OLDaily

Presentation

Stephen Downes, Oct 13, 2021,

Legal Experts On Pearson V. Chegg And Why It Could Be A Huge Deal
Derek Newton, Forbes, 2021/10/13

If someone asks a question, do they own the rights to the answer? It would seem obvious that they don't, however, that's what's at issue in this case, as Pearson is suing Chegg in order to prevent them from distributing the answers to published quizzes and tests. This article asks a group of lawyers for their opinions, and succeeds only in proving that the last person you want to ask is a lawyer. Now nobody is cheering for illicit cheating services here, but there's an entire industry, including respectable tutoring and test preparation companies, that could be impacted. If you're interested, here's the docket.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

OER in Dual Enrollment
Jennifer Zinth, Midwestern Higher Education Compact, Southern Regional Education Board, 2021/10/13

This is an interesting report (29 page PDF) worth a read even if the set of recommendations perhaps overstates the evidence in support of them. Here "dual enrollment... refers to college courses offered to high school students, often for both high school and college credit." The report was based on "11 remote interviews with 19 state and local stakeholders" and also references some earlier studies  (which is why I would consider the evidence somewhat limited). From this eight pages of recommendations are derived. Some make sense (for example: the college should lead by adopting OER in the first place), some are unsurprising (for example: a preference for recommendations rather than mandates), and some are troublesome (for example, to bundle resources rather than simply offering links). The appendices (four case studies, and links to state policies) are particularly useful.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

IoT Hacking and Rickrolling My High School District
WhiteHoodHacker, 2021/10/13

This is a great story of how students hacked the bells and display system in their school division, replacing the usual messages with a rickroll. The article tells us almost everything (it keeps some of the exploits under wraps) including even some of the code. The author was also at great pains to show how they were careful to avoid any disruption or damage, and how they documented every step and (eventually) worked with administrators to secure the system. There are many great lessons in this post and it should be shared widely with computing science teachers and enthusiastic student programmers. Via Twit.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Freedom and the Learning Management System (LMS)
Neil Mosley, 2021/10/13

Nice essay about the conflict between (academic) freedom and the institutional use of an LMS. This is one of those articles that reads better from the bottom up. "Inconsistency of use of the LMS across some areas often does just that. Is a template, a rubric, some guidelines, a mandate or another means of tackling this a gross violation of freedom? Well it really depends on what you believe about freedom."

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]