October 12, 2006

OLDaily

Will Richardson[Edit][Delete]: School 2.0-The Conversation Continues, Weblogg-Ed [Edit][Delete]Weblogg-ed [Edit][Delete] October 12, 2006
[link: 2 Hits] I clicked on the large PDF diagram on Will Richardson's site expecting to say something good - it looked like the diagram showed education taking place throughout the community, linked by a learning substructure. Once I saw the diagram up close, though, it's all just pictures of schools, with classes and teachers and students sitting in rows, even a principal all alone in his big office on the top floor. And I found myself more in agreement with Tom Hoffman - though I can't quote him and link to this post with a language warning. Ah, well, such are the times we live in. I wanted to draw a large alternative picture but I had a meeting instead. Maybe tomorrow. [Tags: ] [Comment] [Edit] [Delete] [Spam]

Peter Suber[Edit][Delete]: CIHR Drafts an OA Mandate, Open Access News [Edit][Delete] October 12, 2006
[link: 1 Hits] The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) in their draft policy on open access "requires grant and award holders to make every effort to ensure that their peer-reviewed journal publications are freely available" and (even better) "will consider a researcher's track record of providing access to research outputs when considering applications for funding." Outstanding work, and my hat's off to CIHR. [Tags: , , ] [Comment] [Edit] [Delete] [Spam]

Vicki Davis, Cheryl Oakes, Sharon Peters and Jennifer Wagner[Edit][Delete]: Women of Web 2.0, October 12, 2006
[link: Hits] According to the site: "Women of Web 2.0 is for all who are using the tools of the internet whether it be in a classroom setting, leading seminars, authoring books, maintaining blogs or wikis, or just enjoying the tools of the internet in an educational and exciting way." They don't need it, but they have my support in any case. And to that end, a suggestion: a list like this. Why? Because. Via Emma Duke-Williams. [Tags: , ] [Comment] [Edit] [Delete] [Spam]

Alfred Essa[Edit][Delete]: Educause Severely Rebukes Blackboard, The NOSE [Edit][Delete] October 12, 2006
[link: Hits] I completely endorse this statement from EDUCAUSE: ""Brian L. Hawkins, president of Educause, said the organization's Board of Directors had voted unanimously on Sunday to encourage Blackboard 'to drop the patent, drop the lawsuit,' and put the technology 'in the public domain.' [He said] 'We think that it is in their best interest and the best interest of the broader higher-education community.'"

More coverage is povided in the Chronicle (this is a temporary link, I think, so view it quickly - my thanks to the Chronicle for making this available). Also provided to me was a first-person account of the EDUCAUSE session; MS Word format. Thanks to Brad Wheeler for your assistance. [Tags: , , ] [Comment] [Edit] [Delete] [Spam]

Alfred Essa[Edit][Delete]: Sakai Needs to Clarify Its Position and Soon, The NOSE [Edit][Delete] October 12, 2006
[link: Hits] This article highlights, if only obliquely, my concerns about Sakai. And that is that, as a consortium of a bunch of universities, it isn't really 'open' and when its interests lie in another direction, that's where it will go. So would Sakai abandon the rest of the open source and LMS community in the Blackboard case? That appears to be a legitimate concern. "Some of us are concerned that Sakai will cut a separate deal with Blackboard to protect its own narrow interests while leaving Desire2Learn and other commercial entities twisting in the wind." [Tags: , , ] [Comment] [Edit] [Delete] [Spam]

Steve Hargadon[Edit][Delete]: Richard Stallman on Free Software in Education, October 12, 2006
[link: 1 Hits] Richard Stallman is well known as the founder of the GNU project and of the Free Software Foundation. This podcast looks at his thoughts on free software in learning. "In the interview, Richard defines the use of the word "free" in the context of software. He also defines the four essential freedoms that are behind the Free Software Movement, and the four reasons that he believes that schools should use exclusively Free Software (see also his essay on this topic)." Also worth noting is Hargadon's interview with an "extremely well prepared" Ragavan Srinivasan from HP on open source licenses. Related: 10 Common Misconceptions About the GPL, via Stuart Yeates. [Tags: , , , , ] [Comment] [Edit] [Delete] [Spam]

Nico Baird[Edit][Delete]: Innovation in Learning, October 12, 2006
[link: Hits] Two new educational technology blogs from South Africa. Driekie Hay leads the Unit for Academic Development at the Central University of Technology, Free State, and offers the blog Academic Development. Nico Baird, meanwhile, who invited me to Bloemfontein this year, weighs in with Innovation in Learning. [Tags: , ] [Comment] [Edit] [Delete] [Spam]

Marie Jasinski[Edit][Delete]: Applied Research Project, October 12, 2006
[link: Hits] Wiki describing Marie Jasinski's latest research project (though you'll have to write her if you want to edit it). "The focus is on embedding innovative practices in elearning." Of interest is the RIPPLES model employed throughout. "Think of it as a framework to capture the collective intelligence. It's a starting point to test the goodness of fit between what it takes to embed innovative practice in elearning in VTE with what has already been researched about factors that influence the take up of innovative practice." [Tags: , , ] [Comment] [Edit] [Delete] [Spam]

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Stephen Downes

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Copyright 2006 Stephen Downes
National Research Council Canada

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I want and visualize and aspire toward a system of society and learning where each person is able to rise to his or her fullest potential without social or financial encumberance, where they may express themselves fully and without reservation through art, writing, athletics, invention, or even through their avocations or lifestyle.

Where they are able to form networks of meaningful and rewarding relationships with their peers, with people who share the same interests or hobbies, the same political or religious affiliations - or different interests or affiliations, as the case may be.

This to me is a society where knowledge and learning are public goods, freely created and shared, not hoarded or withheld in order to extract wealth or influence.

This is what I aspire toward, this is what I work toward. - Stephen Downes