribers. If you would like to unsubscribe, Click here.

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. Click here to subscribe.

Copyright 2008 Stephen Downes
Contact: stephen@downes.ca

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons License.