By Stephen Downes
March 10, 2004
Learning to do Social Science Research in the
Knowledge Economy: A Manifesto
Gosh, I love
papers with the word 'manifesto' in the title. And while
the topic of this tract diverges a bit from the usual
e-learning fare, it is a nice counterpoint to Jay Cross's
comments on edubabble and also some of the discussions I
have had here about research methodology in public policy.
The author's premise, simply put, is that social research
occurs in a global context. What that means pragmatically,
in my mind, is that the data never speaks for itself
(however much theorists would like us to believe
otherwise), that the nature of the enquiry is such that a
particular cultural, social and political context is
presupposed in any empirical research, and that researchers
need to be aware of this from the outset. This does not
speak against the validity of empirical data, but it
defines some limits as to the sorts of questions raw data
can answer. By Martin Terre Blanche, Collaborative
Learning, March 10, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Blackboard Inc., Partners with Leading
Academic Publishers
Blackboard continues to make
news as it announces a deal to integrate various learning
applications into the LMS. According to the press release,
"The development project, titled 'ChalkBox,' will go beyond
simple importation of textbook-related electronic content
to accommodate more sophisticated integration between the
publishers' hosted instructional applications and
Blackboard-powered course web sites at client
institutions." Partners in the project include Houghton
Mifflin, Pearson Education and Thomson Higher Education.
Now I have called on Blackboard to import open educational
content but the company's affiliation with commercial
publishers seems to close the door on that possibility.
While this deal will no doubt improve Blackboard's
prospects in its recently announced IPO, one wonders
whether signing up for Blackboard also commits one to using
nothing but commercial content. By Press Release,
Blackboard, March 8, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
A Method of Evaluating
Training
Nice short white paper describing what
the author calls the DMAIC methodology for training return
on investment (ROI). DMAIC stands for Design, Measure,
Analyze, Improve, Control. I don't think that this paper is
groundbreaking, but it is nonetheless worth a read because
it maps out clearly a mechanism for relating training to
organizational objectives. By Martin Schmalenbach,
Potential Energy, March, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Copyright, Access and Digital
Texts
Good overview of the case for open access
to educational materials, with a lot of links later on in
the paper to open content projects. Note that the article
is several pages long; you may not notice the link to the
next page at the bottom of the page. By Charlie Lowe,
Across the Disciplines, March, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Merger For Rival RSS/ATOM
Formats?
I think we're still a long way away
from merging the various content syndication formats, but
the discussion was ignited again over the weekend with a
proposal from RSS 2.0 advocate Dave Winer that such a
merger occur. By Ryan Naraine, InternetNews.Com, March 9,
2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Patrick Henry College Grooming Conservative
Leaders
One of the outcomes of online learning
has been enhanced support for home schooling. And one of
the outcomes of the rising home schooling movement has been
the development of colleges that target support to this
sector. However, this development has been noted with
concern by some, since the movement has allowed for the
development of educational institutions with specific
political and religious leanings. Such is the case with
Patrick Henry College, which states explicitly, "The
Mission of Patrick Henry College is to train Christian men
and women who will lead our nation and shape our culture
with timeless biblical values and fidelity to the spirit of
the American founding." The authors don't mean "lead" in a
metaphorical sense. "Abram Olmstead knew he would fit right
in at Patrick Henry College, the first college primarily
for evangelical Christian home-schoolers. But what really
sold him was the school's pipeline into conservative
politics." Now I believe that people should have the right
to choose whatever religious and political affiliation they
wish. Where I express concern with this movement is that
the religious and political affiliation may be being thrust
upon the students involved. In their "pipeline to
conservative politics" through home schooling and Patrick
Henry, are these students given the opportunity to learn
about, and consider, alternative points of view? I make
this point not because I oppose the conservative Christian
perspective, but because a nation educated in this way is
running the risk of creating a generation of leaders that
cannot compromise, cannot envision life in a diverse
culture and world. It creates an inevitability of conflict,
and this does not bode well for anyone. By David D.
Kirkpatrick, New York Times, via Twin Cities Pioneer Press,
March 8, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
SA, India, Brazil Outline
Co-Operation
Distance learning is a part of this
agreement, just signed in New Delhi by South Africa, India
and Brazil. It will be interesting to see what comes of the
cooperation between these three countries. By Jonathan
Katzenellenbogen, AllAfrica.Com, March 5, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Do We Really Use Only 10 Percent of our
Brains?
The answer to the question, offered in
this Scientific American article, is no. If you think about
it, "Losing far less than 90 percent of the brain to
accident or disease has catastrophic consequences." There
is a great deal of myth surrounding how the brain
functions. Much of that myth is offered in papers like this one, offered by a reader on the
trdev mailing list as a follow-up to the previous link.
This latter paper should not be taken seriously; it
contains numerous scientific and conceptual errors. It
would help if we knew more about how the brain works, but
we know a great deal now, and it would help more if this
knowledge were reflected in common consciousness, not
obscured by fable. By Barry L. Beyerstein, Scientific
American, March, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Know a friend who might enjoy this
newsletter?
Feel free to forward OLDaily to your colleagues. If you
received this issue from a friend and would like a free
subscription of your own, you can join our mailing list
at
http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/website/subscribe.cgi
[
About This NewsLetter] [
OLDaily Archives]
[
Send me your comments]