Edu_RSS
Technology and Education
Technology and Education; what is to be done? An Interview with Susan Patrick How is the U.S. Department of Education planning to harness and encourage educational technology in the second term of George Bush? Is educational technology mostly about more... From
Teaching and Developing Online. on February 4, 2005 at 10:54 p.m..
When Blogging Goes Bad.
Like email and the World Wide Web in their times, blogs have become the "killer app" of the moment. Three years ago, all but the most hardcore of followers of Internet phenomenons would not have thought much of the term... From
Teaching and Developing Online. on February 4, 2005 at 10:54 p.m..
Circumsoect Blogging
Freedom of speech is a tricky thing, since speech and publishing (including blogging) can have all sorts of consequences. Whenever you're concerned about possible consequences, that makes your speech a little less free. Reckless speech can cost you dearly. That... From
Teaching and Developing Online. on February 4, 2005 at 10:54 p.m..
E-Learning Acupuncture
With the rapid expansion of the field of e-learning in the last ten years educational institutions are faced with a major ethical dilemma: how to adapt current copyright legislation to fit the new e-learning phenomenon. Digital rights management is a... From
Teaching and Developing Online. on February 4, 2005 at 10:54 p.m..
Rubric for Online Instruction
We had our first Teaching and Learning with Technology Seminar for 2005 yesterday. Laura Sederberg, the Manager of the Technology and Learning Program at Cal State Chico talked with us about the subject, "Evaluating Online Instruction", where she outlined the... From
Teaching and Developing Online. on February 4, 2005 at 10:54 p.m..
Using Computers in Education
Using the blogger in the classroom would be a rewarding experience. Though seeming tedious when first beginning the blogging experience, then turned into something that I enjoyed doing. The sites that I found to blog were both fun, interesting, and... From
Teaching and Developing Online. on February 4, 2005 at 10:54 p.m..
Rageboy's Caverns
RageBoy does a post with my name on it. It's all part of the spelunking he's been doing for months, finding the passages that connect the echoing caverns of AI, cognitive psych, marketing, New Age-ism and the Boy Scouts. He's charting one hell of a map. Why is this entry for me? I sent Chris a 2005 "Who Moved My Cheese" calendar and he apparently made the mistake of reading all 365 entries in one sitting, the pharmaceutical equivalent of downing six tabs of windowpane. [Technorati tag: rageboy]... From
Joho the Blog on February 4, 2005 at 10:48 p.m..
Downtime
Sorry about the downtime. Dan was trying to fix the comments to make it so I could easily delete bad posts, but it broke the whole thing. I just put back the old one. So we should be fine, and so should our friend, spammer bozhang. I am getting better at editing him out - it's just a matter of whether he can post viruses, etc., that threaten my server and get me in trouble. I'll deal with it. Your news and reward for continued visitation: 1) I'm doing a new column in the FREE magazine, Arthur. It's not a pay thing, but a love t From
rushkoff.blog on February 4, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..
Senses Special: The Art of Seeing Without Sight
Fascinating article about a blind man who has learned to paint realistic scenes. The suggestion is that, despite his blindness, his visual cortex remains active and informed by other senses, allowing him to imagine what he ought to be seeing. Via elearningpost. By Alison Motluk, New Scientist, January 29, 2005 [
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OLDaily on February 4, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..
Is Instructional Video Game an Oxymoron?
Overview of the use of games in learning, with descriptions or examples from UNICEF, the American Cancer Society, Greenpeace and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. "Through online games, we're teaching a whole generation to authenticate their currency," said Dawn Haley, a spokeswoman [for the Bureau]. "It was one easy way to get children involved. Gaming is huge these days." By Matt Richtel, New York Times, February 4, 2005 [
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OLDaily on February 4, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..
Technology and Education; What is to Be Done?
Interview with Susan Patrick, Director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education. Here's a flavour: " Our first one is, we have a goal to blur the lines between administrative and instructional technologies. What I mean by that is that our goal is to integrate data systems, so that we have better use of all data to help drive student achievement.... You know, the students want to know how they are doing, too. Just like when they play the video games, they hit a button, numbers come up, and they can tell where they are behind, and they work like crazy at i From
OLDaily on February 4, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..
