The Personal Learning Environment
A Take On The Personal Learning Environment.
By Stephen Downes (http://www.downes.ca/)
Dad, Learning Technologist/Developer, Musician, Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Rock, Paper, Scissors.
Untitled Message
I hate that don't you?
Receiving "Untitled Message" in my inbox.
Maybe it's not that important but it really grates on my nerves.
Anyway, I just sent one to four work colleagues.
Completely by accident of course, but it still happened all the same.
I am seriously embarrassed and ever so slightly annoyed.
Receiving "Untitled Message" in my inbox.
Maybe it's not that important but it really grates on my nerves.
Anyway, I just sent one to four work colleagues.
Completely by accident of course, but it still happened all the same.
I am seriously embarrassed and ever so slightly annoyed.
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Ubuntu Netbook (Corrupt Switcher Config)
Issue encountered on Asus eeePC 900A
Ubuntu Netbook Remix (Jaunty Jackelope)
Package “desktop-switcher” results in corrupt config file when switching to classic Gnome view.
Enable Proposed Jaunty Archive in: /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ jaunty-proposed restricted main multiverse universe
New preferences..
sudo touch /etc/apt/preferences
sudo gedit /etc/apt/preferences
Content for “/etc/apt/preferences“
Package: *
Pin: release a=jaunty-security
Pin-Priority: 990Package: *
Pin: release a=jaunty-updates
Pin-Priority: 900Package: *
Pin: release a=jaunty-proposed
Pin-Priority: 400
Start aptitude to select the packages from proposed you wish to upgrade (desktop-switcher)
sudo aptitude -t jaunty-proposed
sudo aptitude -t jaunty-proposed install desktop-switcher
Remove the corrupt config file..
sudo rm -rf ~/.config/desktop-switcher
Make sure the required components are loaded on next Gnome Session..
gconftool-2 --set /desktop/gnome/session/required_components_list --type list --list-type=string ["windowmanager","panel"]
Restart.
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Adam's Soliloquy
"As for the dinosaur.. But Noah's conscience was easy; it was not named in his cargo list and he and the boys were not aware that there was such a creature. He said he could not blame himself for not knowing about the dinosaur, because it was an American animal, and America had not then been discovered"
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Stockhausen vs. The Technocrats
In November 1995, The Wire published an article titled "Advice to Clever Children." In the process of producing the interview, a package of tapes containing music from several artists, including Aphex Twin, was sent to Karlheinz Stockhausen.
Stockhausen commented:
| “ | I heard the piece Aphex Twin of Richard James carefully: I think it would be very helpful if he listens to my work "Song of the Youth," which is electronic music, and a young boy's voice singing with himself. Because he would then immediately stop with all these post-African repetitions, and he would look for changing tempi and changing rhythms, and he would not allow to repeat any rhythm if it [was] varied to some extent and if it did not have a direction in its sequence of variations.[40] | ” |
Aphex Twin responded: "I thought he should listen to a couple of tracks of mine: 'Didgeridoo,' then he'd stop making abstract, random patterns you can't dance to".
Via Wikipedia.
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The Future Of Blogging
Well, I've heard it said anyway.
I guess it's catchier than "The Future Of Posting More Than 140 Characters To A Website".
You'll have to excuse me..
I just realised that I hadn't tried out posting to Posterous with my phone yet.
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Mahoodle Network With Git For Version Control
I haven't posted this diagram as a "How To".
I'm looking for comment as to whether I'm getting it and/or a better way to do it.
Just a note.. aside from the main Moodle and Mahara sites and the Workstation all of these servers are Virtual Machines in a VMware Environment, I have no intention of requesting new tin for each of these blue boxes!
Feel free to either comment here on this post or download the image and scribble on it and repost on TwitPic via Twitter or similar. All helpful comments are, well, helpful.
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Windows Seven Release Candidate (VMware Fusion)
I've been looking into using the College's Windows Live For Edu Tools.
I'm not a big fan of Microsoft/Office/Windows myself but these tools have reared their heads as potentially very useful for staff and students involved in the 14-19 Diplomas (there'll be more about this to come in the near future), so that alone makes it all worth while losing myself in this alien landscape for a while.
I thought that while I was at it I'd take a look at the Windows 7 Release Candidate and the integration with the Live Services and Clients.
I was pretty impressed that building a Windows 7 VM complete with Windows Updates, VMware Tools and Windows Live Applications took about forty five minutes from scratch.
