OLDaily

Welcome to Online Learning Daily, your best source for news and commentary about learning technology, new media, and related topics.

Decolonization is not a metaphor
Eve Tuck, K. Wayne Yang, YehudaRothschild.com, 2023/08/22

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Decolonization has been talked about a lot with respect to learning and education technology. The point of this article is "to remind readers what is unsettling about decolonization. Decolonization brings about the repatriation of Indigenous land and life; it is not a metaphor for other things we want to do to improve our societies and schools." I have no doubt about that but a lot of questions remain, ranging from what is meant exactly by 'land back' to what it means to teach 'Indigenous ways of knowing'. This won't be a thing wherre we can just throw a switch and make it happen; "it cannot come as a result of magical practices, nor of a natural shock, nor of a friendly understanding." This articvle is a necessatry step in that discussion.

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Human-centred learning analytics: Four challenges in realising the potential
Roberto Martinez-Maldonado, Learning Letters, 2023/08/22

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From the inaugural issue of Learning Letters (see George Siemens et al. on why the world needs a new journal) this article describes four key challenges in the context of human-centred design (HCD) in learning analytics (LA). HCD is "an incremental design process that employs various tools to foster communication, interaction, empathy, and stakeholders' participation to gain a deeper understanding of the needs, desires, and experiences of the intended end-users," according to the paper. "'One-size-fits-all' LA systems are often ineffective," argue some researchers, so context-sensitive HCD is often desirable. But the challenges include: "i) ensuring representative participation; ii) considering expertise and lived experiences in LA design; iii) balancing stakeholder input with technological innovation; and iv) navigating power dynamics and decision-making processes." Image: AIHR.

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Theory and learning analytics, a historical perspective
Jason M. Lodge, Simon Knight, Kirsty Kitto, University of Technology Sydney, 2023/08/22

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This is quite a good preprint paper discussing the relation between theory and learning analytics. It covers four major areas: theories of learning analytics, theory-based critiques about learning analytics, theory use in learning analytics, and theories emerging from learning analytics. The general trend is that learning analytics started as an observation-centered discipline, and hence limited in the same way behaviourism is limited, and subject to the same critiques. Over time, it gradually incorporated more from various theoretical perspectives (for example, constructivism) but as there was no theory of learning analytics per se critics tended to draw from their own theoretical background (for example, from education, biology, psychology, sociology, law and ethics, etc.) resulting in incommensurable and conflicting views on the subject. Image: Romero and Ventura.

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RSS Zero isn't the path to RSS Joy
Dan Q, 2023/08/22

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Some good tips (most of which I also follow) on how to treat your RSS reader. "Zero is not the target.
The numbers are to inspire about how much there is 'out there' for you, not to enumerate how much work need have to do... Your RSS reader is a list of things you might like to read. In an ideal world, reaching 'RSS Zero' would mean that you've seen everything on the Internet that you might enjoy. That's not enlightened; that's sad!" Via Ben Werdmuller.

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We publish six to eight or so short posts every weekday linking to the best, most interesting and most important pieces of content in the field. Read more about what we cover. We also list papers and articles by Stephen Downes and his presentations from around the world.

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