Presentation
Learning Communities
Stephen Downes, Oct 13, 2016, moocs4all.eu Extended Virtual Symposium , Online, Via Adobe Connect and YouTube Live

Presented atMOOCs4All. In this discussion I discuss the thinking behind our MOOCs, personal learning environments and connectivism and consider the question of how we know whether the method is working, how we know whether it is effective. Presented online via Adobe Connect and simulcast (using xSplit) to YouTube Live. Above is the SAdobe Connect recording. Also you can view the xSplit recording to YouTube Live from the presenter screen (doesn't show screen shares, because that's how Connect rolls).

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We’re Proud to Announce the Launch of MappingEDU
Troy Wheeler, Ed-Fi, 2016/10/13

This is a very specialized piece of technology, but if you're building learning technologies, it's also an important application. "MappingEDU is a web-based system designed to do one common, time-consuming data integration task well: map one data standard to another. The primary users are data analysts and technical staff who create mappings between data sources. MappingEDU also contains features to assist subject matter experts in reviewing data mappings." See also this press release.

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Bob Dylan Wins Nobel Prize in Literature for Creating New Poetic Expressions within the Great American Song Tradition
Dan Colman, Open Culture, 2016/10/13

Normally I'd be celebrating a Nobel for peace or physics or something, but this year's Nobel prize in Literature speaks to me. "Dylan has released album after album, decade after decade, that showcase his unparalleled wordcraft in various song forms. And some of his finest work has appeared only in recent years, when it seems his career might have come to a close."

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Digital Sunscreen – What does your school do?
Dean Groom, Playable, 2016/10/13

This is not a coherent post - not even close. But there is something interesting going on here. The core metaphor of 'digital sunscreen' is not defined (except for the fact that it lasts two hours). Meanwhile there is an undercurrent about teachers and tech leaders becoming part of the problem we're trying to solve. Then there's this: "I’ve been using the term edumedia sarcastically. The proper term is mission-driven marketing –  a way to turn awareness into action with those new to your product or to engage already-supportive people in deeper ways. It uses teachers, enlists paid and unpaid teachers and ex-teachers – to present itself as ‘the future’ in a duplicity of discussions and forms." Lovely.

There's a follow-up post today that helps a bit. Dean Groom writes, "I think I’ll actively promote two hours a day (school+home) is an essential contract between parents and teachers." So I think the point is to limit screen time to two hours. Groom admits "Two hours a day is going to sound ridiculous to kids and adults alike." And the concern underlying the limit is this: " is dominated by the commercial agendas and belief of a few mega-brands – Apple, Google, and Microsoft. The ‘social stream’ of edumedia is seduced and propositioned by brands." He's not wrong - but the remedy needs to be fixed.

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