iBerry

Had a lot of fun at the Deszire2Learn conference today playing with UStream and backchannels in front of a full house in the Ballroom. Above: Michael Feldstein presents at the D2L conference in memphis. My computer, foreground, picks up the UStream video (wirelessly - notice that the ethernet cable has popped out of the socket) and sends it to the conference video projector, which we see in the background. We also used my conference backchannel system, which created chaos, mayhem, and a lot of fun.

Also, this link summarizes what was a first-rate presentation from Greyson Purcell outlining a simple but powerful video uploading and playback system integrated into D2L. This is something I am going to want to play with. What I'd really like to figure out how to do is to record live from a computer's webcam over the internet without using a Flash media Server (there must be an open source way...). Stephen Downes, Flickr, Half an Hour, July 22, 2008 [Tags: Wireless, Video, Open Source, Project Based Learning, Flickr] [Link] [Comment]

Interesting. Discussion on Google Lively: "A quick initial reaction: it's Second Life distributed." From Google: "If you enter a Lively room embedded on your favorite blog or website, you can immediately get a sense of the room creator's interests, just by looking at the furniture and environment they chose." Me? I don't think I want furniture in my blog. I'm just saying... Janet Clarey, Brandon Hall Researcher, July 22, 2008 [Tags: Second Life, Google, Web Logs] [Link] [Comment]

ASCD introduces us to "two articles in the Summer 2008 online Educational Leadership issue on thinking skills, 'Differentiating Math Through Expeditions' and 'Immersed in Inquiry,' describe how the authors set up conditions in which students designed their own learning tasks and set their own bar and their own pace." They're good case studies, though I think the student work still occurs within a very constrained circumstance. Nonetheless, they offer anecdotes, at least, of success. Naomi Thiers, ASCD Inservice, July 22, 2008 [Tags: none] [Link] [Comment]

Miguel Guhlin summarizes my talk in Madrid. See also a longish post from Dolors Capdet (in Spanish) summarizing the speeches given by the Spanish Ministers of Industry and Education (they directly preceding my talk) and my talk following. (Miguel had 146 posts while I was gone, so I may mis som of his stuff - but I liked What Makes a Good Story and RSS Feed Goes Nuts... - oh. Well that explains the 146 posts, then. Phew!). Miguel Guhlin, Around the Corner, July 22, 2008 [Tags: none] [Link] [Comment]

Julie Amero is a substitute teacher who was wrongly convicted - based on patently false and misleading testimony - on several counts of Risk of Injury to a Minor after her computer got slammed with porn spam popups while she was trying to teach a class. In view of the blatant errors in the testimony, the original conviction was overturned - but the judge merely vacated the verdict, which mean it is as though the trial never happened. The prosecution won;t go for a new trial, but they haven't dropped the chargesm, either, which leaves her in a ridiculous legal limbo. This page is to a petition demanding some sort of justice for her. Via Susan Sedro. Various Authors, Website, July 22, 2008 [Tags: Patents, Spam, Copyrights, Patents] [Link] [Comment]

I'm gon for a month, I come back, and there's only one post from Brian Lamb? Oh, but it's a good one, reviewing as it does what it takes to create an open educational resource access service (hint: it's deliciously easy, and all the stuff you need has already been developed for you). Brian Lamb, abject learning, July 22, 2008 [Tags: none] [Link] [Comment]

Video of a presentation from Judy Breck (of Golden Swamp fame). You might also want to look at her open interactive presentation online. Her objective is to attempt to show that "this is a world of connectio9ns, not objects". Also from the same conference: Teemu Arina, Innovation and Microinformation. And check out th nifty embedded news reader. Joachim Niemeier, 7 Days and More, July 22, 2008 [Tags: Video] [Link] [Comment]

[Slides][Audio] Desire2Learn Expert Panel featuring Stephen Downes, Barry Dahl, Michael Feldstein, Robbie Melton. After a short remark by D2L chair John Baker, each panelist outlines what they thing should be the future of online learning. Then the chaos starts as the discussion - streamed live on the web and including the use of a backchannel in the auditorium - ranges far and wide. I'm not sure the video is working - I hope it was archived in UStream. D2L Fusion, Memphis, TN (Panel) July 22, 2008 [Comment]

As my own agency implements a policy on mandated open archiving, it would do well to consult this page at SHERPA, which offers guidance and information about opn archiving. For example, announced today, the SHERPA service service RoMEO now lists over 400 publisher policies on self-archiving. Various Auhors, University of Nottingham, July 22, 2008 [Tags: Books] [Link] [Comment]

"...not just the question of what difference technology can make, but the question of how we make sure that technology makes the difference we want."

First of all, and most importantly, a HUGE thank you to Barry Dahl, Gary Woodill, and Harold Jarche, for taking over the newsletter for a month. I know best how much work it was, so I really appreciate their effort. It was also very interesting to read the newsletter from the perspective of an average reader, which will probably show up as some goodness in the future.

Anyhow, as you know, I was in Spain for four weeks, including two weeks on the Canary Islands. The photo above is from the island of Lanzarote. I have hundreds of photos (and more to add). Here are photos from:
Cadiz
Madrid
Gran Canaria
Fuerteventura
Lanzarote
Barcelona

Stephen Downes, Flickr, July 21, 2008 [Tags: Newsletters, Flickr] [Link] [Comment]

Nice to get a perspective on this from Finland. "In Finland the educational system, as it is today, was build slowly. It is still strongly relying on the work of Uno Cygnaeus ( 1810-1888 ) who was influenced by the early European 'constructivist' Pestalozzi ( 1746 - 1827 ) and Froebel ( 1782 - 1852 ). The idea that children learn the best when they areactive and build things was not really invented by John Dewey or Piaget - they only were able to present the idea in a language of positivist science, when the earlier thinkers thought themselves as 'pedagogues' or educational philosophers." So there you go. Teemu Leinonen, FLOSSE Posse, July 21, 2008 [Tags: United States, Schools, Online Learning, Constructivism, European Union] [Link] [Comment]

Blackboard's motion for contempt has been denied. That means Desire2Learn 8.3 is immunized from the patent lawsuit. Press Release, Desire2Learn, July 21, 2008 [Tags: Desire2Learn, Patents, Copyrights, Blackboard Inc., Patents] [Link] [Comment]

"Should learning professionals be leading the charge around new work literacies such as social media and informal learning?" Good question. My answer: yes. Because everyone should be. Tucker writes, "my responsibility is to work on my own sphere of influence, starting with our online course development team leading by example for our facilitators." Christy Tucker, Experiencing E-Learning, July 21, 2008 [Tags: Traditional and Online Courses] [Link] [Comment]

Really nice presentation from George Siemens this morning - I hope someone recorded the audio. In any case, I took extensive notes, so there is at least some record of it. Siemens talks about network learning and the importance of the role of the individual in collaboration. Also from today's D2L conference, I have summarized Brett Emmerton's useful (if technical) talk on virtualization, and David Delgado on integrating iTines U with Desire2Learn.

Tomnorrow I will be taking part in a panel with Barry Dahl, Michael Feldstein and Robbie Melton. We will be broadcasting live on the web - here is the link - starting at 11:30 central time (GMT -6). We will also be using my backchannel - you can input your comments directly from the video page (or so we are planning it as I type this) or through the input page at my web site. George Siemens, Half an Hour, July 21, 2008 [Tags: Desire2Learn, Connectivism, Audio, Networks, Video] [Link] [Comment]