Collaborative Model Building

Part of planning for success in a 21st Century Learning organization is understanding and prioritizing the investments in technology. Success is about aligning the work in K-12 schools with the deployment of infrastructure, services, and supporting administrative operations. As we attempt to prioritize our work, such models can direct the planning and [...]

Can Pre-Built = Personal?

Personal Learning Environments are
a single user’s e-learning system that provides access to a variety of learning resources, and that may provide access to learners and teachers who use other PLEs.
(van Harmelen, 2006)

In a recent discussion with fellow grad students and Stephen Downes, Dan made what I thought was a brilliant comparison about two kinds [...]

Not Detached?

It was an article that made me sit up and take notice. The Faculty is Remote, but Not Detached was recently published in the New York Times. In fact, some of the faculty referenced in the article appear to have either taken a detached stand-and-deliver style to the Internet, or won’t move to [...]

The Emotion-Charged Debate about Internet Safety

Dean Shareski linked today to an important article about Internet safety for kids. The article debunks the myths that the Internet is always an unsafe place.
In an environment that is so emotionally charged, it is important that data is presented and this research article does just that. However, there are many creditable [...]

Wikipedia Academia – again

The Wired Campus this week highlights an article by David Parry, an assistant professor of Emerging Media and Communications at the University of Texas at Dallas.
The discussion that follows each article reflects the polarization of views about Wikipedia. Parry argues that dismissing Wikipedia entirely from academic use is irresponsible. Rather than arguing about [...]

Identity 2.0

Identity management is a very important part of supporting our Web 2.0 experience. Thanks to a tweet from Matt I just watched Dick Hardt from Sxip Identity, a Canadian company, talk about Identity 2.0. Just as we describe learning with the learner at the centre, Identity 2.0 puts the user at the [...]

Open Source, Open Content, Open Access

Thanks to Glenn, Rob, Lisa, Rick, Dan, and Peter who offered great perspectives to my recent post about the polarization of open source and proprietary software. Not everyone sees open source as the only way to support technology-enabled learning. There is room to explore the range of options and still be advancing a [...]

Free and Open Content

I want to consider a distinction between free open source software, and free and open content.  
Teemu Leinonen brings us this picture of the evolution of educational technology:    
Leinonen describes our current state as social software and free and open content. I think we confuse the issue be assuming that all social software is free open source software. [...]

2008 has arrived.

Can you believe the technologies available to support and enable learning today? I’m starting this blog, rather fittingly on the first day of a new year, to chronicle my journey through my M.Ed. degree in Educational Communications and Technology. I have been working in technology for 30 years, but only the last nine in K-12 [...]