By Stephen Downes
December 18, 2003
Big Time Publishing Fun With
Metadata
It is by their own admission a
primitive application of the semantic web, but where
Harper's is heading is definitely in the right direction.
Expore this item, and imagine it listing the contents not
of one but of 100 selected publications. "The best way to
think about this is as a remix: the taxonomy is an
automated remix of the narrative content on the site,
except instead of chopping up a ballad to turn it into
house music, we’re turning narrative content into an
annotated timeline. The content doesn’t change, just the
way it’s presented." Can you say groovy? Yeah! By Brian
Lamb, Object Learning, December 18, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Bush Reiterates Class Size
Problems
The other day I discussed the issue of
schools' investing in technology at the expense of teacher
salaries. Here's a similar dilemma: investing in classrooms
at the expense of teacher salaries. This article seems to
put Florida governer Jeb Bush in the position of defending
tecaher salaries and issuing warnings to schools that don't
reduce class sizes. But it's a bit muddled, and I don't
understand the link with high speed rail at all (I guess
you have to live there to get the whole picture). Anyhow:
the main point is that the issue goes beyond teachers
versus technology. Schools represent enormous capital
investments. If putting laptops into kids' hands can save
even half of this, there ought to be money for teachers.
Maybe? By Steve Bousquet, St. Petersburg Times, December
18, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Adobe Opens E-book Store
Adobe has
opened an e-book store, offering selections from major
publishers such as HarperCollins Publishers, Simon &
Schuster and Random House along with electronic versions of
publications such as Popular Science and The New York
Times. The move is a natural for a company that designed a
reader which locks content, preventing copying. This may be
more successful than the first wave of e-books: at least
you don't have to buy a special reader. But the content
would have to be compelling to purchase it in such a
user-hostile format. By David Becker, Globe and Mail,
December 18, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Universities - The New
Context
George Siemens cites this item in his
newsletter today. Simply: "Universities in Canada today are
booming as a result of the double cohort. But after the
boom will come the bust." What follows is an informed
series of observations, characterized as 'revolutions'
leading to an undeniable reality: " he average student can
no longer afford a 4 year term at university away from
home. Something in the cost mix will have to break. The
current system cannot deliver the price and the quality
that the student can afford and that the staff can
tolerate." The four points that conclude the article do not
constitute a solution, but a framework for a solution:
shift the burden beyond the President's office; shift the
organizational metaphor from machine to network; raise the
strategic debate at the University level from interest to
that of principle; and access the distributed intelligence
of the university is required. Yes - but what university
admionistration can let go like this? By Robert Paterson,
Robert Paterson's Weblog, December 17, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Nedtwork Learning
Environments
George Siemens also cites this
item, which reacts to Jay Cross's Connections: The Impact Of Schooling.
It's like he's reading Cross for the first time: "It's nice
to see an article... finally start to create an awareness
of the importance of networks both literally and as a
design metaphor for learning." What does he mean, finally?
Sure, understanding networks is important to understanding
online learning. And I encourage the development of models,
as this article does. Still. What can this mean? "The
demise of e-Learning had all the signs of failure from the
outset..." Or this? "Narrative is the nucleus of the
phenomenon we call learning; narrative is our interface..."
Read lightly, this article makes the right noises. Read
closesly, this article crumbles. There's no there there. By
Brian Alger, Inside Learning Web Log, December 16, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
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