Edu_Rss

Podcast directory for educators, schools and colleges
The first UK directory to list podcasts for educational use - suitable for use by children and young people at school, college and elsewhere. From ScotFEICT on September 27, 2005 at 9:50 p.m..

Report: Broadband Growth Burning Out - Jay Lyman, eCommerce Times
Fewer of the remaining Americans not hooked up to the Internet are getting online, and fewer existing dial-up users are spending enough time on the Web to want to move up to broadband access, reports the Pew Internet Project in its latest study on U.S. b From Techno-News Blog on September 27, 2005 at 8:49 p.m..

Kids to teach elderly net skills - BBC
Young people are being encouraged to take on the role of internet trainer to help their grandparents get online. Telco giant BT is marking Grandparents Day on 24 September by asking children to become "internet rangers". The company believes that young pe From Techno-News Blog on September 27, 2005 at 8:49 p.m..

Aha! Video Straight to a Computer - David Pogue, New York Times
From the caveman who first put a bunch of rolling logs under something heavy, to the genius who packed four times more orange juice onto a truck by condensing it first, history is filled with "Aha!" moments that propel society forward. JVC had just such From Techno-News Blog on September 27, 2005 at 8:49 p.m..

Radio has its eye on podcasters - Jo Twist, BBC News
Podcasters have already inspired conventional radio stations to evolve. But their podcasts will increasingly be on the radar of traditional radio broadcasters as fertile grounds to feed the desire for new talent, and ideas. Both the BBC and Virgin will From Techno-News Blog on September 27, 2005 at 8:49 p.m..

Anti-music swapping tool launched - BBC
A free software program aimed at preventing illegal internet music and movie file-swapping has been launched by a recording industry group. The International Federation of Phonographic Industries has released Digital File Check to help people remove unwan From Techno-News Blog on September 27, 2005 at 8:49 p.m..

Massachusetts Verdict: MS Office Formats Out - eWeek
The state of Massachusetts Friday made it official: It will use only nonproprietary document formats in state-affiliated offices effective Jan. 1, 2007. Although state CIO Peter Quinn has said repeatedly that this issue does not represent "the state versu From Techno-News Blog on September 27, 2005 at 8:49 p.m..

UO Spreads The Word On E-Textbook Appeal , Eugene Register-Guard
Coverage of the sale of digital textbooks at the University of Oregon. Thus far, sales have been slow, partly because of the cost (though the article a bit misleadingly represents the cost as "well below the cost of a new paper text") and partly because of the DRM - the book can be copied to a computer only once and "With something this important, if my computer crashes then what do I do?" Though the article is relentlessly upbeat, you have to wonder when someone says "the success of this program was never about sales." If that's not a problem for a commercial product, I don't know w From OLDaily on September 27, 2005 at 8:45 p.m..

It's Not What It Is, It's What It Enables , Connectivism Blog
George Siemens makes a good point, encapsulated in the title, with respect both to some of the new tools, such as blogs and wikis, and to connectivism itself. "What do they enable learners to do? They enable learners to connect, to dialogue." Why? "Rapidly evolving knowledge (such as we encounter today) places too much strain on the learner... Instead we need to offload many tasks onto a network - so that we play the role of an aggregator." From OLDaily on September 27, 2005 at 8:45 p.m..

CSS Swag: Multi-Column Lists , A List Apart
Some very practical advice on how to create multi-column lists using only CSS and XHTML (in other words - everyone can do it). Clearly written and offering advice that solves the sorts of problems that always snag designers (problems which may be classified under the heading 'Internet Explorer'). [ From OLDaily on September 27, 2005 at 8:45 p.m..

Student Privacy Issues, Ethics, and Solving the Guest Lecturer Dilemma in Online Courses , ELearn Magazine
I don't think about privacy issues a lot and I have never thought about them in relation to guest lecturers in online courses. The author has, however, and this article serves as a reminder to those who include guest lecturers in their online courses, especially those working under the American Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Via From OLDaily on September 27, 2005 at 8:45 p.m..

Podcasting for Learning , ottergroup
Personally, I wasn't that impressed with this article, though it has attracted a lot of positive commentary in the e-learning blogosphere. The author focuses almost exclusively on podcasting as offered through iTunes. And while some engaging (and very large) screen shots are offered, this article will not tell you how to podcast. What readers will like is a good list of reasons why podcasting succeeds in e-learning, some discussion of podcast search engines, and examples of podcasting in business. But it has all been done before, and not in annoying PDF either. The direct link is very unr From OLDaily on September 27, 2005 at 8:45 p.m..

