OLWeekly
by Stephen Downes
June 14, 2013
Off the Network: Disrupting the Digital World
Ulises Mejias,
June 14, 2013
Oh cool, Ulises Mejias has given us some weekend reading - "new book, Off the Network: Disrupting the Digital World, ... In it, I propose that digital networks increase opportunities for social and civic participation at the same time that they create certain kinds of inequalities, and I explore the question of how we would go about "unthinking" the network, and to what end. You can pick up a paper copy from your favorite bookseller. Thanks both to Minnesota Press and SUNY Oswego, the book is also available in an open access format, so you can read or download the whole manuscript right now -- for free! You can share the news by using the link offthenetwork.info (which redirects you to the publisher's page). Or you can send people to my personal website: ulisesmejias.com." We don't really have bookstores in Moncton any more (there's a Chapters but it mostly sells gifts and toys) but if I see it anywhere I'll be sure to but it - having a Mejias on your bookshelf is like having a fine wine.
G8 Science Ministers Statement London UK, 12 June 2013
G8,
June 14, 2013
I echo and support (enthusiastically) the G8 science ministers' committment to open scientific research: "To the greatest extent and with the fewest constraints possible publicly funded scientific research data should be open, while at the same time respecting concerns in relation to privacy, safety, security and commercial interests, whilst acknowledging the legitimate concerns of private partners. Open scientific research data should be easily discoverable, accessible, assessable, intelligible, useable, and wherever possible interoperable to specific quality standards." There's also language on peer-reviewed research papers. These things take their time to become policy, of course, but I am hopeful my work will be impacted by this statement. There's also a short THE article. Related, from a JISC discussion: Where are university websites hiding all their research?
A critical path: Securing the future of higher education in England
Institute for Public Policy Research,
June 14, 2013
The IPPR Commission on the Future of Higher Education sets out a challenge for Britain's Open University: "English higher education institutions should embrace the potential of new technologies by recognising credit from low-cost online courses so that these may count, in part, towards degree programmes. To make a start down this road we recommend that the Open University should accredit MOOCs provided via the FutureLearn platform so that they can count towards degree programmes offered by the OU itself and its partner institutions." This and 22 other recommendations may be found in its report on Securing the Future of Higher Education in England (156 page PDF). Here's a summary.
Working Examples
June 14, 2013
This is interesting: "Working Examples is a place where people working at the intersection of technology and education collaborate to solve problems, share their progress (and missteps) and make exciting things happen." I like the design and approach. I like concept of the 'Hall of Fail'. I don't like being asked to fill out Yet Another Profile (and especially that it 'requires' a picture and descirption and such). It seems to me though that it's going after the same niche as LinkedIn, which means it has some very tough sledding ahead.
'Happy Birthday' for All: Filmmaker Aims to Free Song From Copyright Grip
Eriq Gardner ,
The Hollywood Reporter,
June 13, 2013
Sherlock Holmes is in the public domain. Yet a company that claims it holds the 'rights' to Sherlock Holmes makes threats and enforces ownership by sending messages like this: "do not expect to see it offered for sale by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and similar retailers. We work with those company’s routinely to weed out unlicensed uses of Sherlock Holmes from their offerings, and will not hesitate to do so with your book as well." Zorro is public domain. And yet a publishers "have built a licensing empire out of smoke and mirrors." But the biggest scam of all may be the putative copyright over "Happy Birthday." Evidence? "The public began singing 'Happy Birthday to You' no later than the early 1900s." As evidence, the lawsuit cites a January 1901 edition of an Indiana school journal that described children singing the words 'happy birthday to you.'" And yet a company has been asserting a copyright for years, based on a 1924 songbook and a 1935 piano arrangement.
And So It Begins
http://canadianwayfarer.wordpress.com/2013/05/31/52/,
... And So It Begins,
June 13, 2013
My friend Scott Agnew (who I don't know really well, but well enough) has sold his house and all his stuff and is embarking for the forseeable future on a wandering tour of the world. It's an adventure that reminds me in more ways than one of the Motorcycle Diaries and I'm sure the travels will be equally influential on Scott's outlook and perspective. I wish him well, and I will be following his blog. Godspeed.
