Monday, May 09, 2005

Dell Founder Dropped $100M Onto Red Hat [Slashdot:] 8:57:28 PM      Google It!.

SPA-3000 Review/Guide: Affordable Home PBX [Slashdot:] 8:55:57 PM      Google It!.

Overcoming the Biggest Barrier to Student Success. According to the abstract, "life interruptions are common for students and that more fixed seat time in courses increases the probability of student failure. Redesigning course schedules is critical to increasing student success." Reasonably short PowerPoint presentation that makes the case. Casting aside traditional explanations for non-completion, such as bad advice or too heavy a course load, the presentation shows a correlation between inflexibility and failure and recommends more flexible scheduling and incentives for course completion. By Ron Bleed, ELI (Formerly NLII) Meetings (2005), May 9, 2005 12:03 p.m. [Refer][Research][Reflect] [OLDaily] 8:36:41 PM      Google It!.

From Course Management to Curricular Capabilities: A Capabilities Approach for the Next-Generation CMS. Soimething I've argued for a long time: "The genetic weakness of the contemporary CMS stems from its uncritical acceptance of the traditional features of the classroom model." The author proposes an alternative to the traditional LMS, "a capabilities approach... The learner-centered capabilities are (1) a critical thinking capability, (2) a self-confidence capability, (3) a peer-learning capability, and (4) a knowledge management capability. The CMS curricular capabilities are (1) a discovery-based learning capability, (2) a 360 degree out-of-the-course capability, (3) a knowledge asset capability, and (4) a teach-to-learn capability." By Van Weigel, EDUCAUSE Review, May, 2005 [Refer][Research][Reflect] [OLDaily] 8:34:54 PM      Google It!.

Open Source Means Just That. Scott Leslie levels some criticism at an unnamed open source learning object repository, pointing out quite reasonably that if it won't release its code, it cannot be called open source. I am inclined to agree and can name three projects off the top of my head that could fit his description. "Open source is as much about a form of software development practice and social organization as it is about a form of software license," he writes, which means that when you block people from contributing before the software is finished, you are blocking the methodology that makes open source software unique. By Scott Leslie, EdTechPost, May 7, 2005 [Refer][Research][Reflect] [OLDaily] 8:31:47 PM      Google It!.