Web2MemeMap , Tim O'Reilly's Photostream
Image capturing (most of) the major components of Web 2.0 as captured at a conference called Foo Camp. While you're browsing through Tim O'Reilly's photostream on Flickr take note of his From OLDaily on September 27, 2005 at 8:45 p.m..

The Unacknowledged Convergence of Open Source, Open Access, and Open Science , First Monday
The author discusses open source, open content and open access under the heading of three principles ("the price of admission matters","penness has been traditionally supported by various forms of patronage," and "open alternatives to intellectual property regimes still operate") with the intent of identifying, and encouraging people to address, the common ground unifying these three movements: "a common commitment to a larger public sphere." Certainly, it is with respect to the promotion of the public good that i support all three, and in our own sphere, this common ground may be expressed as From OLDaily on September 27, 2005 at 8:45 p.m..

Connecting for Life
Few bloggers are making me think more these days than George Siemens and Barbara Ganley, and today they both hit on the same themes and make so much sense that for this moment, at least, I plan on packing up my office, leaving my public high school job and begging some small university somewhere to let me come in and teach a writing class or two filled with blogs and wikis and podcasts, asking only for a laptop, a high speed connection and a family meal plan at faculty From weblogged News on September 27, 2005 at 5:47 p.m..

Arthroscopic knee surgery
Can you spot the problem with this knee? (Click to see full size image.) Our 14-year-old son has come through his arthroscopic knee surgery well. The surgeon was very pleased. (She's also amazingly kind.) Our son's problem was bilateral osteochondral media femoral condyles, or at least that's what I copied out of his case file. Possible that was the solution, not the problem. Possibly it's the new type of martini sweeping the medical bars. In any case, they drilled holes in his bone to stimulate the flow of blood in order to take care of the bilateral osteochondral lesions From Joho the Blog on September 27, 2005 at 4:47 p.m..

Milestone, Schmilestone...Blogging Burnout
Welcome to piece of content #4000 posted to this blog. In the words of the inimitable Shelton Brown, I guy who I used to clean boilers with at a local Western Electric plant about 25 years ago when I was home from college in the summer, all I can say is "sleepin' jesus." I have no idea what that means, but it seems profound and meaningful enough to apply to this marker I'm passing on the blog highway, and it's adequately abstract to capture my restlessness with blogging of late. I mean, I guess after 3,999 pieces of content (not all created by me, certainly) I have the right to From weblogged News on September 27, 2005 at 4:46 p.m..

Heavy Metal Makes Lighter Planes
Sound vibrations can improve aircraft lift by up to 22 percent, a researcher finds, reducing stall risk and opening the door for smaller wings and engines. Patrick Gray reports from Sydney, Australia. From Wired News on September 27, 2005 at 3:45 p.m..

IPods for Anarchists
Music sounds better on an MP3 player you've built from scratch. A DIY journey, by Keith Axline. From Wired News on September 27, 2005 at 3:45 p.m..

Pricey Gas Fuels Alternatives
Higher oil prices remind drivers that fossil-fuel supplies won't last forever. For investors, now may be the time to begin thinking about other sources. By Joanna Glasner. From Wired News on September 27, 2005 at 3:45 p.m..

Podcasting Goldrush Is On
There's money in them thar audio files! Not much, yet, and obstacles abound, but podcasters are mining everything from commercial sponsors to paid guest appearances in the quest for profitability. By Steve Friess. From Wired News on September 27, 2005 at 3:45 p.m..

Dept. of Not News
Dept. of Not News. Well, at least it's documented in a study: We all know interaction is important, but we don't do it much because we'd have to change how we teach and how we learn. "Results show that instructors perceive the learner-instructor and learner-learner interactions as key factors in high quality online programs. While online students generally perceive interaction as an effective means of learning, they vary with regard to having more interaction in online courses. Such variations seem to be associated with differences in personality or learni From Bill Brandon: eLearning on September 27, 2005 at 1:49 p.m..