Hire Economics: Why Applying to Jobs Is a Waste of Time
Lou Adler,
LinkedIn,
June 13, 2013
We hear a lot about how important degrees are to getting a job. But often it never comes up. When people are hired internally or through their network, it's their performance, not their credentials, that resonates. And as this article shows, that's the case for most hiring - companies turn to job postings and resume screening only as a last resort. So while I would not recommend people not get degrees, I would emphasize that it is at least as important - and over time will be more important - to cultivate and work with a network of practitioners. That's why volunteer work, writing and blogging, open source programming, and similar activities are so important to your career prospects.
Review of Jaron Lanier’s “Who Owns the Future” – or how to extrapolate from false premises
Scott Jackisch ,
h+,
June 13, 2013
It's not exactly a favorable review, or even a fair one, but the value of this article is that it gives the reader a sense of what's in the book (which, ultimately, is the prupose of a good review). "The premise of Lanier’s new book 'Who Owns the Future' is that big data players are shrinking the economy by leveraging the largest servers to achieve information supremacy and then radiating risk out into the world." This is a really interesting concept - we are already familiar with the idea of 'the winner of an all-or-nothing contest' in a network; that was one of the main ideas in Albert-László Barabási's model. The idea that they 'radiate risk' is (to me, at least) new. I wish the reviewer had said more about it.
MOOCs and the Humanities
Jon Beasley-Murray,
Posthegemony,
June 13, 2013
"I am not against MOOCs," writes Jon Beasley-Murray. "In fact, I’m so not against MOOCs that I have spent much of this past year helping to start something that may turn out to be something of a DIY, home-grown MOOC. We’re calling it Arts One Digital." So what is he against? "It is not technology that is at issue or at fault here. It is the shallow, decontextualized, and unthinking way in which it is presented and equally thoughtlessly lapped up by an institution that has apparently lost its way." I think we can all agree with that.
We Are Not Dancing Bears
Bill Cooke,
Critical Faculties,
June 13, 2013
One of the things that has always bothered me about Mensa is that despite all the good the amassed brainpower could do, the majority of their time seems to be spent on games and puns. I have the same feelings about university professors - they have so much potential, but with some few exceptions, they don't even try to speak to the rest of the world, much less help it. So I have mixed feelings about the plight of professors who claim IP rights to their creations or object to being rated by their students. On the one hand I recognize the need for a self-managing academic profession independent from the strictures binding ordinary employees. On the other hand, I wish they'd use that freedom to do more than frittering away their skills and abilities.
The Secret(s) to OpenStack's Overnight Success
Matt Asay,
ReadWriteCloud,
June 12, 2013
OpenStack is an open source cloud services platform, similar to Amazon's web services, but created by a company called RackSpace and opened up to the community. It is free open source software released under the Apache license (so says Wikipedia). Here's a half-hour video introduction to OpenStack. It includes an object store, an image service, a computing service, and block storage (see the diagram above). Here's another intro. What does it mean, really? Today, people pay for web server hosts - that's how I run this website, for example. In ther future, they will be able to pay for object storage and computing power, including services and functions, as as my website gets more popular, these services will scale up with it, without me having to worry about adding extra machines and storage. And I'll be able to use it to support applications and services that can be run on a desktop, mobile phone, or inside a car - wherever I want.
Research: The Growth of Global E-learning
Catherine Upton, Jerry Roche,
Elearning!,
June 12, 2013
Good issue of Elearning Magazine with data-filled stories on the growth of global e-learning ("More than 40 percent of global Fortune 500 companies used technology during formal learning hours last year, leading to a 14.7 percent increase in learning/training budgets") and how e-learning is evolving ("e-learning continues to grow among both corporations and public sector. Today, learning is being transformed via enabling technologies like mobile, video and social"). I can't say I'm crazy about the magazine-style layout, but I guess that's how they roll.
