Edu_RSS
Publishers Keep Dragging Heels In Online Music Licensing
News.com
reports on the breakdown in negotiations between subscription services and music publishers. Good times: "[The publishers have] asked that nearly 17 percent of subscription services' gross revenues go to songwriters and publishers. That's far above what publishers and songwriters typically get for a music sale, which usually is around 5.25 percent for online radio or From
A Copyfighter's Musings on August 26, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..
Access to Education
Just to put things in perspective: first, "Education is arguably the key to ending extreme poverty but more than 100 million children worldwide are not in school." And second, "$5.6 billion per year (is) required to achieve universal primary education by 2015." By contrast, worldwide military spending is currently roughly
$960 billion. We live in an era of dubious morality. Via
education-india. By Unknown, NetAid, Au From
OLDaily on August 26, 2005 at 6:45 p.m..
Understanding Meaning
George Siemens
links to this column (actually a series - see the navigation links at the bottom of the page) by Michael Bayler. This particular item is a nice outline of the concept of meaning. I don't agree with all of it (for example, I'm not sure I want to ascribe the moral dimension to meaning that he does) but this bit (also quoted by Siemens) seems right: "Meaning seems at its root to be about connections: between individuals, between groups of individuals, and, also, within individuals, in that it can be experi From
OLDaily on August 26, 2005 at 6:45 p.m..
Getting to Grips With Learning Styles
The authors distriguish between learning styles, preferences and strategies (noting that the latter two may be modified by teachers) and then surveys major learning styles theories, including Kolb, McCarthy, and Gardner. Under the heading of learning preferences, they briefly describe Canflield's learning styles inventory. They finally list some learning strategies. The study then looks at the characteristics of VET learners in Australia, suggesting they are more visual, hands-on, social, and not self-directed. The authors then offer some suggestions regarding how to use learning styles i From
OLDaily on August 26, 2005 at 6:45 p.m..
Text vs. Text vs. Text
Fascinating look at new entrants into the "lucrative textbook market for Econ 101." The author tosses some big numbers around, then profiles two new economics authors, one (apparently) from each branch of the political spectrum. Note: "Some professors predict that public relations, not content, will determine the success of the two new texts." Yeah, that's a great way to select learning content. Good thing there's nothing really important riding on the outcome. By David Epstein, Inside Higher Ed, August 26, 2005 [
OLDaily on August 26, 2005 at 6:45 p.m..
Who's Responsible for Rising Textbook Prices?
I didn't listen to the podcast (I may get to it tomorrow, but it's 5:37 and I have a newsletter to finish). Still, the description is intriguing enough. Here's the point of departure: "The Internet has certainly been abuzz since the GAO published its report on textbook prices last week. This report showed that college textbook prices have increased at twice the rate of inflation and have followed close behind tuition increases." And here's something to ponder, from Rob Reynolds: "My take is that instructors are the only ones that can put a stop to rising textbook prices. I From
OLDaily on August 26, 2005 at 6:45 p.m..
Old-school Community Journalism Shows: It's a Wonderful 'Light'
Article (and
sidebar) profiling editor/publisher David Mitchell and the struggles of the Point Reyes Light, a community newspaper, to stay afloat. The lesson is in the story, and (as always) one can read 'student' for 'reader': "The assumption that if you align yourself with your readers HYPHEN somehow or another you're dumbing down HYPHEN means that you think your readers are dumb. That's the inescapable result of that logic. And it's wrong! Our readers aren't dumb. Our readers are great." B From
OLDaily on August 26, 2005 at 6:45 p.m..
More on EdNA Groups Vs the Open Network
Leigh Blackall responds to the recent
statement from EdNA's Mark Tranthim-Fryer on whether EdNA groups should be open. The core of his response: "I think this issue goes to the heart of a more serious educational matter. That being a school and teacher's constant struggle to be relevant, engaging, and accessible to learners. EdNA groups uses a tool that replicates the real (Internet) world, declaring that it insulates its users from 'the noise'. That 'noise' as Mark calls it is actually quit From
OLDaily on August 26, 2005 at 6:45 p.m..
