Posted 4:13 PM by George Siemens
Let Users Control Font Size
Quote: "Tiny text tyrannizes users by dramatically reducing task throughput...I'm hereby launching a campaign to get Microsoft to make user preferences override any fixed font size specification in Web designs."
Comment:Makes sense...but I can relate to the desire to make a page "look nice" before making it functional. Sometimes what works best doesn't look great. For a designer, this is difficult to stomach! However, as the article mentions, absolute font sizes aren't great for many web users. So, when using style sheets, all text size should be relative to the base font so the user can adjust to their preferences.

Posted 9:28 AM by George Siemens
System snubs qualified teachers via Kairosnews
Quote: ''Requiring excessive numbers of pedagogy or education-theory courses,'' the report said, ''acts as an unnecessary barrier for those wishing to pursue a teaching career.''
Comment: Not sure what to think about this. I think the article is too one-sided - i.e. against the value of formal instruction on how to teach. One comment sounds great in theory..."Once we get the kind of people we want, we can train them in the schools.''...but the reality is that most education institutions are too busy to make that a focus. Generally, I'm in favour of the value of informal learning as being the equivalent of formal learning (developing a skill through actual work rather than through formal education)....but that is not the tone of the article. The article devalues the role of education theory courses in developing qualified instructors. Translating that to the online environment, it would suggest let people who know their stuff teach it. Horrible mistake based on my experiences as an online student. Teachers MUST be trained before they teach online...if not, student dissatisfaction and high drop out rates are inevitable.

Posted 6:52 AM by George Siemens

What are exams telling us?
Quote: "Everyone - government, teachers, employers - now claims to believe in the importance of lifelong learning. Yet the exam system persists in pretending that intellectual capacity, and quite possibly one's future in the workplace, can be summed up by a few scripts scribbled in the school hall one hot afternoon in early summer. For how long can we go on pretending that introducing more and more tests is the same thing as improving education?"

Comment: Assessment needs to be authentic - it needs to duplicate real life where possible. I'm sure most people can remember a student from high school who had great grades, but failed to translate that into their career. Ideally, people who do well in school/college assessments should do well in their careers - if assessment is aligned with the real world.