Sonder | The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
John Koenig,
YouTube,
June 12, 2013
This is both the triumph and deep sadness of life: "sonder - n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own." From The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. "When your life moves on to the next scene, theirs flickers in place, wrapped in a cloud of backstory and inside jokes and characters strung together with countless other stories you'll never be able to see. That you'll never know exists."
Ground-breaking eLearning project – 'Vidunena' launched
News.LK,
June 12, 2013
‘Vidunena’ an eLearning initiative launched in Sri Lanka by mobile service provider Mobitel, e-learning services copmpany Felidae, and the Sri Lankan ministry of education. "Vidunena offers interactive video content which can be used by both the student and teacher... content comprising rich interactive videos, animations, animated games and simulations created using the latest in audio and video technology, green screen and keying technology as well as open source capturing and editing tools." The platform also supports real-time participation in video classrooms.
The iSchool Movement: Reflections From the Profession
Meghan Ecclestone,
Faculty of Information Quarterly,
June 12, 2013
This aerticle is a few years old but I just saw it today and I'm passing it along because the "iSchool Movement" is completely new to me. From their website, we learn "The iSchools organization is a collection of Information Schools dedicated to advancing the information field. These schools, colleges, and departments have been newly created or are evolving from programs formerly focused on specific tracks such as information technology, library science, informatics, information science, and more." The interview itself is pretty short and basic, with only tantalizing hints about a "path structure". This article says "A path is a type of meta-structure that links conceptually similar information in a ... Intermediate school." Via Academia.
Coursera Condescension
Jon Beasley-Murray,
Posthegemony,
June 11, 2013
Part of the whole marketing schtick is to make it seem like nothing would be possible without your particular product. It's unfortunate (but unsurprising) to see it at work here. "we dwell on Raúl Coaguila, a Peruvian who won a Fulbright, we are told, thanks to his Coursera expertise. Because the fact is, Koller informs us, there is 'not very much computer education to be had in Peru.'" Really? Jon Beasley-Murray has actually been to Peru. "Pretty much all you see are endless adverts for computer courses at the multitude of local colleges and universities. Try for instance, the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas or the Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería. Or even the venerable Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, which has been teaching computing for over seventy years. Heck, this October you could take part in the V Congreso Internacional de Computación y Telecomunicación, hosted at the Universidad Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. What, did Koller think they live in mud huts down there?" The same is true, I can attest, in other Latin American countries.
Exploring the Acceptability of Online Learning for Continuous Professional Development at Kenya Medical Training Colleges
Isaac William Kyalo, Sandra Hopkins,
The Electronic Journal of e-Learning,
June 11, 2013
This paper is essentially a survey of attitudes regarding the adoption of online learning. The authors find "little evidence that the quality and availability of technology is impacting on the decision of whether to undertake an OL course or not. Rather it appears that some of the practicalities of OL training create uncertainties in the minds of the lecturers." Given that the study is of staff and students in Kenya, this is an interesting result. But in a different sense, the results are not surprising. "There seemed to be some hesitation about the benefits of OL over face-to-face learning in light of the clinical nature of the subjects being studied and also about the accreditation of OL courses." Read more from the current issue of the The Electronic Journal of e-Learning.
Report of the E-Learning Work Group
Christopher Boddy,
University of Ottawa,
June 11, 2013
A major study on new learning technologies at the University of Ottawa recommends the adoption of blended learning. "Blended learning combines the best of online and face-to-face instruction to enhance the learning experience, improve outcomes and increase access in a cost-effective way... In particular, it recommends the development of 1,000 new blended courses (representing 20% of the total course current offering) equivalent to having 500 professors using blended learning by 2020." Additionally, it "does not recommend developing MOOCs in the short term without first doing a detailed market analysis and a feasibility study" but does recommend "strategically developing 'flag-ship'MOOCs in French in the medium term after undertaking a feasibility analysis that assesses the costs and benefits." Via Tony Bates.
