Another Common Craft "in plain English" video - this time on what social networking is and why it's useful. These are really helpful little explanations are great for explaining Web 2.0 to newbies.

via Stephen Downes 

This is a truly amazing article, especially the opening video and the closing audio. Some aspects I know already, but the article introduces much that's new to me. Reading it, and following the links is a virtual course in pedagogy in our digital age. - http://tesl-ej.org/ej41/int.html

via Stephen Downes - http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=40732

For visual thinkers and those starting to research an area, I suggest you check out WikiMindMap - http://www.wikimindmap.org/ - a way of seeing the resources available on Wikipedia and linking to them. Just look at the mindmap on John Dewey!

The green circling arrows are direct links, and the plus signs can be opened out for further links. At this point WikiMindMap is in beta.

I had a lot of fun seeing what I could find through it.

via Tris Hussey's A View from the Isle - http://www.larixconsulting.com/2007/07/09/wikimindmap-makes-wikipedia-even-easier-and-more-fun-to-use/  

I've taught reading, writing, and presenting for over 30 years, and I have caught a number of plagiarisers, some of whom got actually got punished. Many either got away with it because I didn't recognize their plagiarism or because of school politics. Some programs just didn't want to acknowledge plagiarism among their students. But the real dilemma was that catching plagiarists takes a lot of time. You have to find where they have plagiarised from, and then you have to have a whole series of meetings, with  the student(s), with the department, and sometimes even more increasingly legalistic meetings. It's a huge time suck that can feel like the teacher is being punished for discovering the plagiarism.

Early in my teaching career, when I was teaching in a community college, I found myself wondering why students, who were aiming at careers where they would never have to write an essay again, had to learn how to write them. I could see the logic of teaching students to write in formats they were likely to be able to use in their future careers. I could see getting students to write in whatever format they wanted, about whatever they wanted because that would help them become overall better writers. But I didn't understand the logic behind having all students write essays.

I would say I'm both more and less hard-line about it now. Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, and my encounters with dyslexic students, has led me to believe that not everybody can demonstrate their knowledge through writing. Sometimes presentations or multimedia projects fit some students better than writing. However, I now value the structure, logic, and critical thinking that writing essays both requires and teaches, so I'm not  adamantly against requiring essays.

My encounters with plagiarisers, some of whom I liked and felt actually knew the material well, has left me uneasy. Then there's the evidence that many students are "voting with their" fingers. Why else are there so many ads on the web advertising essays for sale? Leigh Blackall, in a fascinating post, interviews, by email, someone from one of these essay services. I find myself admiring the quality of writing and rationalization of Andrew Schwatz from Custom Writing a disturbing reaction for a career English teacher, and, even more disturbing, I find myself actually agreeing with him at a certain point. From one of Schwatz's answers -

• Do you have alternative visions for knowledge creation and sharing?

  With the advent of online social networks, I think that one could definitely come up with an alternative to regular writing assignments. Why not let students communicate and develop their own interest based social networks where they could stand up for their views in academic related subjects that do interest them? For students majoring and/or interested in IT or Math – let them discuss in a written form questions that interest them – both professional knowledge and writing skills would develop. Math and IT students need writing for communicating own ideas in a written form in a professional manner, perhaps, using specialized IT/Math vocabulary. What would develop their writing skills better than an open discussion on an education related topic of own choice? Academic institutions perceive Internet as a threat instead of enjoying all the benefits and opportunities it offers for improvement of education. http://learnonline.wordpress.com/2007/07/10/its-not-plagiarism-its-an-easy-essay/

I cast a cynical eye on much of what Schwatz says, but I think he does raise some issues that educational institutions need to pay attention to. The methods of communication in our culture are in rapid change, and we in education need to learn how to communicate with our students in ways that help them learn both their subjects and how to successfully communicate. That's the only way, I think, that we can put the essay services out of business.

via Stephen Downes 

I stumbled across Top 10 Tools yesterday, and had so much fun playing with applications that were new to me, and enjoyed feeling affirmed in my choices of how to use the Web for learning, teaching, and playing. Here are some of my choices:

Check out my full list - http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/recommended/joanvinallcox.html  -

and find the riches in the collection of lists - http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/recommended/index.html  

Thanks to Jane Hart and the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies 

If you want a quick (one half hour) understanding of what this technology means to the human race (I'm just a tad enthusiastic!) you must watch-and-listen to Teemu Arina's Serendipity 2.0:Missing Third Places of Learning - http://eduspaces.net/inf/weblog/179162.html As someone who loves the phrase "shifting semiosis" used to describe what is currently happening to communications and, consequently, culture, I strongly recommend this. McLuhan and Teilhard de Chardin are just two of his references, yet he's always clear and easy-to-understand, with the academic references limited and the graphics strongly explanatory.

Via Stephen Downes, from whom I am a parasitic learner.