Here’s a summary of ideas and conversations from the edublogging community that have captured our attention in the past 48 hours.
Stephen Downes is back from his hiatus and leads off with this response to Will Richardson’s post on why he is not reading as much in the blogosphere as he used to. Stephen writes:
“Why write posts? Why blog at all? If the content of what you are reading or
writing isn’t absorbing in and of itself, to you, then the blog just becomes a
vehicle for some sort of external reward. Let go of the reward; leave that for
the self-promoters and the shysters and the advertisers. And eschew these in
your reading. Invest in your passions and follow those of others; the rest will
follow.”
Ben Vershbow has an informative piece over at if:book on defining the networked book. As he points out, this concept has been getting quite a bit of currency of late. This article recaps recent discussion, offers up a definition of the networked book — “a networked book is an open book designed to be written, edited and read in a networked environment.” — and provides a list of projects related to networked books.
And, as George Siemens points out, it’s just not a one-way world anymore. “We may still control certification, but the learning act itself is quickly
moving into the hands of learners.” Indeed, education cannot and will not escape this evolutionary event.
Finally, check out Vicki Davis’ post on “interesting facts around the blogosphere.” She points to predominant language use, education opportunities, and a whole lot more.
Here’s our take on news that matters for Tuesday, May 2. Today’s theme is they’re still here , and here are a some links to headlines about technology that is changing the way we live and learn.
- Gaming — Looks like we can expect details on Nintendo Lite pricing and launch info later this week. Also, Electronic Arts will be releasing the new role playing game “Orcs & Elves” to Verizon Wireless customers this month.
- Blogging, mediacasting, and online creations — If you haven’t been following this controversy, The Los Angeles Times has taken action against Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Hiltzik for blogging under anonymous names. The editor’s note at the Times read: “The Times is discontinuing Michael Hiltzik’s Golden State column, which ran in the Business section, because the columnist violated the newspaper’s ethics guidelines. This follows the suspension last week of his blog on latimes.com, which also has been discontinued. Hiltzik has acknowledged using pseudonyms to post a single comment on his blog on latimes.com and multiple comments elsewhere on the Web that dealt with his column and other issues involving the newspaper.”
- Handhelds – Visa and Nokia are testing a new Cell Phone/RFID combo in Malaysia that will allows users to make purchases of in-store goods using their cell phones. This technology is aimed at eliminating the need for customers to carry credit cards. “Houston, we have confirmation. Apple and the record labels have agreed to stick with their pricing of $.99 per tune.”
- Social Networks – beginning today, you can get your new Helio phone and service. This is the newest venture by Earthlink founder Sky Dalton and is aimed at the younger generation who want social networking and other rich media extended to their cell phones. Pete Cashmore has this review of kSolo, an online karaoke site. Yep, you heard me. I’ll even hum a few bars if you like.
- Technology Talks — Microsoft has announced that it will spend an additional $2 billion on technology acquisition in the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1. This jives with Microsoft’s commitment to position itself more competitively against Yahoo! and Google, as well as the company’s historical pattern of being a second mover in technology trends. The New York Times has this good article on how the battle between Microsoft and google will shape the future of how we access information.
Here’s a summary of ideas and conversations from the edublogging community that have captured our attention in the past 48 hours.
Will Richardson starts the week with this nice post on Lifelong Teachers. We are using blogs and podcasts to crete new models for lifelong learners, he argues, so why no turn the same kind of thinking onto the teaching guild.
Also, Graham Wegner is talking about mobile learning and its potential, and is responding to some of the good work by Alex Hayes. Bryan Alexander is also musing about the shift form PCs to mobile computing.
I’m not sure what the motivation was/is, but Stephen Powell has this list of reasons institutions of Higher Education don’t change. These do have a certain air of familiarity to them.
Christopher Sessums has this insightful article on inquiry and blog-based approaches to Professional development training.
“It is my contention that weblogs provide a particularly helpful environment that allows educators to record and share their thoughts, treatment plans, and analyses. Weblogs also provide a place where educators can seek counsel and advice from peers, hold informal conversations about related and unrelated topics, as well as network with other educators from a variety of institutions. Weblogs also provide an environment that permits teacher educators to study issues such as self-presentation and reflective thinking that in turn refines research and understanding of teacher professional development.”
Here’s our take on news that matters for Monday, May 1. Today’s theme is they’re still here , and here are a some links to headlines about technology that is changing the way we live and learn.
- Gaming — Well, there’s a new game in town, or at least a new physics chip for games. The new chip is designed to add a new level of reality to game play. ”
Buildings will blow up spectacularly, football tackles will become more
bone-crunching, and cloth will flutter and crumple, lending a dramatic
flair to online role-playing games.” Also, in the “no big surprise” category, Sony has announced that it is expecting big losses on its new PS3 console.
- Blogging, mediacasting, and online creations — Napster is back to offering free music but it’s only free is you listen to streaming music from your computer and you are limited to the number of times you can listen to a track (5). These tactics seem peculiar to me given that they tend to be Web and Flash-based, something that many handhelds will be able to handle in the next 12-18 months. At that point, I guess it’s just the limited play of tracks that will be a detractor. I mean really, in two years downloading just won’t be that big of a deal to subscribers. Also, according to a study by Jacobs Media, podcasting may be the up and coming way to Rock.
- Handhelds – Thankfully, researchers are working on a universal chip for cell phones that would allow any phone to sync with any mobile service worldwide. Now that’s useful technology!
- Social Networks –
MyNewPlace is an online apartment search service using a series of Web 2.0 services such as map mashups and blogs. According to this article, “The site differentiates itself from competitors by giving would-be
renters the opportunity to post blog entries talking about their
experiences and asking for tips, and by also providing Google maps
showing apartments’ locations with even the simplest searches.” And yes, the video sharing space was already crowded, but now there is yet another player — SelfCastTV. Better look at it quick because it may not be around long as it offers no serious threat to YouTube. If you haven’t been checking out all the online video sites, never fear, Wired as this guide.
- Technology Talks — A couple of good articles appeared over the weekend that addressed new advances with e-ink and other e-book technologies. The CNET article has more information on the iLiad reader along with a link to a nice slide show. The New York Times ran an article about Microsoft’s new Vista-based reader that allows users to download entire newspapers and view them offline on a handheld or desktop. Also, Yahoo is launching a new Technology news and assistance site. It will be interesting to see how they marry this effort with other Web 2.0 services.
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