Edu_Rss

At foo
I'm at foo camp, north of SF. It's O'Reilly's get together for geeks (and also some people like me). No time to blog...too busy foo-ing...... From Joho the Blog on August 19, 2005 at 10:48 p.m..

Moving to Asia blog
Rob de Jonge is blogging about moving to Asia from Amsterdam because he fell in love with Asia. Pretty good reason to move somewhere, if you can.... From Joho the Blog on August 19, 2005 at 9:46 p.m..

Persona non grata
Dan Saffer has written an article on some issues with personas. To quote: The main cause of this mess is that half of the personas out there are entirely made up, with no user research to back them. In most... From Column Two on August 19, 2005 at 9:45 p.m..

Preparing your armors?
Alfred Thompson:Some Microsoft employees showed up at an Open Source event dressed as Darth Vader  and a pair of Imperial StormTroopers. I can't say that I'm surprised. Working for Microsoft pretty much means that you learn to expect attacks on the company and even you as an individual. You either learn to live with it and see the humor or, well, I don't From Mathemagenic on August 19, 2005 at 7:50 p.m..

The kindness of strangers
And while I'm trying to get somewhere else unknown glitches load Profgirrrrl in my browser. I scroll down and read this:Graduate school is a bleak time, both personally and financially, for many people. I can't even imagine being in graduate school and dealing with the added heartbreak and stress of a terminally ill spouse (cancer) with mounting medical bills and a health care system that is largely failing to cover those bills and keep From Mathemagenic on August 19, 2005 at 7:50 p.m..

Frist Backs Bush on Teaching 'Intelligent Design' in Schools
The Senate majority leader aligned himself with President Bush when he said that the theory of "intelligent design" should be taught along with evolution in public schools. From New York Times: Education on August 19, 2005 at 7:45 p.m..

From Multimedia to Multisensory Education
It was nice to hear from Douglas Levin, who informs me that the people at Cable in the Classroom's Threshold magazine "have plans underway to address many of your criticisms." He also highlighted this article, which I did not mention in my post yesterday (why not? Well I read about five or six articles, sighed, and wrote my post - in this 24x7 would the utility of releasing a clump of articles all at once is more and more in doubt). Anyhow, I have read this article now, and while the first half is old ground, I liked the second half, which talks about data sonification ('what From OLDaily on August 19, 2005 at 5:45 p.m..

Blackboard
Blackboard doesn't have a blog or an RSS feed or any of that other newfangled technology, at least, not that I know of, so I missed this announcement when it came out last week. Eventually it did circulate through University Business, and so, I pass to you the information that Blackboard has a new website. That said, there's a lot there, especially in the community and building blocks sites (though a good amount of it is behind a registration wall - and the 'News and Newsletters' link generates a & From OLDaily on August 19, 2005 at 5:45 p.m..

Curriculum Leadership
The August 19 issue of Curriculum Leadership is online (here is another prime candidate for an RSS feed). One entry that caught my eye was 'Critical, analytical and reflective literacy assessment: reconstructing practice' by Heather Fehring, however, the link to the Australian Journal of Language and Literacy (AJLL) where the article should be takes me to a page that hasn't been updated since 2002. Another, to 'A Foucauldian analysis of a recent Victorian postcompulsory education policy initiative', by Annelies Kamp, also looked interesting, but while the website, Yout From OLDaily on August 19, 2005 at 5:45 p.m..

Blogs & RSS as a School Communication Environment
Dave Warlick has caught aggregator fever. In this post (and yes, it's a continuation of the 'blogs as conversation' conversation) he offers several ways aggregators could be used in a school environment: lesson plans, lesson reflections, lesson blogs, dynamic categorization, announcements and policy, subscription analysis. "The aggregator is the linchpin of this arrangement. Teachers must be able to refine their settings and how their subscriptions are organized." Yes. That's what we're saying. But it's a bit more difficult that just waving your hands and saying & From OLDaily on August 19, 2005 at 5:45 p.m..

Presentation - DIY eLearning systems
Presentation being given today by Rob Wall looking again at the 'small pieces loosely joined' approach to educational technology. Nice use of the S5 presentation, and even more interestingly, authored using Dave Winer's recent OPML Editor and converted to S5 using an OPML file exporter (if the text looks too grey, just click). By Rob Wall, StigmergicWeb, August 19, 2005 [OLDaily on August 19, 2005 at 5:45 p.m..

The Future of SVG and the Web
The author begins with a discussion of scalable vector graphics (SVG), an XML-based image file format, but he doesn't end there, roaming instead into a sweeping discussion of the role of XML in redefining the web. Syndication, the editable web, ubiquitous personal content, domain experts - all of this is in the future, explained with clarity and earnestness and with some great turns of a phrase ("We spend billions of dollars making the web editable in proprietary ways... This has long struck me as being analogous to attempting to knit a sweater by telephoning in each stitch.") And althoug From OLDaily on August 19, 2005 at 5:45 p.m..

