Stephen's Web ~ by Stephen Downes ~ Site Title

Forget the Kids--It's the Adults Online Who Need Critical Thinking Skills

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:19:36 -0400

May 19, 2013

Totally agree with Michele Martin: "If anyone needs training in critical thinking on the Internet, it's the adults who are still living in a world where media is something they consume unquestioningly because they've never had the experience of making it themselves. It's the adults who were raised on 'authorities' and 'experts,' in a monocultural world where many subcultures remained hidden from view and therefore assumptions about 'truth' and 'fact' were not questioned." For younger people, I would recommend much more subtle forms of critical thinking I've been discussing recently, in addition to the ones they already know: design patterns, television tropes, and the rest. [Link] [Comment]

Deconstructing the Work Literacy Learning Event

Mon, 1 Dec 2008 16:32:23 -0400

May 19, 2013

Not long after George Siemens and I launched our Connectivism course, Michele Martin, Harold Jarche and Tony Karrer launched their own Work Literacy structured in a very similar manner and using Ning as the aggregating agent (we used my own gRSShopper). Harold Jarche posted his reflections a few days after the course ended. The current post is Michele Martin's reflection. Interestingly, their experience was almost exactly the same as ours. Martin adds a list of things she'd change for next time: a shorter course, more consistent structure, more explicit sharing of responsibilities. See also Tony Karrer on the course design. [Link] [Comment]

Why the Internet Is Making Me Stupid

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:56:11 -0400

May 19, 2013

It seems odd to say that it's the internet that is making one stipud when the cause of said stupidity - homophily - is so easily addressed using that self-same internet. [Link] [Comment]

Six Reasons People Aren't Commenting On Your Blog

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:08:04 -0400

May 19, 2013

The six reasons offered in this article are all variation on the theme "you don't encourage comments". For myself, while I encourage people to comment, my preference is always to see them express their views in their own space. The intent of this website isn't to create a 'community' around the author, it is to share knowledge and foster learning, including the development of a mature network of self-sufficient individual online resources. More commentary on this topic from the Bamboo Project. [Link] [Comment]

My Personal Learning Environment

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 17:27:30 -0400

May 19, 2013

Interesting post not only touting the concept of the personal learning environment (PLE) but also describing how hers is built from existing applications. Good stuff. Via Brent Schlenker. Related: Clive Shepherd summarizes my talk on PLEs at the eLearning Guild conference in Boston. Also, Stephen Powell on the talk. What I am trying to describe is more than just an aggregation of current desktop apps - it's a bit like the digital lifestyle aggregator described by Marc Canter, but I don't seem to be able to convey what happens when all the parts are actually linked together. [Link] [Comment]