Corporate Desktop Linux - The Hard Truth
First of what looks like a good series on the 'hard truth' about total cost of ownership of Linux desktops in a corporate environment. This article tells us what we (may) have known all along: that you can't save money buying a desktop with Linux installed; the computer stores, if they sell them at all, sell them for as much or more. By W. McDonald Buck, OSDir, February 4, 2005 [
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From OLDaily on February 4, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..
Tag Team
Overview of the phenomenon known as 'tagging' - that is, the use of user-created keywords (or 'tags') to classify digital content. The resulting (and some say 'emergent') organization of categories is sometimes known as a 'folksonomy'. Tagging is used by sites such as Flick, del.icio.us and Technorati. Worth noting: tag spam. "These 'self-organising effects' aren't always benign. Some bloggers showed that the 'teens' tag on Tech norati brought together innocent photos from Flickr and links to pornographic sites." More on folksono From
OLDaily on February 4, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..
When Blogging Goes Bad: A Cautionary Tale About Blogs, Email Lists, Discussion, and Interaction
James Farmer
notes that an article such as this that points out the downside of educational blogging "is as valuable as 10 papers on why blogging is great." As with any other medium, student "more or less said that they needed the direction of a teacherly assignment to write, and they weren't going to 'just want to write' in a blog space." For this and other reasons, the blogs simply did not generate the community discussion the instructor had hoped. Readers may enjoy some of the other article in
OLDaily on February 4, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..
edugadget
"New and already improved," edugadget features product-specific blog posts intended for educators. I like the nice clean look, the organization of content, and the product-by-product theme, which over time, will result in a really nice database of product reviews. By Steve Brooks, February, 2005 [
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OLDaily on February 4, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..
Sound Recording Tips and Techniques
Some rounding up to do in the world of podcasting. In
this item Doug Kaye links to some sites offering tips and advice on sound recording (the whole
Blogarithms site is well worth the time - and I really like the site design).
Matt Pasiewicz also offers some links to Audacity tutorials (Audacity is free sound recording software). You'll also find on From
OLDaily on February 4, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..
Instructional video games
Heaher Ross passed along this interesting article from the NY Times about how organizations are using online gaming as a way to attract an audience in a message-cluttered world. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/04/business/04games.html?oref=login Now, you'll need a subscription, but remember to use bugmenot... From
Rick's Café Canadien on February 4, 2005 at 9:53 p.m..
Lernen mit WebQuests
"WebQuest ist ein Modell, das den Lernenden und Lehrenden die sinnvolle Integration des Internet in den Unterricht ermöglicht. Im Kern geht es darum, ein Problem im Wesentlichen mit Hilfe von Internetquellen zu bearbeiten und zu lösen." So heisst es... From
www.weiterbildungsblog.de on February 4, 2005 at 9:51 p.m..
MANE text markup project to present in Berkeley
A MANE campus professor and instructional technologist will present their work at the International Conference on Technology, Knowledge and Society in Berkeley this month. Katharyn Tomasek and Scott Hamlin, both from Wheaton College, will discuss a project involving TEI-standard... From
MANE IT Network on February 4, 2005 at 8:58 p.m..
Circumspect Blogging
Freedom of speech is a tricky thing, since speech and publishing (including blogging) can have all sorts of consequences. Whenever you're concerned about possible consequences, that makes your speech at little less free. Reckless speech can cost you dearly. That tradeoff may not be ideal, but that's life. Yesterday, my good friend (and one of the smartest people I know) Dave Taylor tackled this thorny topic. See his article, "Who Owns Your Words, Blogger?" I mostly agree with Dave's perspective, but I'm maybe just a touch more paranoid than he is... From
Contentious Weblog on February 4, 2005 at 8:55 p.m..
Vive la global text, audio et video conversation!
This global text, audio and video conversation powered by the RSS and blog infrastructure is inevitable and disruptive in unexpected ways. And there's lots of money to be made and lost along the way. From
The Surging Tides of a Digital Torrent.: QUOTEBy the end of the decade, therefore, a billion people will have the ability to contribute not just text but photos and video instantly to the global virtual conversation. The results will echo throughout society, as From
Roland Tanglao's Weblog on February 4, 2005 at 8:52 p.m..
