Friday, March 18, 2005

Registry of Standard Biological Parts. I honestly don't know what to make of this (quite literally) but it is also the most amazing thing I've seen in a while. I don't completely understand it - the 'about' page is awful. The idea is to be able to define biological parts as sequences of DNA. There may be a software component - at one point it tried to send me what appeared to be a perl script. These parts are then assembled to create larger biological functions. It is all in support of the Intercollegiate Genetically Engineered Machine competition. One day somebody will write an intuitive interface (or at least a legible About page) and kids will be able to use these parts to create all manner of monsters. Virtual monsters, of course. By Various Authors, MIT, March, 2005 [Refer][Research][Reflect] [OLDaily] 3:17:02 PM      Google It!.

Electronic Portfolios and Dimensions of Learning. The article is pretty superficial, but it makes a point work repeating here: "Give students the academic freedom to help develop what makes a good portfolio." Now if you think about that, the concept of academic freedom for students, especially younger students, is a novel one. Since when have students ever had the freedom to define for themselves what counts as good? But it seems to me that in an age of ubiquitous multimedia, the development of such a capacity may be a critical skill. The rest of the article builds on this idea, so though the treatment is light it deserves a read. Via elearnspace. By Frederick Conway, T.H.E. Journal, March 2005 [Refer][Research][Reflect] [OLDaily] 1:08:20 PM      Google It!.

Towards Self-Replicating Rapid Prototypers [Slashdot:] 1:04:30 PM      Google It!.

WebCT expands e-learning market in China. WebCT, provider of higher education's most flexible and widely used e-learning solutions, today announced that Chinese universities are rapidly adopting WebCT solutions as their e-learning platforms. Even before appointing a new executive to oversee China [Online Learning Update] 12:58:59 PM      Google It!.

Electronic Portfolios and Dimensions of Learning. The article is pretty superficial, but it makes a point work repeating here: "Give students the academic freedom to help develop what makes a good portfolio." Now if you think about that, the concept of academic freedom for students, especially younger students, is a novel one. Since when have students ever had the freedom to define for themselves what counts as good? But it seems to me that in an age of ubiquitous multimedia, the development of such a capacity may be a critical skill. The rest of the article builds on this idea, so though the treatment is light it deserves a read. Via elearnspace. By Frederick Conway, T.H.E. Journal, March 2005 [Refer][Research][Reflect] [OLDaily] 8:52:35 AM      Google It!.