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by Stephen Downes
September 22, 2008

It Can Be Done!
I was interviewed a few days ago in preparation for the upcoming SCOPE conference October 1 by Jochen Robes. During the interview I talk about the Connectivism CCK08 online course. Jochen Robes and Stephen Downes, SCOPE 08, September 22, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Traditional and Online Courses, Connectivism] [Comment]

Taking the Power of Experiential Learning to the Streets: GIT En Amerique
Canadian experiential learning programs - such as Canada World Youth and Katimavik - play an important role in exposing young people to different cultures and ways of life. Such programs, however, have tended to attract higher achievers from well-off households. This article describes GIT en Amerique, a similar program except that it targets disadvantaged and at-risk youth. This is the sort of program that may take years to make a statistical difference, but one that is tremendously important in shaping - and saving - lives. Laura Eggertson, Canadian Council on Learning, September 22, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Canada] [Comment]

Week 2 Mind Map of Course

One of the things I haven't really done much of over the years is to conduct an online course. This is mostly because i believe that learning is rather more individual and fluid than the typical course structure provides. But for those of you wondering how I would construct an online course, the CCK08 course is illustrative. Here he see a diagram of the course, including the various resources, sites, conversations, etc. It does not resemble the neat organization of (say) an IMS content package at all. It isn't packaged at all, nor could it be. Bradley Shoebottom, Weblog, September 22, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Traditional and Online Courses, IMS Project] [Comment]

Apple Now Banning Potentially Competitive Apps From The iPhone
I've had this in my notes for a few days. I don't want to let it go by. Here's what happens when you give the manufacturer control over your hardware platform. Mechanisms, ostensibly in place to protect digital rights, are quickly employed to lock out the competition. Thus, for example, we see Apple rejecting a podcasting application that competes with iTunes. Here's more on this. Mike Masnick, TechDirt, September 22, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Digital Rights Management (DRM), Apple Inc., Podcasting] [Comment]

iCamp
This is an interesting project. Project participants "pursue the idea of gathering people (learners, facilitators, peers, etc.) into one common virtual learning environment. This virtual environment does not consist of a single software system, but is composed of various interoperable tools and platforms. Each element of this patchwork of open-source solutions and the entire space are compliant with an innovative pedagogical model built upon a social-constructivist approach." Downloads are available as Moodle modules (which means a whole pile of PHP). Some publications are also available, but most of them are not available for reading online. Various Authors, Website, September 22, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Project Based Learning, Interoperability, Constructivism] [Comment]

Time to Build Trust With an Open Achievements API?
Tony Hirst is on to a good idea with this opening discussion about an 'open achievements API' - that is, a way top syndicate qualifications information. The trick to this, of course, is that you can't depend on the person being described for the information. Qualifications need to be displayed by the institution granting them - but only (?) with the permission of the person being granted the qualification. This is one of those innovations that would have wide-ranging consequences, as institutions would (very suddenly) come to be evaluated according to the students they qualify. It's a space a tough independent testing agency could make a name for itself. Tony Hirst, OUseful Info, September 22, 2008 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

What THE - Pay? Internet? @SCHOOL?
Well there's a way to stop learning dead in its tracks: make students pay for internet access - at rates they can't afford - in school. Sue Waters, Mobile Technology in TAFE, September 22, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Schools] [Comment]

Reverse Elitism
This is definitely thinking out of the box: "Make no mistake; refusing a Harvard education to private-school students is a radical idea. Still, Harvard should ponder such a drastic measure, not as an affront to private schools but as a promotion of public education." I think that such a measure would produce a different type of Harvard student - not the same students, who perform well in a rarefied and elite atmosphere, but a different breed, who perform well in all atmospheres. Via Joanne Jacobs. Nathaniel S. Rakich, , September 22, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Schools, Online Learning, Private Schools] [Comment]

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