Essential Freeware for the PC User
Usually titles containing the word 'essential' are hyperbole, but thisw title is an accurate reflection of the contents. Many of the applications listed - Firefox, Audacity - wilol be familiar, but most everyone will find something new here. For me, it was Videolan's VLC Player, a multiformat and multiplatform audio and video player. Maybe I can rid my computer of the triple scourge (Real, Quicktime and Windows media player) at last. Clip this one and save it, and prepare to be downloading and trying out these applications for some time From OLDaily on August 19, 2005 at 5:45 p.m..

DenkWerkzeuge 2005
Actually I wanted to join the 2nd DenkWerkzeuge meeting in Karlsruhe (organized by Heiko Haller) tomorrow but I can't make it. I would have been glad to discuss strategies for knowledge tools and possible approaches for a PKM introoductory course. Too bad... Related: """&ampmiddot; "Knowledge tools" "" " From owrede_log on August 19, 2005 at 4:45 p.m..

FeedShake: mezcla, filtra y ordena fuentes RSS
Una interesante herramienta en beta: FeedShake (versiones básica y avanzada) genera una fuente RSS a partir de las fuentes que se le indiquen. Permite filtrarlas por palabras clave y ordenarlas: You can mix multiple RSS feeds , sort them by... From eCuaderno v.2.0 on August 19, 2005 at 1:49 p.m..

Blogomania!
Another positive blogs in schools piece, this time from August issue of the School Library Journal (free registration required.) Do you blog? That's a question educators are hearing frequently these days, and more and more are responding with an enthusiastic yes! The reason? Teachers have discovered that technologies like weblogsWeb sites that are a snap to updatecan be powerful teaching tools. And librarians are gearing up to help them. The educational community& From weblogged News on August 19, 2005 at 12:45 p.m..

Yahoo, Google Tops in Satisfaction Study - Susan Kuchinskas, Internet News
Google and Yahoo are true crowd pleasers, according to the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The report, released on Tuesday, measured how satisfied consumers were with their experiences using over 200 search engines, From Techno-News Blog on August 19, 2005 at 8:49 a.m..

Entering the Corposphere - Susan Kuchinskas, Internet News
Businesses are learning they can't ignore bloggers. A positive mention in a well-read blog can spike sales and cred, while bloggers can be meaner than a middle-school clique if they disapprove of a company or product -- or its blog. At the Blog Business From Techno-News Blog on August 19, 2005 at 7:49 a.m..

Blog Readers Spend More Time and Money Online - Sean Michael Kerner, ClickZ
The blogosphere is big and its readers spend more time and money online than Web users who don't read them. Fifty million Americans, or 30 percent of all American Internet users, visited a blog in the first quarter of 2005, according to a new report from From Techno-News Blog on August 19, 2005 at 7:49 a.m..

Los 25 hispanos más influyentes en USA
Parece que las listas de influyentes se han convertido en la canción del verano. La revista Time dedica su portada a Los 25 hispanos más influyentes de EE.UU.: El español se ha convertido en el segundo idioma de facto en... From eCuaderno v.2.0 on August 19, 2005 at 6:51 a.m..

Upgraded! ;-)
YES! My DSL connection was just upgraded to 6MBit/s downstream (0,5 MBit/s upstream). Movie previews start instantly. And the web - no surprise - is much snappier. It's amazing that these speeds are available for consumers for affordable flat rates. The latency of the network can be experienced now: it's the page request I have to wait for - not the actual download itself. I remember a comment made by Derrick De Kerckhove in the final panel of a owrede_log on August 19, 2005 at 6:46 a.m..

Look, Ma, No Schoolbooks!
An Arizona high school decides to toss out the textbooks. Instead, the school issues iBooks to its students -- and discovers their video-game proficiency doesn't necessarily extend to computer chops. From Wired News on August 19, 2005 at 6:45 a.m..

TSA Data Dump Leads to Lawsuit
Four individuals demand that the Transportation Security Administration dig deeper to find information possibly collected on them during testing of the agency's new Secure Flight passenger-screening system. By Kim Zetter. From Wired News on August 19, 2005 at 6:45 a.m..

NASA Ripped for Slipshod Work
An oversight panel of retired astronauts, engineers and professors issues a scathing critique of the space agency's preparations for returning the shuttle to service. From Wired News on August 19, 2005 at 6:45 a.m..

Startup Sees Promise in Virus
Viruses infect bacteria that create proteins used in nano-scale manufacturing -- it sounds like the plot for the latest Michael Crichton novel. But it's just the business plan for a biotech-electronics manufacturing startup. By Joanna Glasner. From Wired News on August 19, 2005 at 6:45 a.m..

How Mobile Phones Conquered Japan
Personal, Portable, Pedestrian offers a rich, textured look at the role keitai culture plays in Japanese life, and a glimpse of what the future holds for the rest of us. By Xeni Jardin. From Wired News on August 19, 2005 at 6:45 a.m..

You'll Know When You're Older
Young folks just don't have the same approach to sex tech as thirty- and forty-somethings. Commentary by Regina Lynn. From Wired News on August 19, 2005 at 6:45 a.m..

