Posted 1:42 PM by George Siemens
This has nothing to do with nothing: Went shopping today. Saw an article in the esteemed market tabloid World Weekly News: "Adoption agency sells shaved apes as human babies". Dumbest headline I've seen in a while. I laughed. I wonder how I could get a career writing headlines for these people. I think I've missed my calling...

On with it...

"To create better health in a living system, connect it to more of itself." (Meg Wheatley) Great quote. As organizations grow, increased communication is critical to ensure knowledge is at the fingertips of people who need it. Connect it to more of itself. Powerful.

Elearning is a communication process...linked to other communication processes like knowledge management (KM) and performance support. Instruction, KM, performance support - these three are moving on parallel paths now, but will converge in the near future. Blackboard and WebCT are beginning to offer content management. Instruction is concerned with the presentation of content...KM is concerned with the organization, capturing, and accessibility of content...and performance support is focused on the timely, precise, availability of content (just-in-time, just-enough, just-for-me). Regardless of function or name, it's still all about communication.

Learning Community
Quote: "The purpose of this paper is to examine current literature and current research concerning online learning community, to discuss the impacts of online learning communities on human learning, and to propose a theoretical construct for future development of online learning communities."

Comment: Basic overview of the concept of a learning community. The author does a good job of defining the social requirements in learning online (particularly the need for "high social presence" and collaboration). Communities are foundational to online learning. I think everyone online instructor should have a clear understanding of: how communities form, how they function, how they are maintained, and the role of an instructor as a facilitator.


Semantic Web
Quote: "Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web while he was working at the CERN research center in Switzerland...[now] Berners-Lee has more time to push another proposal, for a next-generation Web that he calls the ''Semantic Web.'' "

Comment: Great concept...huge challenge - making the web a web of useful, accessible data...not meaningless unconnected documents. This concept has been gaining momentum over the last several months...so this may be the beginning of a neat idea.

Power Lines
Very neat...Internet over powerlines. Moves data at 14 Mbps (useless facts: DSL moves at 1.5 Mbps...802.11b wireless standard moves at 11 Mbps...the article doesn't mention 802.11a wireless standard which can cruise along at 54 Mbps...). Personally, I'm not convinced that the future of the Internet and elearning is hardwired. Once issues of security have been addressed, wireless has everything going in its favour.

Tailor Made
Quote: "Some colleges and universities are reaching niche markets by creating tailor-made distance-education programs for employees in specific industries."

Comment: This is the vision that educators and business people need to share. You run your business, we'll train your staff - according to your standards, and in a format that you want. Death to the course! Long live granular learning objects!

Assisting Educators on the use of Technology
Quote: "Increasingly, educators are adopting business methods and processes. They have increased their overall efficiency, use business process management software to automate routine business procedures, and integrate new technologies into teaching and learning...Computer analysts say by 2005, e-learning will be the single most used application on the Web.

Comment: Educators currently have an opportunity to shape and guide what will be the future of the Internet...I wonder if we'll look back in 10 years and say we squandered it?

Lindows Walmart?
Comment: This is incredible. $299 - $599 for a computer from Walmart!? (US funds). This has been getting some attention on slashdot...mainly because the OS used is a new product called Lindows (Michael Robertson - of MP3 fame). What's so cool about Lindows? It apparently runs both Linux and Windows...hmm...

Information Literacy
Quote: "Information literacy instruction (ILI) requires a shift in focus from teaching specific information resources to a set of critical thinking skills involving the use of information."

Comment: 'Nuff said. Makes too much sense to comment on...