Metadata vs. data
From Dwight Macdonald's 1952 review of Mortimer Adler's Great Books series: Thus the true reason for his set of Great Books becomes apparent. Its aim is hieratic rather than practical — not to make the books accessible to the public (which they mostly already were) but to fix the canon of the Sacred Texts by printing them in a special edition. Simply issuing a list would have been enough if practicality were the only consideration, but a list can easily be revised, and it lacks the totemistic force of a five-foot, hundredpound array of books. ...In its massiveness, its technolo From
Joho the Blog on August 26, 2005 at 2:45 p.m..
Why the Beatles still rock
An interesting article in the New York Times,
Why This Band Plays On, examines the continued popularity of the Beatles after all these years. But fun on the level that the Beatles managed to achieve - at least in those days - implied more than a collective, thrilling scream. We remember the Beatles for their music and spectacle, but we celebrate them because, when they stood be From
megnut on August 26, 2005 at 12:45 p.m..
Design for learning
This report from CNN looks at the changing face of classrooms. In response to these trends, designers are replacing traditional classrooms with "studios" that contain storage areas for long-term projects and spaces for individual, small-group and large-group work. From
elearningpost on August 26, 2005 at 8:46 a.m..
Technology Levels the Business Playing Field
Hal R. Varian writes in NY Times about the rise of the
micro-multinationals - small businesses (think 6-10 employees) who have a global presence. Most of these companies, observes Varian, are run for foreign-born entrepreneurs who have links back home, which is quite but natural. And underneath all of this is technology like Skype that's making the connections possible. We all knew this was happening, but now we have a cool name attached to this phenomenon. From
elearningpost on August 26, 2005 at 7:46 a.m..
AJAX: Asynchronous Java + XML?
This is a nice
technical primer on AJAX - web technology that is making the web more responsive (think Gmail, Flickr, etc.) The gist of the article is best communicated in its conclusion :-) "AJAX represents a generic application model that would enable more interactive, more responsive, and smarter Web applications. AJAX is not tied to a particular programming language, data format, or network object and is defined by two core attributes: partial screen update and asynchronous communication. Th From
elearningpost on August 26, 2005 at 7:46 a.m..
The Art of Work
This Fast Company
article (sidebar
here) looks at Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's concept of FLOW and how it applies to businesses. Here are some guidelines: Focus on the Personal Set Clear Expectations Don't Interrupt Common sense? I agree. From
elearningpost on August 26, 2005 at 7:46 a.m..
Drug Spammer Busted, Jailed
You can sell prescription drugs online, but you can't sell them to people who have no prescriptions. A grand jury says that's what Christopher Smith did with his Xpress Pharmacy, and now he's in big trouble. From
Wired News on August 26, 2005 at 7:46 a.m..
Calling the Bluff of Poker Bots
In the bustling world of online poker, anyone can win. Especially with an autoplaying robot ace in the hole. Are you in, human? By David Kushner of Wired magazine. From
Wired News on August 26, 2005 at 7:46 a.m..
Bush, Pornographers Bash .XXX
Criticism of the proposed .xxx top-level domain is coming from the top, but it's individual voices that will determine the future of sex on the internet. Commentary by Regina Lynn. From
Wired News on August 26, 2005 at 7:45 a.m..
Intel's Path to Disruption
The chipmaker sets its sights on a future that looks brilliant for consumers, but not so hot for some industry giants. By Joanna Glasner. From
Wired News on August 26, 2005 at 7:45 a.m..
Driving Green, Explosion-Free
Lithium ion batteries from Valence Technologies could change the hybrid and electric-car business with a hard-to-beat proposition: The durn things won't blow up. By Matthew Shechmeister. From
Wired News on August 26, 2005 at 7:45 a.m..
Directorio mundial de universidades
Universities Worldwide es una base de datos de universidades de todo el mundo mantenida por Klaus Förster, que permite búsquedas por palabras clave, por paÃses y cruzando ambos criterios. La base de datos global está organizada por paÃses y la... From
eCuaderno v.2.0 on August 26, 2005 at 4:46 a.m..
Things I used to teach
In a post that I overlooked a couple of weeks ago
Jay Rosen summarized a conference panel called "Things I Used to Teach That I No Longer Believe," which is a panel we should all be on a few times during our careers. Buried deep within his post is this paragraph that helps explain the way we have to think to shift the dynamic away from professionals... From
Weblogs in Higher Education on August 26, 2005 at 12:46 a.m..