More About the Objectivity Conundrum
"
Long Tail" author Chris Anderson
says on his weblog that "the traditional premium on impartial journalism is a function of media scarcity: If you are the main or sole source of news you have an obligation to be balanced." So, in an infoglut, what happens to objectivity?Even if you think the discussion is bound to throw the baby out with the bath water, it's worth having, and you can get a good start by reading Anderson's From
Poynter E-Media Tidbits on February 4, 2005 at 7:56 p.m..
When Using the Web is the Reflex
Does anyone still look up number, business names in a big thick yellow pages phone book? Is that still the first reflex when a net connected computer is in reach? Two recent observations indicate that for many folks, not just techies, but Jane and Joe Citizen, the web is becoming the reflex. We have a new site up for
a regional theatre festival our colleges are hosting -- it is a hugely complex multi-day event, with maybe 1000 attendees. I got 3 concerne email messages lasy night (rightfully so) as the address I had for the main confere From
cogdogblog on February 4, 2005 at 7:48 p.m..
How Blogging Has Changed People's Lives
Jeff Jarvis has initiated a
great discussion on his BuzzMachine blog, asking people to post examples of "bloggers whose lives have changed in major ways" because of their blogs.On the positive side of the ledger are notes about people who were reunited with old friends, met and married or got jobs via a blog. On the other side are a number of instances where people lost their jobs because of their blogging. It's a fascinating look at how much the digital world is becoming intertwined From
Poynter E-Media Tidbits on February 4, 2005 at 6:54 p.m..
Amateur Photo Blogging in Arizona
As I've been writing for some time, citizen blogs are a great addition to any news website. Here's a great example from
AZStarnet, website of the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson: the
State Playoff Photo Blog.The site's editors decided to add an extra element to their high-school soccer playoffs coverage by publishing the state championship through the eyes of the players. They invited three local high school playoff teams to document their week in pictures. The members of th From
Poynter E-Media Tidbits on February 4, 2005 at 6:54 p.m..
Google Autolinker, part 2
In case you were wondering, this is how Philipp's autolinker autolinks my post about his autolinker: Philipp Lenssen's Google Blogoscoped shows the results of a tool that checks Google for the longest occurrences of strings from a text on the web, and then turns it into a link. I. e. , if you run your page through it, it finds any phrases that have a significant number of hits in Google, and links each phrase to its top return. (I think. ) Cool idea. Alas, Philipp writes that the tool is too slow to be made public, although he offers... From
Joho the Blog on February 4, 2005 at 6:48 p.m..
IT Helpdesks: Theory And Practice
I keep a pad of frequently called numbers near my office phone- there is a number next to a label called "Helpless desk". In theory, this is how our helpdesk works. I go to a web site and fill submit a problem request form. It gets routed electronically to someone who addresses the issue. The helpdesk ticket is closed, I am notified by email, and merrily continue to perform my job. In practice this is actually what happened this week. I got an email from a white hat hacker w From
cogdogblog on February 4, 2005 at 6:48 p.m..
A(sin)9?
Waxy points out that The O.C. (apparently it's a tv show) had a character use the phrase "A9.com'd," referring to the a9 search site. A9 is doing an extremely cool thing with its views of city blocks, but the denial by A9's CEO that the O.C. comment was a paid product placement rings hollow. I mean, does Donald Trump deny that Nescafe paid "The Apprentice" lots of money to get mentioned maybe 150 times the other night? Being as honest and ethical as The Donald sets the bar pretty low, A9! [Technorati tags: product placement a9]... From
Joho the Blog on February 4, 2005 at 5:48 p.m..
Hurry Up! Elpais.es' Sports Section Is Free Until Sunday
Madrid is passing these current days nervously as a candidate to host the Olympic Games of 2012. The evaluation commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is in the city examining whether Madrid can be the most suitable location for the big event.As a way to support the Spanish candidacy, the
sports section of elpais.es, the website of the newspaper El Pais, is open to all users until Sunday. Normally, there's a subscription charge to access the site. So, not paid-registered users, hurry up! From
Poynter E-Media Tidbits on February 4, 2005 at 4:55 p.m..
