August 10th, 2010
Edublogger Review
A "mash-up" of postings from nine engaging educational
and e-learning bloggers.
Pulling the Goalie
Source: http://suburbdad.blogspot.com/2010/08/pulling-goalie.html
By Dean Dad on August 10th, 2010
In conversation recently with a colleague at another college,
I realized that what she was describing something I’ve seen a
few times, too. I call it pulling the goalie.
In hockey, if a team is behind near the end of the game, it
will sometimes take out its goalie and put in another offensive
player. (The total number of players on the ice is six per team.)
The rationale is that it’s easier to score with an extra shooter,
and if you’re losing anyway, what’s the difference between
losing by one and losing by two? It’s a high-risk maneuver,
obviously, and it would be suicidal to try to play an entire game
that way. But when you have little to lose and you need a quick
score, it’s a reasonable strategy.
I’ve seen administrators who are angling for higher-level jobs
in other places do the equivalent of pulling the goalie on their
home campus.
It works like this: Dean X wants to be a Vice President
elsewhere. She tries for a while, to no avail. Out of impatience,
she pulls the goalie by abruptly going from a traditional
management approach to rampant backroom deal-making,
complete with mutually contradictory promises behind the
scenes. The idea is to “get things done” in a hurry, to make
a conspicuous splash and line up support artificially to put
her application over the top before people figure out what has
happened. Let the next person clean up the mess.
In the very short term, it can work. If you have a reputation
for being trustworthy, there will be a time lag between when
you start lying and when people figure it out. If you can land
another job during that lag, you win.
But the clock is ticking, and if you don’t beat the clock, things
will get ugly. And even if you do, things will get ugly on the
campus you left.
Unlike the hockey move, I consider this a major ethical
violation, since it subordinates the good of the campus to one
person’s career ambitions. It also makes the job much harder
for whomever comes next, since folks who’ve been burned are
much slower to trust again. The first few months are sort of like
the Spring thaw in the East River, when all the mob victims
suddenly turn up as floaters. Ugliness keeps getting unearthed,
and just when you think it’s over, there’s more.
Published by: philosophyandrew
Doing this job well, I’m increasingly convinced, means playing
the long game. It means having patience, accepting setbacks,
and keeping your expectations realistic. Quick hits happen, but
forcing them to happen usually costs far more than it’s worth.
If you’re planning to stick around for the entire game, you
don’t pull your goalie early.
Wise and worldly readers, have you seen administrators pull
the goalie on your campus? If so, how did the campus recover?
Agility through collaboration
Source: http://www.jarche.com/2010/08/agility-through-collaboration/
By Harold Jarche on August 10th, 2010
Instead of factory-style production teams, agile programming
uses far fewer, but better, programmers. The principles of
communicating, focusi
ng on simplicity, releasing often and testing often are also
applicable to developing good instructional programs. Does
instructional systems design (ISD) need more agility? An ISD
project team should be able to return to the Analysis or
Design phase and make changes while instructional content
Development is taking place. If not, changing conditions
cannot be accommodated and the programme is outdated
before it’s even finished. I wonder how many content
development shops actually have a process that enables them
to rebuild after the design specification has been signed off.
The root of the problem is that ISD views instruction as
separate from work. Instruction is perceived as something that
can be designed, developed and delivered as a programme,
not integrated with the work to be done. Subject matter
experts are consulted, but the ISD professionals remain in
control. It’s a good model when things change slowly. The
current fascination with rapid e-learning only exacerbates
the problems with ISD. Rapid is just a faster version of
ADDIE, with less time for reflection and feedback: Garbage-
In; Garbage-Out.
I think that ISD and agility are fundamentally incompatible.
Clark Quinn proposes a better approach, collaborative co-
design:
Things are moving so fast, and increasingly the
work will be solving new problems, designing new
solutions/products/services, etc, that we won’t be
able to anticipate the actual work needs. What we
will need to do, instead, is ensure that a full suite
of tools are available, and provide individuals with
1
August 10th, 2010
the ability to work together to create worthwhile
working/learning environments.
In short, tying back to my post on collaboratively
designing job aids, I think we need to be
collaboratively designing workflows. What I mean
is that the learning function role will move to
facilitating individuals tailoring content and tools to
achieve their learning goals.