Mob Pirates: Menace or Myth?
The content industries say violent criminal syndicates are muscling into the counterfeit DVD and CD business. But evidence of digital gangsters is hard to find. By Abby Christopher. From Wired News on August 19, 2005 at 6:45 a.m..

A Correction Re: Google Print
I still want to do more substantive writing on Google Print, but for now a short correction.  Earlier, I suggested that public domain books would be shown in full, but Google only allowed people to see only a few pages from other books for a given search.  They do - but only books explicitly authorized as part of the Google publisher program.  For all other books (now, all others that publishers haven't explicitly forbidden from in From A Copyfighter's Musings on August 19, 2005 at 2:47 a.m..

Middle Ground?
James DeLong's recent comment on this article from Glenn Reynolds raises an intriguing question for me: where do groups like PFF and others who are normally at loggerheads with the EFF stand on proposed revisions to Section 115? Let me back up a step.  Reynolds laments the difficulty in licensing podcas From A Copyfighter's Musings on August 19, 2005 at 2:47 a.m..

C.E.O.'s Name Off Building
Seton Hall University removed the name of L. Dennis Kozlowski, the former chief executive of Tyco International, from a building at his alma mater. From New York Times: Education on August 19, 2005 at 2:45 a.m..

Chief of New Jersey's School Construction Agency Resigns Abruptly, Compounding Turmoil
The resignation added to the turmoil that has swirled around the $8.6 billion program since it fell under intense scrutiny earlier this year. From New York Times: Education on August 19, 2005 at 2:45 a.m..

Translation From PR-Speak to English: Adobe buys Macromedia
If you’re not reading Daring Fireball yet, this should convince you. I know funny, and this is funny. Daring Fireball: Translation From PR-Speak to English of Selected Portions of Adobe’s ‘FAQ’ Regarding Their Acquisition of Macromedia. From Martindale Matrix on August 19, 2005 at 12:45 a.m..

New job at U. Memphis
I’ve neglected this blog space for a while, and one reason is I’ve been in ongoing interviews and negotiations with various institutions. The end result is I have accepted a faculty appointment with the University of Memphis, beginning in August 2005. I’ve been with East Carolina University for the past three years, and it has [...] From Martindale Matrix on August 19, 2005 at 12:45 a.m..

Thank You ECU Students!
It is with mixed emotions that I make this move to Memphis. I want to say thank you to the students I have had the privilege of working with at ECU. These past three years I have seen some really outstanding student work at the masters and doctoral level, and our students have done very [...] From Martindale Matrix on August 19, 2005 at 12:45 a.m..

Where are you on the stress scale?
I’ve spent the past few days moving into our new house in Tennessee. Unpacking boxes, trying to find the basic items like toothpaste, etc. I thought I was pretty organized when packing. I labeled all boxes, including writing a 1, 2, or 3 on each box, depending on its importance. That helped a lot, but [...] From Martindale Matrix on August 19, 2005 at 12:45 a.m..

Microsoft collaborates with Chinese government to censor free speech
Commentary from Dan Gillmor. A Minute with Dan: Don’t Mention Democracy From Martindale Matrix on August 19, 2005 at 12:45 a.m..

Sakai 2.0.0 Release Available
This open source course management system is moving forward. From Scott Leslie: Sakai 2.0.0 Release Available: http://www.sakaiproject.org/index.php ?option=com_content&task=view&id=255&Itemid=258 A lot of folks have been waiting for this, and here it is - the Sakai project have release version 2.0, which amongst other things includes a Gradebook feature in addition to updates to the Samigo assessment tool. I am undertaking [...] From Martindale Matrix on August 19, 2005 at 12:45 a.m..

New baby arrives
I’m very pleased to announce the arrival of Grace, our second child. Grace was born this last week, in the wee hours of the morning, under somewhat pressing circumstances. She came about a month early. Mom and baby are fine now, for which we are very thankful. Having children is such an amazing experience–a delight [...] From Martindale Matrix on August 19, 2005 at 12:45 a.m..

Apple directory of podcasts
So it looks like Apple is now officially supporting podcasting via the iTunes music store. I wonder how the company will decide which podcasts to list via the store. I’ve been listening to the occasional podcast, and I have subscribed to a few via NetNewsWire. My favorites have been IT Conversations (although I choose [...] From Martindale Matrix on August 19, 2005 at 12:45 a.m..

Extending the use of Google Maps
I love maps, and I am quite smitten with Google Maps. Some unofficial uses of Google Maps are about to go official, with this announcement: Google Blog: The world is your JavaScript-enabled oyster: If you like Google Maps, but think you could do something better, now’s your chance. Check out the Google Maps API, which lets web [...] From Martindale Matrix on August 19, 2005 at 12:45 a.m..

AECT 2005 hotel preview
Thanks to Nate for this great preview of the AECT conference hotel. Makes preparing for the October trip much easier. From Martindale Matrix on August 19, 2005 at 12:45 a.m..