November 2, 2013
Will Shuttleworth Reclaim Your Domain?
Jim Groom,
bavatuesdays,
November 2, 2013
Jim Groom posts his Shuttleworth Foundation application online, which I find deliciously subversive. I wonder what the grant selection process would look like if all applications were posted online. The cynic in me suggests that the selection process (not just by Shuttleworth, but by any foundation or granting agency doing this) would be very different.
NSA Files Decoded: What the Revelations Mean to You
Ewen Macaskill, Gabriel Dance,
The Guardian,
November 2, 2013
Edward Snowden's revelations about NSA spying on ordinary citizens and world leaders has been a sensational story from day one. But the details behind the stgory are sometimes arcane and mysterious. This report from the Guardian - which has taken the lead in breaking the story - goes a long way toward making the details clearer. It's also an exercise in innovative multimedia journalism that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. It's work looking at as an example of how to present a set of complex ideas in a multimedia format. It's also worth a look if only to understand the nature of surveillance online. Because the NSA isn't the only player doing this.
Using Social Media to Empower Madagascar’s Youth
Unattributed,
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),
November 2, 2013
Taking a page from a recent novel (which I will not name) that became popular on e-readers because people could read it without other people seeing the cover, officials in Madagasgar are taking to the internet to offer courses in reproductive health. This is a nation where more than half the population is under 20 years old, where one in three girls becomes pregnent before the age of 18, and yet where discussion of such matters remains taboo. Accessing online learning about these subjects using mobile and online technology won't, of course, address these issues by itself. But it's a start. Kudos to project founder Manantsoa Ratsarazaka.
Introducing Coursera Learning Hubs: Global Participation, Local Access and Support!
Unattributed,
Coursera Blog,
November 2, 2013
OK, so you're launching a worldwide franchise operation for your free online courses. Where do you locate? Shanghai? Sure. Chennai? Why not? But what about these places: Baghdad, Cairo, Helsinki, Juba, La Paz, Phnom Penh, Tbilisi, Kakamega...? Not that I have anything against these cities, but they see like such an odd set of selections. But oh - they are establishing their franchises in "more than 30 Embassies, American Spaces, campuses, and other physical locations." OK, that explains the locations. But now the franchising strategy - in which the United States Department of State is a partner - is even odder. And we'll give props to Roman Gelembjuk for predicting this a year ago (and me for predicting it in 1998, I guess).
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