FriendFeed Opens the Floodgates with Real-Time Updates
Using FriendFeed to track all of your friends' activities has become a daily routine for many of us. But, apparently, pressing the refresh button to get the latest and greatest information has been a bit arduous for some. Read more...
ReadWriteWeb, Yesterday, 9:34pm
Microsoft Taps Multiply.com as New Home for MSN Groups
In a world dominated by Facebook and MySpace, one of the best kept secrets in social networking is Multiply.com. This fast growing little social network is about to make a whole lot of new friends. Read more...
ReadWriteWeb, Yesterday, 9:25pm
Help Twitter Find a Revenue Model
Twitter is the poster child for the 'scale first, don't even think about revenue at launch, monetize much, much later' model of startup. In the current climate, ventures like that probably won't get funded. Which is a shame. Twitter is addictive and fun and even occasionally useful. If anybody can pull this business model off, it will be Twitter. It has scale, seem to be moving mainstream and they've even fixed their reliability issues. Read more...
ReadWriteWeb, Yesterday, 6:15pm
Automattic Acquires PollDaddy: Polls Come to WordPress.com
PollDaddy, the online polling and survey tool we use a lot here on RWW, has been acquired by Automattic, the company behind the popular WordPress blogging platform. This is Automattic's second major acquisition in a short time. Just three weeks ago, Automattic also announced the acquisition of IntenseDebate, a popular blog commenting plugin. Neither Automattic nor PollDaddy, an Irish startup, released the terms of the acquisition. Read more...
ReadWriteWeb, Yesterday, 6:11pm
Dealing with the Distraction Factor
One of the things I struggle with, in classes taught in computer labs, is the distraction factor. My Journalism 2 course is structured so that students work independently and function for much of the course as freelance writers. Now I know in the real world, freelance writers work from home much of the time. They might multitask among any number of activities including reporting, writing, reading, checking e-mail, eating, and talking on their cell phones. Unfortunately, in a classroom setting that is governed by school rules much of this is impossible. In addition, watching students get done “just what they need to do” for the day to spend much of the 82 minute block playing games, commenting on Facebook, or playing videos on YouTube drives me crazy. Read more...
The Open Classroom: Using technology, transparency, and discussion to transform education, Yesterday, 5:25pm
Cappie Wood
Andrew Cappie Wood, Director General of the NSW Department of unEducation is up on stage to start us off. Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Stanley Frielick and the future of learning institutions
It has been great to witness Stanley Frielicks thoughts emerge as he processes his experiences with the Future of Learning in a Networked World. He, more than anyone has sparked important debate in that tour. He has suffered tirades and rants from many, flames from some, and institutional dogma from others, but maintained a willingness to engage and expose himself more. What emerges from this is a presence, a node, an extension in the connected knowledge, a person with whom I feel I can communicate with and relate to. Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Reading - The Wealth of Networks
So, 3 months later and my library has finally delivered my order of Yochai Benkler's The Wealth of Networks - How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom. Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Welcome back to the redneck wonderland
So I'm back in Australia, sitting in a friends house in the Blue Mountains, looking out his window over the National Park, watching the mist roll on by, contemplating an image I might use for a talk at the Global Summit. 'bloip' goes skype as a Stephan messages me a link to that only-good-for-fire-starting rag, The Sydney Morning Herald. Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Global Summit - Teaching is dead tweaked a little
So! here we are, at the very fancy Shangri-La Hotel under the coat hanger in Sydney, for Education.au's Global Summit. Sunshine went to dinner and sat next to George Siemens and Charles Jennings. We had a long awaited discussion about ye old LMS, and I got to flex my work in progress, out from under the umbrellas/what would it be like to be the rain. Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Audio recordings from Global Summit
I'm quite relieved to have finished my talk. Seemed to go well, great that Education.au are audio recording and publishing as we go too. Unfortunately the main access to the files is through EdNA groups - which requires a user name and password :( but a little birdy showed me where the media is being stored wide open. Here's a feed coming out of the bloggers of the conference. Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Realpolitik/power politics
The word realpolitik makes me picture this man. Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
I've been learning from robots
William Lucas, a language teacher here at Otago Polytechnic has been experimenting with chatbots for language tuition. I popped around yesterday and spun me out with JabberWacky and sat back with a grin watching me talk to a robot. Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Affirmative action in language - delete teacher
Stanley makes a good summary of his thoughts out of Global Summit, and is hopefully going to articulate something of an ecological perspective towards learning sometime soon. Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Vote for the Wikivesity Logo