Napster To Go Launches
Staci Kramer has a bunch of
good links over at PaidContent. I don't think it'll be a total flop, but my own perspective is most similar to
Ashlee Vance's. Counter to the Napster advertising line, the math doesn't work out for me. I don't think I spend $180 on music per year. I like the idea of being able to explore Napster's million track catalog, but there are plenty of other ways I can discover new musi From
A Copyfighter's Musings on February 4, 2005 at 4:48 p.m..
Moodle query
Is anyone in the MANE group exploring Moodle, an open source course management application? This one continues to generate interest.... From
MANE IT Network on February 4, 2005 at 3:57 p.m..
"2005 - das Jahr der Innovation"
Manchmal laufen die Gedanken parallel: Da ergänze ich gerade noch eine aktuelle Trendbestimmung um das Stichwort "informelles Lernen", da geht der Autor derselben schon anderer Stelle in einem Interview auf das Thema ein! Deshalb will ich Frage und Antwort zum... From
www.weiterbildungsblog.de on February 4, 2005 at 3:51 p.m..
The Motivation Behind Social Security Reform
Tonight's State of the Union address by the president focused in part on Social Security. Many are asking why the sudden interest in a system that seems to be working just fine. Isn't the president taking big political risks for nothing by doing this? In fact there are serious problems that are compelling the administration to take immediate action on Social Security funding. From
kuro5hin.org on February 4, 2005 at 3:45 p.m..
Is it time to let the Pope die?
Pope John Paul II is in stable condition in the hospital. His respiratory ailments are the latest of a string of health problems. As his time draws nearer, the Synod for Europe no doubt is convening to select his successor. Perhaps this time they should just let the event lapse. From
kuro5hin.org on February 4, 2005 at 3:45 p.m..
Scoop! Trees are warm-blooded!
The snow has melted around the tree in front of our house, leaving about a four inch gap all the way around the trunk. The snow has not melted around the wooden telephone pole a half block up from our house, on the same side of the street. What other scientifical conclusions can we draw from this shocking evidence except that trees are our warm-blooded brethren and sistren? Quick! Call the Texas educational system and demand that our children's textbooks be re-written!... From
Joho the Blog on February 4, 2005 at 2:45 p.m..
Google Autolinker
Philipp Lenssen's Google Blogoscoped shows the results of a tool that "checks Google for the longest occurrences of strings from a text on the web, and then turns it into a link." I.e., if you run your page through it, it finds any phrases that have a significant number of hits in Google, and links each phrase to its top return. (I think.) Cool idea. Alas, Philipp writes that the tool is too slow to be made public, although he offers to run it by hand if you send him email, which I hope for his sake vast numbers of... From
Joho the Blog on February 4, 2005 at 12:48 p.m..
AP: G.I. Joe Captured in Iraq!
A little after noon on February 1, the Associated Press released a news alert saying they'd found a photo on a message board (ansarnet.ws, according to this AP article) along with a message that foreigners had captured many American soldiers. Copies of the original versions of the article are still floating around the 'net. A couple of hours after releasing it, an advisory moved across the wire, asking editors not to run AP Photo LON128, because of "questions being raised about the image." As of the last version of the story I've found (from around 4 p.m. EST), the AP is try From
kuro5hin.org on February 4, 2005 at 12:45 p.m..
You Know Your Kid is Growing When...
Last night I got home late from teaching a course at the local community college to find my wife and daughter already comfy and snuggly in our bed. Hey, no problem. I still needed to eat some dinner, wind down a bit, and after that I'll sleep in the daughter's room for a change. Goodnight girls. When my internal alarm clock went off this morning it was time to stumble out of bed, put on the t-shirt I'd left beside the bed last night, get some coffee going, and make my morning... From
Brain Frieze on February 4, 2005 at 11:55 a.m..
