One additional writing discussing the challenge of Web 2.0 vs LMS's in HEd

The article written by Martin Weller, posted inside Michael Feldstein's blog (e-Literate) brings about once more the issue of the challenge institutions will be facing in dealing with the innovation of web 2.0 tools and the legacy of LMS's, which in fact represents an entire mindset of aggregating learning tools under one monolithic environment. With the speed of change of these tools, and the personal preferences of learners, it is clear that there is a good probability that LMS's might simply become empty.
SocialLearn: Bridging the Gap Between Web 2.0 and Higher Education at e-Literate

It is clear that institutions are aware of that. Some LMS companies are simply adding the tools to the LMS, but as mentioned above this is bound to break or at least not be an effective solution in the long run. The trend does represent a change in paradigm. A personalization of one's learning process. It is the representation of empowering the learners in its full extent, including in the selection of learning tools. I believe it is still not easy to predict the outcome, and the process might actually generate different threads in terms of compromises. An interesting issue that involves technology management, a change in pedagogy, organizational culture and issues of cost-efficiency.

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Lots of people agree, it is just a matter of time...

Should LMS's include more tools in an effort to embrace the web 2.0 trend? What happens with the new tools constantly emerging ? Should we determine the tools that need to be used by learners and restrict creativity, going against the wave of user generated content and the sharing potential of these new tools? Such issues are at the forefront of online education, and have yet to be resolved. Wired Campus has a short note on this today, and the comments following this post are also very interesting...
Wired Campus: The Battle Between Web 2.0 and the Classroom - Chronicle.com

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Great list of the impact of web 2.0

We are changing because of Web 2.0, but it happens sometimes in a transparent and subtle way, everyday. This article is straightfrward and clear about 10 ways that Web 2.0 is changing our everyday habits.
Internet Evolution - The Big Report - Top 10 Ways Web 2.0 Sites Are Changing Society

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Very cool... sketching with audio online...

I just read this in Wired Campus, and I had to immediately try it out - Sktechcast - a new blogging and teaching tool
Just when you thought that online you could have an 'asynchronous' moment of white board plus audio', here you have it. No need to have everyone connected. This could add short audio with simple sketches that can be used over and over again. Great idea.

Very nice, indeed!
It was a bit slow to load everything, but the easiness of drawing and recording was amazing.

To share, one can use a link, like with my own test here: test_sketch - Sketchcast.com
But, one can also embed the sketch very easily:

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I lit 2048....

I just learned about the Darfur wall... a very interesting way to be able to donate to the people of Darfur.
Stella Porto - the darfur wall - 2408


Visit http://darfurwall.org and be one to light one more number and choose to remind everyone that all these lives do have a meaning.

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Despite the setbacks, OLPC is achieving its goals in pockets around the globe

I think I have mentioned this project before to some of my classes... It is the "Negroponte project" that was in the media for a long time, and once in while more recently is reported as facing problems from competition (!) and skeptics. I for one, participated in the 1-month Get one, Give one campaign late last year, when for $400, one could get one machine and send another to any of the developing/underdeveloped countries participating in the project. So did my brother, through me - He lives in Rio and picked-up his machine last weekend when he visited us on his way back from a conference in Las Vegas. The machine is pretty incredible for its size and weight, and my boys use it for class work and amusement (although it certainly can't compete with the Wii...).

In any case, I was happy to read the following report today from Technology review...
Technology Review: Una Laptop por Niño

The machines are in fact getting to the places where they need to me. I just hope that this idea is not forgotten, and this kind of investment continues into the future. One more thing: we also need to concentrate in preparing those teachers. The teachers, who like the children, lack any support to become effective teachers and be able to employ these incredible machines.

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The urgent need to prepare students for a web 2.0 reality...

While in the universities we are still debating the validity of Web 2.0 technologies, those technologies are moving forward and engulfing the enterprise.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Web 2.0 is set for spending boom

Shouldn't we become more proactive in preparing our students for this new reality? In the e-learning arena, not only these tools will be available as part of organizations' infrastructure for learning, but professional will be required to understand and use them in an effective and productive way. Trainers, for example, will  be required to not only know how to use such tools, but also be able to teach others in the use of them in their daily jobs.

We are passed the early and near-sided conclusions that that social networking, blogs, wikis are a simple manifestation of individuals and affinity groups over the web. We are also passed the phase where this is considered as business model to sell and make a profit over the Internet. These tools are becoming part of processes and operations within organizations. Institutions committed to preparing the workforce need to take this change into consideration now, and avoid one more time the gap between what is taught and what is practiced and expected from professionals entering or re-entering the labor market.

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Learning by reading and interacting via blogs

Tony Karrer's blogpost from yesterday talks about blog learning. And shows several examples of not only learning new things through reading blogs, but the interaction can be very rich. This is especially important, give the reluctance that so many people have when setting up their blogs to allow comments from others. This post is worth checking out. Blog Learning : eLearning Technology

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Summary of findings from the 2007 Distance Education Survey Results

I just read this from Michael Feldstein's blog. His focus is on the LMS trends, related to Blackboard and Moodle, but he summarizes some important findings from the 2007 Distance Education Survey, which covers the impact of e-learning on community colleges. In his note, he also has the direct link to the Survey, which contains highly useful information... see it all here: Bad News for Blackboard, Good News for Moodle at e-Literate

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A great reference site for web 2.0 technologies

I just received this from a colleague (Thanks, Ilene!), who found this gem within Stephen Downes OLDAILY.
Office 2.0 Database - My Office 2.0 Setup
You can visit the database in several ways: through categories, using the set-up where particular applications are set as the best options and then some alternatives are given, or just using the index. The site is clean and easy to navigate. There is also a way to submit an application that you might have used and is yet not part of the database. Signing up for the RSS feeds allows one to keep up with the news applications.

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