Collaborative co-design is one more way to integrate work and
learning, and give our organizations more agility. Embedding
the principles of communicating, focusing on simplicity,
releasing and testing often; just make sense in an increasingly
complex workplace. Once again, the major barrier, like
Enterprise 2.0 or social media for work, is that the traditional
gatekeepers have to give up control.
Mideast Countries The New
Destination Of Choice For
Study Abroad
Source: http://keptup.typepad.com/academic/2010/08/mideast-countries-
the-new-destination-of-choice-for-study-abroad.html
By StevenB on August 10th, 2010
In what educators are calling the fastest growing study-abroad
program, American college students are increasingly choosing
to spend their traditional junior year abroad in places like
Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates,
wanting to experience the Arab world beyond America’s
borders and viewpoints. the number of American students
studying in Arabic-speaking countries increased sixfold to
3,399 in 2007 from 562 in 2002. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/
fashion/08Abroad.html?_r=1
Blogging in Education Today
(part 2 in a series)
Source: http://www.educause.edu/node/211205
By kwalsh1 on August 10th, 2010
This week we’re learning about teachers
using “classroom blogs”
Last week we started this series examining the current state
of blogging in education by looking at how today’s teachers
are using blogs. Our first post focused on teachers blogging
about various experiences and ideas, with the intended
audience essentially being other teachers, and to a lesser
degree, the general internet audience.
This week we examine another category of teacher
blogging, probably best referred to as “classroom blogging”.
These are blogs in which teachers blog about classroom
activities and experiences, often with students participating
and blogging as well. The intended audience here can be the
students, parents, other teachers, administrators, and so on.
As with last week’s post, I’ve combed through many examples
of classroom blogs and selected a few examples to share here.
Published by: philosophyandrew
Nothing illustrates an idea quite like real world examples. Of
course, with it being summer, some of these blogs are not
particularly active right now, but all of them look like they’re
quite active during the school year.
Example Classroom Blogs
Huzzah! - A grade 5 & 6 class of 10 & 11 year old learners, in
“the beautiful Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, British
Columbia, Canada”. This is a nice looking site with good use
of visuals like pictures, slideshows, and videos. There are
also links to student blogs, and a great set of other classroom
blogs in the “blogroll” listing on the right side of this page(I
would think this right hand column should be visible on the
home page too, but it wasn’t – maybe its just a glitch).
The New Improved CChat
Source: http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=53081
August 10th, 2010
I'm pleased to announce that everybody can now use my
backchannel system for their own presentations. The idea is,
at a live event, such as a conference presentation or speech,
people can send messages to each other and comment about
the presentation. Normally, this would happen in secret, but
it's more fun if you take the conversation and put it up on the
screen. CChat, my backchannel system, allows you to do that.
Comments
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Five Ways To Cut College
Costs
Source: http://keptup.typepad.com/academic/2010/08/five-ways-to-cut-
college-costs.html
By StevenB on August 10th, 2010
In addition to tuition, there are "lab fees, recreation fees,
computer fees, materials fees, and then a bus pass! We didn't
realize nearly every class would have fees associated with
it," says Judy McNary, a financial adviser in Broomfield,
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August 10th, 2010
Colo., who has three children attending the University of
Colorado. With all the added costs associated with the
academic side of college, it can pay greatly to look for ways to
cut back in different areas of college life. Here are five areas
where you can cut college costs . Read more at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB128121249197225401.html?
mod=rss_whats_news_us
Tips for Safe and Secure
Social Networking
Source: http://www.educause.edu/node/211173
By vvogel on August 10th, 2010
According to US-CERT : "The popularity of social networking
sites continues to increase, especially among teenagers and
young adults. The nature of these sites introduces security
risks, so you should take certain precautions." In an effort to
help institutions as they prepare to educate students returning
to campus for the fall semester, the EDUCAUSE & Internet2
Higher Education Information Security Council ( HEISC ) has
created a list of suggested tips for safe and secure social
networking . This new wiki page includes higher education
resources, industry resources, and recent articles.