Wikiversity is taking votes for their logo. This is the only one I would wear on a t-shirt. The others look like some polluted snow flake or something. Make sure you cast a vote - a. to show your support for wikiversity, b. to make sure the better logo wins :) Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Artichoke introduces Living End and Ricardo Semler
Another inspiring post from Artichoke, giving me yet another great reason to go to Brazil next year - to meet Ricardo Semler. A man enacting a concept that is only just now unfolding for me. Democratic schools and industry. Semler has founded a democratic school called Escola Lumiar in Sao Paulo. Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Good bye computer
At last! an alternative to this back breaking, arse flattening, nerdy looking laptop interface! Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
DimDim, free web-based webconference tool is available in alpha
DimDim - open source web conference tool, is available as an alpha download. Dimdim is an open source web conferencing product with features like Application, Desktop and Presentation sharing with A/V streaming and chat. No installation is needed on the Attendee side and all features are available through a web browser. Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
North Sydney Institute - Web2Debate, Guidelines for using Blogs and Wikis
An interesting project unfolding at North Sydney Institute. A draft set of guidelines for the use of blogs in wikis in formal educational settings. Acknowledges things llike duty of care to minors, and public and private communications etc... (I was surprised to see my blog linked in there - so this is not a self promo). Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Will says DO IT! but they turn the other cheek
Will posts a much needed rev up in owning the teaching... and the learning. Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Shaggy Rules!
I just got off the phone with Peter Shanks, creator of the Training Packages Unpacked tool. It is a system that reaches into the MSAccess data base of the Australian National Training Information Service NTIS (a place that manages expressions of Australian competency standards or training units for qualification), and pulls it out of the PDFs and RTFS and redisplays the information that teachers and learners need on a web page for us web people to more easily reuse. Then he goes the full 9 yards and makes the newly formatted data available for those of us using wikis, Moodle, html, XML and an assessment spreadsheet. Now its just a simple process of finding the competency unit you are using for learning, teaching or assessment and copy pasting your prefered format into your prefered system. Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Flogging the dead horse that died in the trough
There are times when I feel like my feedreader is talking to me... "go on Leigh, did you read that, its says what you say, say it again, here you go, read this, and this, and don't forget this, say it again..." Its a strange sensation hearing these little voices - am I going schitz? No its a reminder of how small our little band of web2/elearning2/networked learning enthusiasts are... Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Students struggle with information literacy
EdNA's Recent Items RSS pointed to an article in eSchool News that references a interesting results from a study of high school and college student's information literacy. Unfortunately I couldn't get a link to the actual published results as eSchool News wanted me to register before reading the rest of the article.. no wonder bloggers kick linkless journalists. I did manage to grab this though: Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Excellent video about web2 and web3
Graham Stanely has published an excellent video that overviews educational uses and ideas of Web2.0 and Web3D. Quite useful if you are still introducing people to the concepts, or trying to motivate people to stay on it. Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
SMH - Youtube in Melbourne School - Stephen Hutcheon counters Catherine Munro
Stephan Ridgeway alerted me to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday that is definately worth looking at - Youtube is a class act - a refreshing look at the positive adaptation of undeniably popular communication into some Australian school curriculum. Certainly a more informative counter to an earlier SMH article that should shame not only the paper and its 'journalist', but a doctor, the... Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Moment of truth - when the free stuff lets you down
As many no doubt already know, Blogger is upgrading (catching up) with better web2 like features. But somewhere along the way they have stuffed up. I have just now tried to help 2 lecturers get started with blogging - now I'm certain that they will never blog again! Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Cormac Lawler - Wikiversity
I had a very interesting phone conversation with Cormac Lawler today. Cormac is an experienced user, researcher and collaborative coordinator of wikiversity. In it we talked about the history of wikiversity, the possible structure and uses for it, some issues and considerations, and future developments. Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Second Life is starting to grab me
I've kinda sat on the fence with Second Life. But really, there's no arguement about it. SL is an intensly engaging and inspiring space to be working in. Ever since the Future of Learning in a Networked World and talking more with Jo Kay and Sean FitzGerald I can see it more clearly. Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Time to update your subscription to this feed
Sorry about this, but I'm moving off Blogger and onto Wordpress. New location is http://learnonline.wordpress.com and the feed URL is http://learnonline.wordpress.com/feed Read more...