Connectivity – The Achilles Heel of Remote Knowledge Web Work
Luis Suarez,
E L U S A,
June 11, 2013
Luis Suarez writes, "when you are working from the traditional office space things are relatively good in terms of connectivity. You know, everyone working along through the same pipes, so to speak... however, when you are a remote knowledge worker, who depends on the Web for the majority of your work, things are much different." From my own observation, this effect is exaggerate if you introduce competition into the workplace. The people located together (and near the big boss) benefit from proximity.
The Open Road
Stephen Downes,
Half an Hour,
June 11, 2013
I have once again found myself enmeshed in one of the interminable arguments with people supporting open licensing. It happened after I posted some tweets saying Creative Commons should promote all its licenses equally. It boiled over in the discussion lists where once again I was accused of being everything from anti-profit to pro-commercialism, and told that if I wanted to participate in an open access research project, I should just change my principles. I am honestly tired of this endless discussion, and I simply don't have the same resources to throw at this that the publishers and marketers have. But I'll say, for the record, that it's wrong to say that a resource is "free" and "open" only if you can charge money for it. I make the point in a story about roads, which will be my last word on the topic for the foreseeable future. If the people supporting free and open learning really want to be toadies for the marketing class, well they can go ahead and do that. If they ever decide to support free and open learning resources where people don't have to pay for them, they can talk to me and we'll move forward on that basis. Me, I'm taking the Open Road, even should it prove to be the road less traveled.
StopWatching.Us: Mozilla launches massive campaign on digital surveillance
Mozilla,
June 11, 2013
Honestly, I don't think they're going to stop watching, at least, they won't stop watching in the online equivalent of public spaces and malls. But the secrecy of the program, and uncertainly about how the data will be used, is sufficient to warrant concern, especially when the data is extended to include things like health and education. Anyhow, some recent coverage:
- Mozilla's StopWatching.Us campaign
- Top Ten Ways the US Government will Smear, Slight Whistleblower Edward Snowden - Juan Cole
- Spy agencies have turned our digital lives inside out. We need to watch them - Globe and Mail
- Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations - Guardian
- The Problem Is the Oversight, Not the NSA's Data Gathering - Harvard Business Review
- The Media’s Sound and Fury Over NSA Surveillance - Forbes / Larry Downes
- Looking at Education Through a New Prism and The End of the Techno–Utopia - Clarence Fisher
- Owning your own data is cool but having your own awesome site is cooler - Ben Werdmuller
Why these resources? These are the ones I thought offered some insight or original point of view. Related: I think Obama could make this a defining moment of his presidence, in a good way, drafting clear legislation ensuring transparency, equity of access, and protection of personal provacy, with respect to online data.
MOOCs, Hype, and the Precarious State of Higher Ed: Futurist Bryan Alexander
Howard Rheingold,
DML Central,
June 11, 2013
Howard Rheingoild interviews Bryan Alexander in this wide-ranging 24-minute video (with text-intro, if you're rushed) on the fuiture of MOOCs. Writes Rheingold, "the ballyhooed arrival of free MOOCs into this frightening intersection of economic, intellectual, and social forces has ignited debate about the future of universities. The Reedie in me asks: What is the place of liberal arts ideals in an atmosphere like this?"
Learning to Use Brain-Computer Interfaces
Ed Yong,
The Scientist,
June 11, 2013
Discovering how we learn in a completely new domain is teaching us more about how we learn. In this case, reserachers are studying how we learn to use brain-controlled interfaces (BCIs). These are sensors that detect brain activity in order to move cursors, remote-controlled helicopters, and even artificial limbs. "We learn to use BCIs in the same way that we learn other motor skills, like riding a bicycle or throwing a ball. At first, it takes deliberate conscious effort and involves a network of many different brain regions. As people practice, however, the tasks become easier and almost automatic, and the network becomes much less active... we will be able to design systems that train users in the most effective way possible, slowly adding complexity while they develop skill."