Access Copyright's excessive
$45 per university student
proposed tariff - August 11,
2010 deadline
Source: http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=53080
August 10th, 2010
Access Copyright is proposing to charge Canadian universities
$45 per student, and colleges $35 per student, a rate increase
of about 1300 percent (that's not a typo) over current rates.
Access Copyright was originally founded to collect levies for
photocopying, but this newest fee represents a tariff for digital
copying. And then some. "Incredibly, the tariff defines a 'copy'
to include "posting a link or hyperlink to Digital Copy". So,
that would presumably include any website with copyrighted
material...! AC apparently expects to be paid whenever a
professor posts a link on his or her website to my blog, or
Michael Geist's blog or the Globe and Mail or eBay. That is
simply absurd." Responses need to be filed by August 11 to
the Copyright Board, which "seems to have an unstated 'rocket
docket' policy when it comes to AC." Via Michael Geist. More
from Techdirt.
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Published by: philosophyandrew
A Guide To Paying Less For
Textbooks
Source: http://keptup.typepad.com/academic/2010/08/a-guide-to-paying-
less-for-textbooks.html
By StevenB on August 10th, 2010
You might call it the college student’s first lesson in
exploitation: paying $100 for a textbook, then getting
a mere $12 when reselling to the campus bookstore at
the end of the semester. College textbook prices rose
about 6 percent, on average, every year — that’s twice
the rate of inflation — from 1986 to 2004. there’s
nothing more infuriating then paying the sticker price on
textbooks (well, with the exception of tuition itself), when
many other books are available at a discount. Read more
at: http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/how-to-
find-cheaper-college-textbooks/?
ex=1296532800&en=af62294e8c7b67fe&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=BU-
D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M160-ROS-0810-L1&WT.mc_ev=click
IT Accessibiliy Center
Source: http://www.educause.edu/node/211167
By drupal on August 10th, 2010
Unless otherwise noted, EDUCAUSE holds the copyright
on all materials published by the association, whether in
print or electronic form. In certain cases the work remains
the intellectual property of the individual author(s) (see
Special Circumstances ). Content from conference speeches,
presentations, blogs, wikis and feeds reflect the opinions of
the author, and not necessarily those of EDUCAUSE or its
members.
A joint policy proposal for an
open Internet
Source: http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=53079
August 10th, 2010
Following concerns they were about to jettison net neutrality,
Google and Verizon have done the opposite, coming out with a
joint statement of seven principles that speaks largely in favour
of an open and neutral internet, including this: "this new
nondiscrimination principle includes a presumption against
prioritization of Internet traffic - including paid prioritization.
So, in addition to not blocking or degrading of Internet content
and applications, wireline broadband providers also could not
favor particular Internet traffic over other traffic." Awesome.
Via Jay Hathaway. More from Mashable.
Comments
alqpr, August 9, 2010 5:39 p.m.
I share the doubts expressed by 'saltrix' and 'Alain' on
Jay's posting, and by the critics quoted in the NYT's more
recent article. Namely "protecting the internet" won't mean a
damn once there's a new "differentiated" network on which
the anomaly of relatively cheap publication costs for small
3
August 10th, 2010
independent sources can be done away with. At present
the internet is supported by the traffic of big and small
transmitters, but if the big ones leave it may get squeezed
- and if the big corporate entities find it more congenial
to competerate with one another rather than with the less
predictable challenges afforded by upstarts then squeeze they
will. [Comment] [Permalink] [Previous][Next]
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Students And Parent Can
Communicate Anytime But Is
That A Good Thing
Source: http://keptup.typepad.com/academic/2010/08/students-and-
parent-can-communicate-anytime-but-is-that-a-good-thing.html
By StevenB on August 10th, 2010
Nineteen-year-old Taylor Matichak calls her mom several
times a day, in between the flurry of text messages they
send one another discussing academics, social life or just
daily chit-chat. It's profoundly different from the college
days of her mother, Debbie Matichak, 52, who remembers
waiting in long lines at her dormitory pay phone to make
the obligatory Sunday collect call home. As college students
prepare to descend on campuses in the coming weeks, many
will find that with the ease of cell phones, unlimited text
message plans, e-mail, Facebook, and Skype, they can have
near-constant access to mom and dad. Read more at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-teen-
connected-parents-20100805,0,7352817.story
This content has been flagged
for review
Source: http://www.educause.edu/node/211164
By PODEducation on August 10th, 2010
Unless otherwise noted, EDUCAUSE holds the copyright
on all materials published by the association, whether in
print or electronic form. In certain cases the work remains
the intellectual property of the individual author(s) (see
Special Circumstances ). Content from conference speeches,
Published by: philosophyandrew
presentations, blogs, wikis and feeds reflect the opinions of
the author, and not necessarily those of EDUCAUSE or its
members.