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Don't forget to update your feed: http://learnonline.wordpress.com
Learn Online, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Webheads Tour #1 of Second Life: Real Life Cities in Second Life
The idea behind this tour was to visit a number of cities in Second Life that have been based on their Real Life counterparts. Their are lots of these and they are mainly European cities for some reason, so we decided to visit a number of them: Read more...
BLOG-EFL, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Echo Chambers
I took part in an interesting unconference session yesterday as part of my Learning 2.008 experience about echo chambers. The echo chamber is something that we always talk about in the blogosphere in a not particularly positive way. In a nutshell, when people talk about this, they are usualy referring to the fact that we often talk amongst ourselves a lot and the danger of not having enough outside perspective or enough critical friends. Read more...
Remote Access, Yesterday, 5:24pm
Facebook fbFund Awards 25 Apps $25k Each
With today's technology startups, sometimes a little funding can go a long way. Today, 25 Facebook applications received word that they've got more runway ahead of them. Read more...
ReadWriteWeb, Yesterday, 5:11pm
Blog Action Day
Today, October 15, is 'Blog Action Day', and as a result, numerous blogs (including dozens of edublogs) are running articles and resources on poverty. I am very sympathetic with the objective and have a long history of advocacy of measures and programs that would relieve the suffering of those who, for whatever reason, want for the material well-being necessary for a meaningful life. What I don't think is that this is something that can be left to the fickle and ever-more selfish efforts of charities or the free market. If you genuinely want to alleviate poverty, both locally and around the world, vote for, and support, governmental efforts to alleviate poverty. Tossing $10 in a bin hardly makes up for a cast ballot that enshrines greed and inequity into law. Various Authors, Website, October 15, 2008 [Tags: Web Logs] [ Read more...
Stephen's Web ~ OLDaily, Yesterday, 4:17pm
Reflecting On Reflection
There's something wrong with this picture, in my view, but it's a bit hard to put my finger on it. It's worth a look:
The observation sort of sits there by itself. I'm not sure you should 'contextualize' observations, or whether observations simply occur in a context. I'm pretty inferences from effects to causes are problematic. I think it is questionable to pick a theory that follows from one's own 'position' (whatever that is). And I think justifications for changes should lead to improvements, not the other way around. Are ll the arrows in this digram simply backwards? Well - no, I think that this is how a lot of research out there is actually performed. And, expecially in the last few months, I have begun to see a deep gulf between houw research in our field ought to be conducted, and how it is... Read more...
Stephen's Web ~ OLDaily, Yesterday, 4:06pm
Exploring New Ways of Being Open
The crux of the post is found in the comment. Citing the post - "When a learner creates a goal, similar goals, relevant resources, and potential third party offerings (eg mentorship, tuition, formal courses) can all be assembled." - the commenter asks, "A crucial question is who controls the system doing the assembling. If a university is at the center of the system, that looks like business as usual." Fair enough. The commenter continues, "rom 2009, expect to read a lot, across the world, about Responsive Open Learning Environments. By using a ROLE, people can learn about whatever is of interest to them. And source each element of their learning, to hit their personal criteria..." Their personal criteria. So, then, they'd be... personal learning environments? Martin Weller, Terra Incognita, October 15, 2008 [Tags: Mentors and Mentoring, Read more...