I'm not a big fan of Microsoft/Office/Windows myself but these tools have reared their heads as potentially very useful for staff and students involved in the 14-19 Diplomas (there'll be more about this to come in the near future), so that alone makes it all worth while losing myself in this alien landscape for a while.
I thought that while I was at it I'd take a look at the Windows 7 Release Candidate and the integration with the Live Services and Clients.
I was pretty impressed that building a Windows 7 VM complete with Windows Updates, VMware Tools and Windows Live Applications took about forty five minutes from scratch.
There are still surprises to be had from life, it might be a mistake to overlook this.
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This Year's Model
This should go without saying but I'm all for the use of technology to assist learning.
However, the last few years have seen an increase in research into the use of Mobile Technology, this in itself is no bad thing but I cannot help feel that all this funding (Millions, I kid you not) is being carelessly squandered.
We all have boxes to tick sure, however this should be little more than a necessary evil tidied up after the successful development of a practical and sustainable project.. in fact no, not a "project" , a practical and sustainable solution.
However, the last few years have seen an increase in research into the use of Mobile Technology, this in itself is no bad thing but I cannot help feel that all this funding (Millions, I kid you not) is being carelessly squandered.
We all have boxes to tick sure, however this should be little more than a necessary evil tidied up after the successful development of a practical and sustainable project.. in fact no, not a "project" , a practical and sustainable solution.
There are some fabulous gadgets out there, iPhones, iPods, Smart Phones, Handheld Game Consoles, wonderful, empowering stuff.
There's the issue (for me).
That word "empowering".
We, as a society are led to believe that the acquisition of these gadgets (and technology in general) empowers us and raises us into the elite. Having an iPhone makes us really flippin' cool because we were more than happy to pay £200 + £40 per month in carrier charges (these figures are off the top of my head but here in the UK this is probably close enough - 02 are the only carriers that have iPhones at this point in time) for the privilege of having one.
And it is a privilege (I'm A Mac = Dead Cool Vs I'm A PC = Total Dork).
But It's Not About The Gadgets (It's About The Learner)
Are you sure? Really?
Well, that's what we are told, very loudly by those leading the research.
Right before they whip out a Nintendo DS Lite and start stroking it and calling "Sweetheart".
The rampant consumerism that dominates our everyday lives has crept into our education.
Maybe I should be delighted that Education has caught up with the rest of the World.
A Little Perspective
While it's probably true that "most" students now have a mobile phone it's not true that they all have the "latest
thing", they may want (or we can draw conclusions from the level of marketing on the Television/Internet/High Street/The Side Of Buses that they do) it but it's no guarantee that they are going to get it.
Sure, we can take a few grand out of that funding and buy them one but it's not very realistic, it doesn't offer a sustainable solution, it provides a controlled, privileged model of a (vaguely) possible solution that in all honestly is not likely to become any sort of reality, because we cannot do this for everyone.
Education is for everyone (or at least should be).
Mobile Education For The Masses
In my mind, the only solution is to stop buying gadgets, I mean the purchasing of 30+ iPhones/Games/EeePC's and handing them out to a controlled group of students to play with.
This is little more than a box ticking exercise and in the current economic climate this is pretty despicable.
Next year you will have a
storage cupboard full of landfill.
You'll be too ashamed to open that cupboard.
Look at the devices your students are already using.
Here's a simplified summary of what I believe you'll see:
Take it as given that mobile phones are going to be the dominant device.
All Phones = Voice Calls + SMS (Text Services)
Most Phones = Voice Calls + SMS + Bluetooth
Some Phones = Voice Calls + SMS + Bluetooth + 3G/HSDPA + WAP + Java (For Apps)
A Few Phones = Voice Calls + SMS + Bluetooth + 3G/HSDPA + WAP + WLAN/WiFi
We need to be looking at providing Applications and Services for existing devices, this should be at the core of our research and development, it's at the root of providing a sustainable, long term solution. It embeds Mobile Technology and provides for a framework for those who choose to interact in this way regardless of the device they use.
Applications and Services can be opened up, altered and re-rolled according to technological
change.
Stop taking gadgets to students, stop giving them unrealistic expectations.
What do they expect now?
If my daughters came home and asked for an iPhone because they were really cool, I would in some way understand this, I was a kid once and I understand what it means to want to be
cool.
If my daughters came home and asked for an iPhone or a Smart Phone because "that's how stuff at school works", well.. I'd go pretty mental.
Wouldn't you?
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