The fiction of most school mission statements
Scott Mcleod,
Dangerously Irrelevant,
June 10, 2013
"Our actions put the lie to our school mission statements that state that we’re about creating 'self-motivated, life-long learners,' writes Scott McLeod. "The result is that most of what [our students] experience during school hours passes over them like the shadow of a cloud, or through them like an undigested seed." Some good discussion, with references, on the concept of intrinsic motivation, and how we seem to have abandoned the concept entirely in education. And elsewhere too, I would argue. See also: Hold it Right There, We learn about black holes in year 10, not year 8, from Alice Leung.
Education-industry joint venture rolls out online courses
Ishan Srivastava,
The Times of India,
June 10, 2013
Amid all the discussion around Athabasca's Mooc Research Initiative was the really good comment that ". This research project appears to have made a deep identification of MOOC with large, centralised providers. Any effort that does not involve large, centralized providers is already deemed an 'alternative'." Venkataraman Balaji added, in an email, "It would be interesting to speculate what if a similar approach had gained ground in the earlier stages of OER movement; for example, if OER was identified deeply with celebrity projects like the OCW or CNX, would new, large scale contributors have come on the scene? ...viewing OER as a more generic paradigm with a few initial, shining examples like OCW gave confidence to workers in developing countries that they could meaningfully participate in the global OER paradigm." He refers us to this course as an example of what we might call 'generic MOOC' (as opposed to the heavily publicized 'brand name MOOC' initiatives). I know Coursera and EdX are signing up a lot of partners, but I'm seeing a lot - a lot - of activity outside their corporate firewalls. Which is good, and necessary.
Online Education Will Be the Next 'Bubble' To Pop, Not Traditional University Learning
John Tamny,
Forbes,
June 10, 2013
Forbes doesn't often get it right, but in this case they do: "With university education jaw-droppingly expensive, it’s often asked what in terms of instruction kids are getting in return for the huge cost. Of course that’s a false question. Parents and kids once again aren’t buying education despite their protests to the contrary. Going to college is a status thing, not a learning thing. Kids go to college for the experience, not for what’s taught. And that’s why there’s no ‘bubble’ forming in the university world. There isn’t one not because Yale and Stanford students learn anything of real world value, but because each school is a door opener." If you understand this, you understand why MOOCs have to be about connecting people, rather than merely about transmitting content.
Union Unveils Its Own MOOC Consortium… OpenUpEd
June 9, 2013
The MOOC momentum continues. "the European Union wants to get in to the MOOC game and is doing so now with a dozen partners at colleges throughout Europe in its new OpenUpEd MOOC platform." Image: Ville Miettinen via Compfight.
Announcing: MOOC Research Initiative
George Siemens,
Athabasca University,
June 9, 2013
Athabasca University has launched something called the 'MOOC Research Hub' in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Part of this is a call for research proposals on MOOCs - you can find the details here - funding research projects for between $10K-$25K. There is also a research evidence hub. Note that submission must agree to publish a paper under CC-by (I wonder why CC-NC wasn't allowed) and present the results at a conference in Texas (why Texas?). Also, recommended by Alastair Creelman, a good article on MOOC research by George Veletsianos, The research that MOOCs need.
Parents Present Pearson With $38 Million Invoice for Use of Child Labor for Field Tests
Norm Scott,
Ed Notes Online,
June 9, 2013
Interesting reaction to the testing and corporate-education phenomenon: parents have presented Pearson publishers with a bill for the use of their children in field tests. It does raise a question about the ethics of these testing programs, doesn't it? (Imagine a government researcher like myself requested mandatory testing of 434,000 people in (say) New Brunswick - it would never happen, and for good reason). "Parents calculated the value of their children’s free labor, including the opportunity costs of lost instructional time and resources, and added these to the real costs to schools of administering the June tests."
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