Stephen's Web ~ OLDaily, Yesterday, 3:52pm
In a Sim, Do You Let Players Limp Along?
Clark Aldrich writes, "You don't want a situation where people who are having trouble with the sim have an increasingly miserable experience as they progress. You don't want to let people dig too deep of a hole." I wonder, why not? Civilization is prepared to let me limp through hundreds of turns with a pathetic two-city no-hope empire. Next time I hit the same initial conditions, I say, "I won't make that mistake again." Clark Aldrich, Weblog, October 15, 2008 [Tags: Experience] [Link] [Comment] Read more...
Stephen's Web ~ OLDaily, Yesterday, 3:44pm
Restaurant Review Site Boorah Launches API
BooRah, a restaurant review site we first reviewed earlier this year, just announced the availability of an API that will allow other web sites and business to offer online reviews and ratings from BooRah to their customers. The API will surface most of BooRah's data about a given restaurant, including ratings, menus, discounts, and coupons. BooRha also hopes that developers will implement this data in location aware applications through Mozilla's Geode and on the iPhone and Android platforms. Read more...
ReadWriteWeb, Yesterday, 3:41pm
Thoughts on Yesterday's Canadian Election: Harper Still Doesn't Speak for Canada
Tuesday's
election -- prompted by the ambition of the right-wing Conservative
party leader Harper to split the progressive vote sufficiently to
convert his minority support into a majority government under Canada's
antiquated first-past-the-post electoral system -- was bound to
disappoint everyone. The Canadian electorate remains ornery and angry
at the war-mongering Bush-adoring Harper, at the bumbling,
scandal-tainted Liberal opposition, at our helplessness in the face of
our Southern neighbour's government's arrogance, stupidity,
self-loathing and thirst for blood, about our... Read more...
How to Save the World, Yesterday, 3:41pm
What the Web Is For
If only more teachers did this: (1) an exercise to ensure kids comprehend what they're reading; (2) an exercise that encourages free writing; and (3) an exercise where kids are in some way creative. If they have these skills, they are ready for the web. Especially the first. P.S. I've been using more pictures recently. Is this (a) good? (b) bad? Clarence Fisher, Remote Access, October 15, 2008 [Tags: Flickr] [Link] [ Read more...
Stephen's Web ~ OLDaily, Yesterday, 3:39pm
Predicting the Future Starts Now!
OK, well the concept is interesting: "By playing the game, you'll help us chronicle the world of 2019--and imagine how we might solve the problems we'll face. Because this is about more than just envisioning the future. It's about making the future, inventing new ways to organize the human race and augment our collective human potential." OK, so the first thing I want the future to be like is one where people say (correctly) "human species" instead of (incorrectly) "human race."
Wayne Hodgins, Off Course-On Target, October 15, 2008 [Tags: none] [Link] [Comment] Read more...
Stephen's Web ~ OLDaily, Yesterday, 3:35pm
Identity Verification for Distance-Ed Students: FUD Lingers
Writers at EDUCAUSE are still working to dispell the FUD from a classic Chronicle scare-mongering article from last July. In it, the author suggested that new regulations would require distance students to have spy cameras in their homes, to verify identity. In actuality, 'for now, ID's and passwords are all that's needed, with the requirement that they be used each time a student does online work. This isn't rocket science; it's barely computer science." The Chronicle, meanwhile, moves on, offering today a scare story about out-of-date 'smart classrooms'. Steven L. Worona, EDUCAUSE Connect, October 15, 2008 [Tags: Privacy Issues, Read more...
Stephen's Web ~ OLDaily, Yesterday, 3:23pm
Web 3.0, Web 4.0 and Personal Agents: Will They Open or Restrict Choice?