How to Kill Creativity in the Clasroom
Marvin Bartel writes of the Nine Classroom Creativity Killers in an article that's been around a few years. I recognize myself and some of my past experiences in this one. The challenge, whether you're teaching art with traditional mediums--or technology-centered artwork as I've done--is to move past the tools and focus on the creative process. How do you get kids to experiment, to use the tools in creative ways, to think past what the "right" way to use a tool is and focus on... From
Brain Frieze on February 4, 2005 at 11:55 a.m..
Really Simple Syndication (RSS)
Algunas fuentes RSS para la práctica con Bloglines y Feedness: Canales RSS de BaquÃa (enlazo a los feeds): Artilugios, Buscadores, Empresas, Gente, Gestión, Herramientas, Movilidad, Negocios, Noticias, Opinión y Problemas. Fuentes RSS en español ofrecidas por el servicio NewsXS: ABC... From
eCuaderno v.2.0 on February 4, 2005 at 11:51 a.m..
Taking Out The Trash
Comment spam. Good God! What a royal pain it is to clean all of this dreck out of the old blog. But this morning it's been another round or cockroach removal here at Brainfrieze headquarters. Still more to go, but I've gotten most of these poker postings cleared out. I'm probably looking at another hour of repetitive clicking, confirming, and refreshing to go before I get all of it removed. The good news is that I'll shortly be moving to a more robust blog service that allows greater... From
Brain Frieze on February 4, 2005 at 10:55 a.m..
The Painful Truth
The Iraq war is a new kind of hell. There are more survivors among the wounded -- but more maimed and shattered limbs than ever. A revolution in battlefield medicine is helping them conquer the pain. By Steve Silberman from Wired magazine. From
Wired News on February 4, 2005 at 10:45 a.m..
The Adventures Never End
The adventure game isn't dead, it's just resting. And dedicated fans deprived of new titles are cranking them out themselves. By Jacob Ogles. From
Wired News on February 4, 2005 at 10:45 a.m..
Celebrating the Body Beautiful
The human body is intriguing in all its forms. A photo exhibit features subjects both nude and clothed, giving us a complex picture of who we are as a species and as sexual beings. Commentary by Regina Lynn. From
Wired News on February 4, 2005 at 10:45 a.m..
Things That Make the Earth Go Hm
Powerful waves create a vibration in the Earth that researchers hope will one day allow them to predict earthquakes and groundwater levels. By Stephen Leahy. From
Wired News on February 4, 2005 at 10:45 a.m..
Canadians Fight for Privacy
A government decision to outsource health records to a company in the states has Canadians worried that sensitive information will wind up in the hands of the U.S. government. By Kim Zetter. From
Wired News on February 4, 2005 at 10:45 a.m..
Battle Lessons
This is
interesting and moving account of the nature of decision making by US soldiers in Iraq. Specifically it is about the change in the nature of learning, from being reactive to being proactive. [BEFORE] The Army had so loaded training schedules with doctrinaire requirements and standardized procedures that unit commanders had no time—or need—to think for themselves. The service was encouraging “reactive instead of proactive thought, compliance instead of creativity, and adherence From
elearningpost on February 4, 2005 at 8:46 a.m..
This Old Home Page (and mastering web redirection)
Do you remember when the web was young and everything was about having a "Home Page"? The legacy is still there in our web browser's "Home" button (and do you wonder why we are limited to one home?). In fact, when I started our web server in 1993, like others, I made our primary web entrance a file named... homePage.html In fact, in those days (late 1993), the correct URL to get to the MCLI main entrance was:
http://hakatai.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/homePage.html Using a few little From
cogdogblog on February 4, 2005 at 5:48 a.m..
Colour Contrast Analyser 0.9
NILS has just released their Colour Contrast Analyser 0.9. To quote: It is a tool for checking foreground & background colour combinations to determine if they provide good colour visibility. Determining "colour visibility" is based on algorithms suggested by the... From
Column Two on February 4, 2005 at 5:47 a.m..
CATE 2005 - Aruba
The 8th IASTED International Conference on Computers and Advanced Technology in Education (CATE-2005) August 29-31, 2005 Oranjestad, Aruba (Caribbean) http://www.iasted.com/conferences/2005/aruba/cate.htm GOAL CATE-2005 international conference's goal is to provide great opportunities for researchers and scholars, technology teachers and technology coordinators, faculty... From
Rick's Café Canadien on February 4, 2005 at 4:54 a.m..