Podcasting is not an automatic winner for e-Learning.
Podcasting is not an automatic winner for e-Learning. Maybe this should go in the Dept. of Not News. The signal-to-noise ratio in many podcasts is ridiculous. Finding ones that generate more learning than noise is tough to do. Maybe we/someone needs to figure out best practices for educational podcasts vs. best practices for marketing podcasts vs. best practices for entertainment podcasts. Bet they aren't the same. Podcasting for learning. Bill Brandon: eLearning on September 27, 2005 at 1:49 p.m..

Cheap tricks with Google's Sidebar.
Cheap tricks with Google's Sidebar. Watching for high-priority email without being distracted by Outlook's constant "ding"ing. GTD and Google Desktop, Part 2. By Bob Walsh[To-Done] From Bill Brandon: eLearning on September 27, 2005 at 1:49 p.m..

What is connectivism?
What is connectivism? George keeps trying to explain this to us. "It's not what it is, it's what it enables." [Connectivism Blog] From Bill Brandon: eLearning on September 27, 2005 at 1:49 p.m..

Chasing our tails.
Chasing our tails. I saw this over on Elliott Masie's weblog today: Development Time Poll Results. This was simple quick survey of his readers about the amount of time they require to develop e-Learning and the level of satisfaction they feel with this time. While there are a number of problems with any "insta-poll" (like, are they all talking about the same thing?), it was interesting to see that 65% of the responders say they average more than three weeks to develop an e-Learning course, and 65% also From Bill Brandon: eLearning on September 27, 2005 at 1:49 p.m..

Getting ahead of the trends
Getting ahead of the trends. Don't get too excited by the "rising sharply" language in the headline below. The numbers are still in the single digit range for actual use of weblogs, social software, and newsreaders. But there is change, in the upward direction, and it pays to be up at the front of a movement. Forrester: Consumer Use of Blogs, RSS, and Social Networks Rising Sharply. [Bill Brandon: eLearning on September 27, 2005 at 1:49 p.m..

Tools for del.icio.us
Tools for del.icio.us Constantly updated list of tools for using del.icio.us, the social software/tagging service. From Bill Brandon: eLearning on September 27, 2005 at 1:49 p.m..

The Middle East's Mobile Market
As Arab countries privatize their cellular markets, competition and service opportunities emerge. From ClickZ Stats on September 27, 2005 at 1:45 p.m..

Web 2.0 Meme Map
Web 2.0 Meme Map. Tim O'Reilly has posted this map, developed at a "What is Web 2.0?" brainstorming session at FOO Camp 2005. Pointed to by Dave Winer, who says Web 2.0 is Really Simple. According to  Mike Arrington (TechCrunch), "Simple is better. Were not at simple yet." From Bill Brandon: eLearning on September 27, 2005 at 12:49 p.m..

"Non-formal" learning
"Non-formal" learning. People learn all the time. They can learn how to do something, how to avoid something, and they may also learn the wrong things. They can do this in a classroom (real or virtual) or not, with or without a teacher or an expert to guide them, and even in dreams. No wonder we're confused about our business. Information or knowledge and the nature of non formal learning. Interesting exploration (or definition) of learning - formal, non-formal, and informal - Bill Brandon: eLearning on September 27, 2005 at 12:49 p.m..

Research assistant position in the CDL
Part-time Research Assistant (Graduate Student) Centre for Distributed Learning, U of S Expected Functions: 1. Conduct regular online searches for research data, articles, and reports based on key indicators provided by the CDL faculty. 2. Prepare and disseminate to the CDL faculty regular briefing notes re research funding and partnership opportunities, archiving the information in a database. 3. In collaboration with designated staff, [...] From Software Marketing Articles and Marketing Tips on September 27, 2005 at 11:50 a.m..

Student sues university for using WebCT
It was bound to happen. Student sues, saying the LMS is inaccessible. Via Leigh Blackall: Lawsuit forces Web2 learning strategies: Hardly surprising news, but very significant in my view. The FLOSSE blog in Finland points to a student from Capella University filing a lawsuit against the university for its use of an LMS (WebCT) that the [...] From Martindale Matrix on September 27, 2005 at 11:46 a.m..

Homeland Security 404s
Chipster has pointed out in a comment on my post about the brokenness of the Dept. of Homeland Security's hurricane page that this other page is filled with broken links. The page lists four agencies ( working to reduce chemical and biological threats. The links to the State Department and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency are broken. Ok, sure, pages go down and links break and usually it's not worth a mention. My site is full of dead links. But I'm not charged with keeping the country safe in an emergency. No one depends on my site to find urgent... From Joho the Blog on September 27, 2005 at 9:49 a.m..

