By Stephen Downes
December 31, 2003
How Boring is the E-Learning
Market
Reflections from an e-learning conference
held recently in Britain. Cynical reflections. "The
industry stages very predictable events where: publishers
argue that there should be more emphasis on e-learning
content; software companies argue that there should be more
emphasis on tools; and learning theorists want to see more
collaboration between learners and more attention on
'pedagogy' in general." Yup. Some glimmer of hope: "Donald
Clarke was brave enough to challenge some of the emerging
e-learning orthodoxies, arguing that 'giving teachers new
e-learning tools is not going to solve the problems
affecting dropout in education' and that adult learners
like to learn free from the trappings of teachers and
institutions." By David Jennings, al.chem'i.cal, December
30, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Actionable Sense, Networks and
Purpose
Interesting item, based on the concept
that "meaning and full extension of skills (and self, too)
occur within the social context of a project that has a
contextual and social purpose - an objective to focus the
deployment of skills. Then we have actionable sense." This
idea is used to defined the development of 'ad hoc
networks' that collect those skills within an organization
that can meet the stated objective. It's a good model for
organizational organization, but cautions are warranted:
not every action on the part of a member of an organization
needs to make actionable sense. Some things should be
undertaken without a specific objective in mind. Otherwise,
the capacities of members of the network will never grow.
By Spike Hall, Spike Hall's RU Weblog, December 31, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
101 Ways to Save the Internet
Good
fun, a light read, and some good sense. By Paul Boutin,
Wired, January, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
The Algebra of RSS Feeds
Useful
first steps toward defining a notation for the manipulation
of the contents of RSS feeds, including accounts of feed
splitting, splicing, subtracting and more. In the comments
I have added to the termninology and offered formal
definitions for each term in a type of basic predicate
calculus for feeds. By JDJ News Desk, Linux World, December
30, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
The Roadmap to Redesign
We can
forgive, I guess, the Center for Academic Transformation
for its use of a now clichéd phrase in its title. The point
of the plan is to test a new model "that partners
experienced, successful institutions with new institutions
and relies upon best practices and learning materials with
a proven track record in particular disciplines."
Guidelines for participation, reports Carol A. Twigg in an
email, will be published on February 1, 2004. By Various
Authors, Center for Academic Transformation, December, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
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