Stephen Downes

A reflection of some of the recent angst being expressed in the edublogosphere and a restatement of the conviction that the criticisms of this new technology are not well founded. "Networked learning, in all its informatic splendor and complexity, is certainly a dire threat to the deeply- and extensively rooted pedagogical practices of higher education... Further, it's a threat that's partly irrational. I don't mean to dismiss the anxieties - far from it - but to emphasize that Web 2.0, networked learning, etc. are simply not treated seriously... Forces beyond the professorite conspire to keep the discussions rare and poor, from the Chronicle's classic 'internet: threat or menace?' approach to mainstream media's clumsy grappling with this stuff."