WSJ on Chinese censorship
The Wall Street Journal has an article by Geoffrey A. Fowler and Mei Fong on China's new restrictions on Internet use, especially blogging. It's grim. In the second to last paragraph they have a sentence that I think perfectly defines a divide in thought present not just in China: The government says it hopes the new rules will make online news more reliable by phasing out small and unauthorized cyber-news publishers. My first reaction was to laugh. Then I realized the "Blogs are reporters without editors [sotto voce] and without responsibility, good hygiene or their own apartments" From Joho the Blog on September 27, 2005 at 9:49 a.m..

Comunidad de lectores de eCuaderno en eConozco
A partir de la experiencia de la comunidad de lectores de eCuaderno en Orkut y animado por este experimento de Enrique Dans, hoy se pone en marcha la Comunidad de lectores de eCuaderno en eConozco (solicitar invitación) para facilitar la... From eCuaderno v.2.0 on September 27, 2005 at 8:48 a.m..

The Lognhorn crisis
Well, I am personally tired of debating why to choose Macs over PCs. In every respect there are just two types of computer users: those who once lost their data and those who will loose their data. It doesn't matter if it's a Mac or a PC where your data was on... But if you have been thinking about Microsoft vs. Apple vs. Linux/UNIX have a look at this article called &ampraquo;Windows officially broken&amplaquo;. It describes inter From owrede_log on September 27, 2005 at 7:47 a.m..

My boyfriend or why I don't make things instantly visible
It's so funny that I couldn't avoid blogging about it - Ton tells me on Skype that he saw in his referrer logs someone searching for "lilia efimova" boyfriend. I checked mine and it's there as well... I guess none of the pages in this search actually answers the questions that the person who searched for it could have :) Which brings me to the interesting bunch of questions about pr From Mathemagenic on September 27, 2005 at 6:46 a.m..

CFP: Organisational Blogs: Opportunities and Challenges
Call for papers: special issue on Organisational Blogs: Opportunities and Challenges for International Journal of Information Technology and Management - submission till 3 March 2006 Thanks to Mónica André for sharing this (and all other nice things :) From Mathemagenic on September 27, 2005 at 6:46 a.m..

Unexpected knowledge sharing: on recording and discoverability of knowledge traces
[I actually started to write it as a part of the post that will appear next, but thought that it makes sense to separate these two :) ] In many companies usual communication evolves around joint work and on "need to know" basis. For me some of the greatest challenges of knowledge management are about tapping into knowledge which is not part of existing workflows: would it be about disconnected groups learning from insights of each other, discoveri From Mathemagenic on September 27, 2005 at 6:46 a.m..

Public weblogs as a tool for (internal) knowledge management
A lot of discussions that I've been involved into about uses of weblogs in corporate knowledge management somehow assumed the distinction between intranet and external weblogs regarding it. External weblogs were considered great to connect with other professionals (usually outside of one's organisation) and (potential) customers, while internal weblogs thought of being one of the tools that could replace or complement knowledge sharing and expertise finding tools behind the firewall. I'm more and From Mathemagenic on September 27, 2005 at 6:46 a.m..

Studying weblogs at Microsoft: ethnography?
Can my study of weblogs at Microsoft be qualified as an ethnography? I had an interesting conversation with Jonathan about it while I still was there and I was thinking about it since then. Today, watching post-PDC reactions and ripples of comments on Troubling Exits At Microsoft going through Microsoft weblogs I thought I should write about it... The starting points: The main data From Mathemagenic on September 27, 2005 at 6:46 a.m..

Travel plans: Chicago 4-9 October
Something I should blog long ago (but it's easy to forget things in the middle of paper writing deadlines) - I will be in Chicago 4-9 October for Internet Research 6.0: Generations (speaking on 2 days - will dig out the details a bit later). If you are there and want to meet - let me know. Side note: have very mixed feelings about it - really wanted to be there for the people and the conference and wanted to be in Moscow at the same time since the number of years I spent on this planet is turning From Mathemagenic on September 27, 2005 at 6:46 a.m..