"We're at Web 2.0, he (Spivak) argues, with the 'semantic web' just around the corner as Web 3.0... Web 4.0 will, in theory, include an array of sensors that will gather information from one's environment and use them to create a deep profile of your behaviors and activities." But, as Susan Smith Nash says, "since this will not be too appealing to many people (thought-leaders, programmers, innovators), Web 4.0 will probably be deconstructed, undermined, and subverted even as it evolves." Quite so. The web 3.0 and 4.0 as described here don't offer anything people actually want. Our actual technology development will probably veer from such a gloomy path. Susan Smith Nash, E-Learning Queen, October 15, 2008 [Tags: Web 2.0, Semantic... Read more...
Stephen's Web ~ OLDaily, Yesterday, 3:18pm
Live Coverage of SCORM 2.O Workshop
So SCORM is still with us and Marc Oehlert is live-blogging the SCORM 2.0 workshop. "SCORM 2004 will be with use for probably 5 years.....now getting some background on why LETSI came about...small group in US DOD which started ADL just not equipped to handle a global consortium....enter LETSI. White papers here." As I type they're in a break, so there may be more going on as you read this. Mark Oehlert, e-Clippings, October 15, 2008 [Tags: SCORM, Metadata] [Link] [ Read more...
Stephen's Web ~ OLDaily, Yesterday, 3:12pm
Technorati Acquires AdEngage - Launches Self-Service Advertising Network
Blog search engine Technorati today announced that it has acquired AdEngage, a small, Los Angeles-based online advertising network. Technorati launched its own ad network in June, but focused mostly on large, high-traffic sites. Now, Technorati will release a new advertising network on top of the AdEngage platform which will be open to all publishers who fulfill Technorati's basic quality standards. AdEngage will continue to exist as a standalone business, while the newly created Technorati Engage will focus only on blogs and social media sites. Read more...
ReadWriteWeb, Yesterday, 1:40pm
An idea for Obama
If he gets to ask McCain a question in tonight's debate, try asking a friendly question, like Schwarzenegger asked his opponent Phil Angelides in a 2006 gubenatorial debate. "What's been the funniest moment in your campaign?" or "Where were you when you come up with the idea of picking Sarah Palin?" It's all so serious -- what about relaxing a little. Read more...
Scripting News, Yesterday, 1:16pm
Ask Twitter: Mobile phones in education
I'm still getting my head round Twitter. On Twitter, the insignificant and the indispensable collide - sometimes in the same tweet. That's part of the reason I remain unsure about Twitter. I said recently that I was unconvinced about Twitter's value as a CPD tool but other Twitter users challenged me on this. So rather than just use Twitter for the insignificant I thought I would try something that was at least educationally interesting. :-) Read more...
EdCompBlog, Yesterday, 1:10pm
Flash 10 Released - Finally, Flash Videos In Firefox Work Again!
Today Abode announced the availability of Adobe Flash Player 10 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The new plugin offers a number of improvements such as native support for 3D, a new text rendering engine, and integration with Adobe's Pixel Bender technology. However, we know that many of you aren't interested in these upgrades, which are mainly aimed at Flash developers. What you want to know is this: Will Flash video finally work in Firefox? Read more...
ReadWriteWeb, Yesterday, 11:46am
Buckley Voting for Obama
This is old news by now, but it's new to me. Christopher Buckley,
son of William F., has declared
his intention to vote for Obama over McCain. Says he concerning McCain:
John McCain has changed. He said, famously, apropos the Republican debacle post-1994, "We came to Washington to change it, and Washington changed us." This campaign has changed John McCain. It has made him inauthentic. A once-first class temperament has become irascible and snarly; his positions change, and lack coherence; he makes unrealistic promises,... Read more...
Phil Windley's Technometria, Yesterday, 11:36am
Morning Coffee Notes
Haven't done one of these in a while. Read more...
Scripting News, Yesterday, 10:59am