The Banality of Death
Late last fall my cat Bart died, then Jay Cross died, and finally 130 people in Paris died, all within a few weeks of each other.Bart's death was not felt…
Stephen Downes
Ought and Is
Experts are typically expert in two types of things:what is the casewhat ought to be the caseAnd for that matter, we all have attitudes and beliefs regarding both types of…
Ought and Is
Experts are typically expert in two types of things:what is the casewhat ought to be the caseAnd for that matter, we all have attitudes and beliefs regarding both types of…
What Else can Work at Scale? and Techniques from Social Media
My contribution to the Networked Learning Conference 'Hot Seat' discussion. You can read the whole discussion here.# # #Anything that can be automated works at scale. Anything that cannot be…
Analysis and Support of MOOCs
My contributions to the Network Learning 'Hot Seat' addressing the question, "How do we analyse and support the networked interactions of thousands of people learning together?" View the whole discussion…
Role for Educators in MOOCs
My comments to the Networked Learning Conference 'hot seat' on the role of educators in MOOCs. Read the full discussion here. # # # At the risk of self-reference, I'd…
What Else can Work at Scale? and Techniques from Social Media
My contribution to the Networked Learning Conference ‘Hot Seat’ discussion. You can read the whole discussion here. # # # Anything that can be automated works at scale. Anything that…
Analysis and Support of MOOCs
My contributions to the Network Learning ‘Hot Seat’ addressing the question, “How do we analyse and support the networked interactions of thousands of people learning together?” View the whole discussion…
Role for Educators in MOOCs
My comments to the Networked Learning Conference ‘hot seat’ on the role of educators in MOOCs. Read the full discussion here. # # # At the risk of self-reference, I’d…
That Old Canard
In yesterday's New York Times the Arthur C. Brooks argues that there is systemic bias against conservatives in academia. This is my response. It must be coming around to election…
That Old Canard
In yesterday’s New York Times the Arthur C. Brooks argues that there is systemic bias against conservatives in academia. This is my response. It must be coming around to election…
Scaling the Heights of Language, its Learning, and its Teaching
This is a summary of a talk by Diane Larsen-Freeman at TESL 2015. It was a treat to listen to. Errors and omissions are entirely my own.This is a beautiful…
Why I’m Voting NDP
I am voting for the NDP in the upcoming federal election and I think you should too. In this post I’d like to offer some reasons why. Why I support…
Experts and Authority
In an article last year (and soon-to-be book) Tom Nichols complained about the new relativism brought about by Wikipedia and Google and bemoaning the declining authority of the expert. I…
What I’ve Learned From Philosophy
I posted an item in OLDaily today from Forbes touting the benefits of formerly ‘useless’ liberal arts degrees. In this item Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield is quoted: “Studying philosophy taught…
The Exodus
We are now reading that the exodus of people from New Brunswick through the winter was the largest it has been since 1976. It’s the 17th quarter in a row…
Mother Canada and Mother Russia
The current government plans to deface some pristine Cape Breton wilderness with a ‘Mother Canada’ monument. Here’s the proposal. Here’s some coverage of opposition. A photo below: What I find…
The Study, and Other Stuff
There are three separate threads in Siemens’s response to my last post, all of which are fascinating: The thread concerning whether or not the study he published was bad, The…
Research and Evidence
I wrote the other day that the study released by George Siemens and others on the history and current state of distance, blended, and online learning was a bad study.…
Non-Research Citations in the Siemens Research Study
Defending himself against my criticism of his recently released research study on distance and online learning, George Siemens tweets: Au contraire mon frère. There are many non-research articles cites, with…