GLOBE presentation at CORDRA meeting
At the CORDRA meeting in Melbourne, I have just given a presentation on GLOBE's progress with federated search across learning object repositories - the link takes you to the LOM description of the presentation: the download button is at the... From
ErikLog on February 4, 2005 at 4:51 a.m..
Stephen Downes helps
Many thanks to Stephen, a post in Stephen's Web goes a long ways to getting the message out there to those k-12 schools. Stephen's Web ~Association of Online K-12 Schools... From
Teaching and Developing Online. on February 4, 2005 at 3:47 a.m..
RSS Chat with Mary Harrsch
Mary Harrsch paid us a visit at
Learning Times on Wednesday evening to share her knowledge and use of RSS. For me, a few of the highlights were: The way Mary uses the 'blog this' extension feature for
Firefox to comment on whatever she happens to be reading in the browser. I haven't used this before, but it apparently adds links automatically and works with Blogger. Looks easy and convenient too. From
apcampbell News on February 4, 2005 at 3:46 a.m..
Association of Online K-12 Schools
Darren Cannell writes in from Saskatchewan to let people know of a new newsletter - and new association - for online K-12 schools. "The association is trying to pull together some of the K-12 schools for resource sharing, practice comparisons and maybe develop some approaches to online learning for school age students." If you know of schools or staff who might be interested, send them an email (there's an address at the bottom of the newsletter). By Various Authors, February 3, 2005 [
Ref From OLDaily on February 4, 2005 at 12:45 a.m..
Smart Online Marketing Promotion Tactics
I signed up for the Scientific American RSS feed yesterday and found that just about every second feed is an add - I don't know whether these were inserted by the magazine of by the syndicator, NewsIsFree (who really ought to change their name). And every ad was the same, and had nothing to do with the magazine or my interets. This is dumb RSS marketing. For how to do it well, marketers are advised to look at this item from Robin Good. Not that I feel any better about it. But if you're going to annoy me with marketing, you should at least get some return from it. By Luigi Canali De From
OLDaily on February 4, 2005 at 12:45 a.m..
Against Syllabi
This is an interesting twist on the reusability parasox. "The more syllabus-heavy a course, I would argue, the more context-dependent." The detailed course syllabus, argues the author, has evolved as a legal defense against an increasingly litigous student body. The author leaves us questioning whether the syllabus will ever succeed at its task; I leave wondering why a course should ever become a matter of litigation in the first place. Via
Pedablogue. By Terry Caesar, Inside Higher Ed, January 27, 2005 [
OLDaily on February 4, 2005 at 12:45 a.m..
The Blogosphere as a Tuple Space
Nice description of tuples, which will be useful if you ever decide to learn Python. Nice description of Lazyweb, which these days doesn't seem to be living up to its promise. And a nice concept: the idea that it doesn't matter what you're looking for, you go to the same place, and ask the same way, to find it. By Leslie Michael Orchard, 0xDECAFBAD, January 12, 2005 [
Refer][
Research From
OLDaily on February 4, 2005 at 12:45 a.m..
BlogBridge
Courtesy of a link from
David Weinberger comes a reference to this site, as solid proof as I could hope to see about where the blogosphere - and RSS, and content syndication - is headed. The author
explains, "Dave Winer says that there's a bit of buzz about social networks and RSS aggregators. I haven't seen it myself, but I am glad to see it brought up, because it's one of the things that's evolving nicely in BlogBridge and will be available in the next weekly build." Well I guess Dave Winer wou From
OLDaily on February 4, 2005 at 12:45 a.m..
Edu_RSS 2.0
This link is to a barely functional version of
Edu_RSS 0.2 - what I've been working on for the last few weeks. Edu_RSS isn't a commercial product, it's me using Perl instead of English to try to explain a concept. What concept? Well, part of it involves distributed metadata - and I today created
this graphic to explain what I mean (and if you want context - put the graphic
Scott Wilson distr From
OLDaily on February 4, 2005 at 12:45 a.m..