OLDaily

E-Learning 3.0 Outline and Synopsis
Stephen Downes, mooc.ca, 2018/10/08

We're just in the process of the pre-launch week for E-Learning 3.0, the newest MOOC we are offering on the mooc.ca website. For now, you can read the course outline and synopsis, a fairly detailed description of the sort of things we'll be looking at over the next ten weeks. In a few days I'll post signup-forms so you can subscribe to the email newsletter and submit your blogs for inclusion (note, you do not need to register to enjoy this course). You can also read it as a single article.

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This proposed treaty on copyright exceptions should matter to the Open Education community
Creative Commons, 2018/10/08

Creative Commons has thrown its support behind a Civil Society proposed treaty on copyright exceptions for educational and research activities. They argue, " Having clear international norms for exceptions to copyright for education allow OER authors and users to more confidently incorporate third-party materials for reference and illustration of OER content." The danger of such exceptions is that "educational uses" have historically been defined in terms of educational institutions, and not personal learning. The proposed treaty (Article 5) would exempt uses related to teaching, learning, creating educational materials, and research. The protections under 'learning activities' might be sufficient. But the danger is that this section would simply be dropped from the treaty, essentially cementing the exception as a commercial right and not a personal imperative.

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iFixit confirms you can still repair your own iMac Pro or MacBook Pro
Richard Lawler, Engadget, 2018/10/08

This is an update on a story cited here last week. The website iFixit looked at the story saying you can't repair your MacBook, tried it for themselves, and found that you atually can repair your computer. " While it's possible that a future software update could change things and make it require specialized software that only official Apple Stores and authorized service centers have access to, we're not there yet." It's always best to check things out for yourself rather than just taking someone's word for it.

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A philosopher explains how our addiction to stories keeps us from understanding history
Angela Chen, The Verge, 2018/10/08

I hear a lot of educators talk about how stories are essential to learning, but I'm not sure I agree, and it's not clear they help. Indeed, according to this article, our preference for stories might be misleading us. "These historical narratives seduce you into thinking you really understand what’s going on and why things happened, but most of it is guessing people’s motives and their inner thoughts. It allays your curiosity, and you’re satisfied psychologically by the narrative, and it connects the dots so you feel you’re in the shoes of the person whose narrative is being recorded. It has seduced you into a false account, and now you think you understand." Real explanations "involve models and hypotheses that are familiar in structure to the kind that convey explanation in the natural sciences."

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For Some Scholars, a Full Professorship Calls for ‘a Lot of Paperwork’ That ‘Doesn’t Mean Anything’
Audrey Williams June, Chronicle of Higher Education, 2018/10/08

A lot has been said about the fact that Canadian Nobel prize winner Donna Strickland was only an associate professor - not a full professor - at Waterloo. It's just a lot of paperwork for a limited benefit. As someone comments, "The raise is v v small & I could write a whole article in the time it would take to put together the promotion materials." I sympathize - I haven't put in for a promotion at NRC for, I don't know, a decade? and so never advanced to 'Principal Researcher'. It's backward, in m view; promotions should be given, not sought for. I think it's more telling, actually, that her Wikipedia page was deleted despite her obvious qualifications, even well before the Nobel prize. It's a sad commentary not only on how society regards women, but also on how it regards scientists.

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Why a Web of Connections—Not a Single Relationship—Should Surround Students
Julia Freeland Fisher, EdSurge, 2018/10/08

After the obligatory opening paragraphs offering a paean to teachers, this article cites to research that "points to relationships more broadly as core determinants of students’ chances of getting by and getting ahead. Research from an array of youth development and social capital scholars is clear: students will most benefit from a web of adults supporting their healthy development, academic success and access to opportunity." One study mentiones is the Search Institute’s work on what they call developmental relationships. Another notes that "74 percent of those who choose a career path immediately after high school secure their job through a connection they made as part of their internship." Yes, connections matter. Who knew/

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Google to shut down Google+
Martin Brinkmann, ghacks.net, 2018/10/08

It surprises no one to hear that Google is finally announcing the end of the Google+ network. It never came close to being a Facebook rival, despite the effort Google put into it. That said, some parts of it - such as Hangouts - were significant successes in their own right. It's interesting to read that " One of the findings of the project team was that Google+ 'has not achieved broad consumer or developer adoption' and that it 'has seen limited user interaction with apps'." This could have been done much differently - I've looked into it with respect to gRSShopper and it is not a trivial process to use the API. Ultimately, though, I think the reason Google+ failed was that it was always about Google, not individual people using the network.

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