Posted 1:24 PM by George Siemens
Weblog Comparison Tool (via Column Two)
Comment: Neat tool...I'm currently in the process of moving to Movable Type - should be up next week.

Posted 1:20 PM by George Siemens
Knowledge Management - how seriously should we take this concept?
Quote: "The concept of knowledge management has been around for about a decade. Many organisations now have a chief knowledge officer. Should we take the concept seriously? How is it practised? In what direction is it going?"
Comment: In most education institutions, knowledge management is underdeveloped...which is very surprising - the heart of universities and colleges is knowledge communication (learning)...

Two critical points made about KM as a whole: "It is the engagement of the processes by which an enterprise creates, captures, stores and distributes knowledge internally and externally. More importantly, perhaps, is the way it profits and succeeds from the optimal use of it."..."Most important is the velocity of change"

Posted 1:08 PM by George Siemens
Are Personal Digital Assistants the Next Must-Have Tool?
Quote: "Is the personal digital assistant, or PDA, poised to be the new technological darling on campuses? It is generating a buzz among some administrators, who are buying into using PDA's for selected classes or departments at their universities. But elsewhere, administrators and faculty members are skeptical about whether these devices can be effectively used as teaching tools, instead of just as digitized calendars and phone books.
Comment: Provides a fair overview of PDAs in education. However, the article reads like an average article on PDAs (as in not much new insight is offered)...the negatives (small screen), the positive (small size) - heard it dozens of times. What I'd like to see is an article that truly explores the portability of PDAs (no other technology meets the "anytime, anywhere" promise of elearning better...except for new tablet PCs)...how does this impact learning? How effective are PDAs in contrast to laptops?

Posted 8:34 AM by George Siemens
Training New Online Teachers
Quotes: "A quick review of distance education literature highlights the importance of communication in the teaching and learning process. The focus of this discussion is assisting new teachers to establish an online dialog philosophy that include essential strategies... It is important that teachers are given opportunities to become familiar with the basic elements of their online course work such as how to communicate using e-mail, strengths and weaknesses of the course software, and key people to contact for technology expertise."
Comment: Teachers (as I've whined about before) are often the forgotten element in elearning. This short article attempts to address the development of teachers for the online environment through mentorship.