Was down
In case you were wondering - my server was down for a few days due to the failure on my provider's end. And it seems that all files are lost (wonder if they lost back up as well or never had it). At moments like that I still think that may be Radio is not that bad - at least it's relatively easy to publish whole weblog again... I don't know if it's stable and how much time it would take to recover - so please be patient. From Mathemagenic on September 27, 2005 at 6:46 a.m..

What I need most now is a vacation...
What I need most now is a vacation... ...and not paper deadlines (one done last Friday, but those still to go do not let me enjoy the sweetness and relief of submitting a paper)... ...and not workshop proposal due yesterday... ...and not travel arrangements for the next week (and can I have a vacation before that?)... ...and not feeling half-way sick and sleepy at 10 in the evening... ...and not all those emotions that have right to be there and decided to surface at the moment when I'm less capable of dealing with them... ...and not rewriting From Mathemagenic on September 27, 2005 at 6:46 a.m..

(re) Descubriendo blogs
Una selección periódica, muy personal, de buenos weblogs de hoy y de ayer. Actualidad César Fernando Zapata El espacio de Lubrio El Tao de Internet Agregadores Las Ideas Memeorandum r00lz Ciencia Novedades Científicas Comunicación Comunisfera Convergenci@ El blog de Daniel... From eCuaderno v.2.0 on September 27, 2005 at 4:47 a.m..

Field Guide to Learning Management Systems
Dieser "Field Guide" ist ein nützlicher Ratgeber für alle, die sich mit der Einführung eines Learning Management Systems beschäftigen. Er enthält Informationen über notwendige Module und Leistungen eines LMS, verschiedene Geschäfts- und Preismodelle und Hinweise darüber, wie man am besten... From www.weiterbildungsblog.de on September 27, 2005 at 2:51 a.m..

Portrait of a Digital Native
Ein kurzer Artikel nur, aber voll von nachdenkenswerten Hinweisen! Zuerst der Einstieg, der neugierig macht: "Meredith Fear sits in her room doing her homework. Books are scattered about, and a computer monitor glows before her. She is working on two... From www.weiterbildungsblog.de on September 27, 2005 at 2:51 a.m..

Public intellectual genres
In a meeting today, colleagues April Lidinsky, Mike Keen, Henry Scott, and I worked on a rubric for what we are calling public intellectual genres. Here is what we came up with so far -- a public intellectual is someone who: -- Writes for a public, not academic, audience; a general, interested audience, not an audience of experts -- Gauges the needs of that audience -- Establishes the relevance of an issue to a general audience -- Acknowledges the complexity of... From Weblogs in Higher Education on September 27, 2005 at 1:52 a.m..

Evolution Lawsuit Opens in Pennsylvania
Intelligent design is not science, a prominent biologist testified in the legal battle over teaching the "design" theory as an alternative to evolution. From New York Times: Education on September 27, 2005 at 1:45 a.m..

Ex-Schools Chief Pleads Guilty to Huge Theft
Residents demanded that Frank A. Tassone serve a full 25 years, saying his crimes hurt the sense of community in Roslyn, N.Y. From New York Times: Education on September 27, 2005 at 1:45 a.m..

Photoblog variation
Today a colleague pointed out Chromasia, a photoblog by David J. Nightingale. I admire the photographs that take up almost the whole screen, one at a time, but I mention it because, as Alex said at lunch today, the site inverts the usual blog relationship between text and picture. Here the pictures are completely self-sufficient for some visitors, but prose blog entries and comments are available for each one as well.... From Weblogs in Higher Education on September 27, 2005 at 12:52 a.m..

More Facts About Google Print
Following up on my post, Patrick Ross decided to see for himself how Google Prints works and ended up in need of clarification. After doing a search for the word "copyright," he was able to see full pages from several books.  Patrick wonders, "Perhaps the author gave Google permission to show full pages." Yes, indeed the copyright holder did.  Those books are part of the A Copyfighter's Musings on September 27, 2005 at 12:48 a.m..

Alan Webber on design thinking
CPH127 has uploaded a video interview of Alan Webber answering questions on design thinking. I like the video quality here. From elearningpost on September 27, 2005 at 12:46 a.m..

At Google, the Workers Are Placing Their Bets
Google is doing some interesting stuff on predictive markets, trying to forecast possible events in the future: "In Google's system, employees can bet on how the company will perform in the future, forecasting things like product introduction dates and new office openings. It was devised under a program that allows engineers to spend one day a week on a project of their choice." From elearningpost on September 26, 2005 at 11:45 p.m..