Ideagora
Source: http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=53078
August 10th, 2010
Well here's one way to respond to the Ning paywall. The former
Ideagora Ning group has moved to grou.ps. "Ideagora is
growing and adapting as a professional network of individuals,
organizations and professional groups engaged in knowledge
and resource sharing, research, social policy, political strategy,
technology issues, and business policies."
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Foreign B-Schools Luring U.S.
Faculty Overseas
Source: http://keptup.typepad.com/academic/2010/08/foreign-bschools-
luring-us-faculty-overseas.html
By StevenB on August 10th, 2010
Business schools in Asia are courting professors in the U.S.
with the prospect of doing leading research work as the schools
aim to strengthen the credibility of their graduate programs.
As business schools in Asia work aggressively to become
brand names in business education, their dominant strategy
has been targeting and recruiting Western-trained professors.
Deans at those schools say nabbing "star" professors is critical
for building clout in the research world and subsequently
attracting the brightest students to their graduate programs.
The defections are adding to a problem American b-schools
have faced for the better part of the past decade: a shortage of
business Ph.D.s to teach the 100,000-plus students who enroll
in graduate-level business programs each year. Read more at:
Shared Decisions and
Abolishing Awards
Source: http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=53077
August 10th, 2010
Interesting: if your goal is "for each student in our school to
recognize and develop his/her unique talents and interests..."
then you may have a non-mainstream view on awards. "The
key words in this are 'each student'. We do not want to
just recognize those that excel in specific areas, we want to
recognize EACH student for the areas in which he/she excels.
As a school, we need to continue to move away from the
traditional educational hierarchy that says those students who
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August 10th, 2010 Published by: philosophyandrew
excel in language arts and maths are more important than
those who excel in fine art." And, presumably, the one that says Automated Spam-checking is in effect. If you are a registered
that students who excel in sports are better than any of them. user you may submit links and other HTML. Anonymous users
Awards collectivize. They force people into pursuing the same cannot post links and will have their content screened - certain
achievement rather than their individual achievements. It is words are prohibited and your comment will be analyzed to
ironic to see people who celebrate individuality also celebrate make sure it makes sense.
awards. Via The Innovative Educator.
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U Of Michigan Open First New

Dorm In Forty Years
Source: http://keptup.typepad.com/academic/2010/08/u-of-michigan-
open-first-new-dorm-in-forty-years.html
By StevenB on August 10th, 2010

The University of Michigan today publicly unveiled the

first new residence hall to be built on campus in more than
40 years – a $175-million residential and academic building
that will blend living and learning in one complex and includes
many high-tech features. It will house 450 students, many of
them enrolled in one of six academic programs that also will
be housed in the building. It’s the first building on campus to
be built with the dual purposes in mind. Read more at:
http://www.freep.com/article/20100805/
NEWS06/100805028/U-M-blends-living-academics-in-
first-new-dorm-built-in-40-years

Power laws
Source: http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=53076
August 10th, 2010

Nice post on types of inference and in particular about

abduction. Abduction is also known as 'inference to the
best explanation'. It's what we have to do with respect
to complex phenomena; it is most tentative of the three
inferential strategies and gives us, as Dave Snowden says,
anticipation rather than prediction. That doesn't mean it is
without evaluative standards; I discuss those here, in my
discussion of the logical fallacies. I like the presentation of
the coherence requirement in this post. "He rightly headed
the slide Complements, not alternatives. Abductive techniques
are in effect means of generating coherent hypotheses under
conditions of uncertainty. The coherence word is key here, just
because we don't know everything it doesn't mean that all ideas
have equal value."
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