• Clearly structured and navigable texts are important. Cognitive costs accumulate for learners using interactive media because the narrative impulse is thwarted. Learners can discern narrative more easily when using textbooks or video.

• Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I’m always dragging my wayward brain back to the text.
• The Web has been a godsend to me as a writer. Research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes.
• For me, as for others, the Net is becoming a universal medium, the conduit for most of the information that flows through my eyes and ears and into my mind.
• The perfect recall of silicon memory,” Wired’s Clive Thompson has written, “can be an enormous boon to  thinking.” But that boon comes at a price. As the media theorist Marshall  McLuhan pointed out in the 1960s, media are not just passive channels of information.
• The more they use the Web, the more they have to fight to stay focused on long pieces of writing.
• I now have almost totally lost the ability to read and absorb a longish article on the web or in print,” he wrote earlier this year.
• His thinking, he said, has taken on a “staccato” quality, reflecting the way he quickly scans short passages of text from many sources online.
• we still await the  long-term neurological and psychological experiments that will provide a  definitive picture of how Internet use affects cognition.
• a recently  published study  of online research habits , conducted by scholars from University College London, suggests that we may well be in the midst of a sea change in the way we read and think.
• They found that people using the sites exhibited “a form of skimming activity,” hopping from one source to another and rarely returning to any source they’d already visited.
• “bounce” out
• indeed there are signs that new forms of “reading” are emerging as users “power browse” horizontally through titles, contents pages and abstracts going for quick wins.
• Maryanne Wolf, a developmental psychologist at Tufts University
• Wolf worries that the style of reading promoted by the Net, a style that puts “efficiency” and “immediacy” above all else, may be weakening our capacity for the kind of deep reading that emerged when an earlier technology, the printing press, made long and complex works of prose commonplace.
• Our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged.
• in 1882, Friedrich Nietzsche bought a typewriter
• He had been forced to curtail his writing, and he feared that he would soon have to give it up. The typewriter rescued him, at least for a time.
• One of Nietzsche’s friends, a composer, noticed a change in the style of his writing. His already terse prose had become even tighter, more telegraphic.
• Nietzsche’s prose “changed from arguments to aphorisms, from thoughts to puns, from rhetoric to telegram style.”
• Nerve cells routinely break old connections and form new ones. “The brain,” according to Olds, “has the ability to reprogram itself on the fly, altering the way it functions.
• As we use what the sociologist Daniel Bell has called our “intellectual technologies”—the tools that extend our mental rather than our physical capacities—we inevitably begin to take on the qualities of those technologies.
• The clock’s methodical ticking helped bring into being  the scientific mind and the scientific man.
• In deciding when to eat, to work, to sleep, to rise, we stopped listening to our senses and started obeying the clock.
• The Internet, an immeasurably powerful computing system, is subsuming most of our other intellectual technologies. It’s becoming our map and our clock, our printing press and our typewriter, our calculator and our telephone, and our radio and TV.
• When the Net absorbs a medium, that medium is re-created in the Net’s image.
• A new e-mail message, for instance, may announce its arrival as we’re glancing over the latest headlines at a newspaper’s site. The result is to scatter our attention and diffuse our concentration.
• Old media have little choice but to play by the new-media rules.
• With the approval of Midvale’s owners, he recruited a group of factory hands, set them to work on various metalworking machines, and recorded and timed their every movement as well as the operations of the machines. By breaking down every job into a sequence of small, discrete steps and then testing different ways of performing each one, Taylor created a set of precise instructions

  • Taylorism!
• Taylor’s system is still very much with us; it remains the ethic of industrial manufacturing.
• And now, thanks to the growing power that computer engineers and software coders wield over our intellectual lives, Taylor’s ethic is beginning to govern the realm of the mind as well.

  • beginning to be a little "hysterical" polemical
• Google’s headquarters, in Mountain View, California—the Googleplex—is the Internet’s high church, and the religion practiced inside its walls is Taylorism.
• What Taylor did for the work of the hand, Google is doing for the work of the mind.
• In Google’s view, information is a kind of commodity, a utilitarian resource that can be mined and processed with industrial efficiency. The more pieces of information we can “access” and the faster we can extract their gist, the more productive we become as thinkers.

  • but we mustn't forget the crucial difference between information (data) knowledge understanding and evaluation ie judgment
• speak frequently of their desire to turn their search engine into an artificial intelligence, a HAL-like machine that might be connected directly to  our brains.
• Such an ambition is a natural one, even an admirable one, for a pair of math whizzes with vast quantities of cash at their disposal and a small army of computer scientists in their employ.
• It suggests a belief that intelligence is the output of a mechanical process, a series of discrete steps that can be isolated, measured, and optimized.
• Ambiguity is not an opening for insight but a bug to be fixed.
• The last thing these companies want is to encourage leisurely reading or slow, concentrated thought. It’s in their economic interest to drive us to distraction.
• Just as there’s a tendency to glorify technological progress, there’s a countertendency to expect the worst of every new tool or machine.
• In Plato’s Phaedrus, Socrates bemoaned the development of writing. He feared that, as people came to rely on the written word as a substitute for the knowledge they used to carry inside their heads, they would, in the words of one of the dialogue’s characters, “cease to exercise their memory and become forgetful.”

  • Plato bemoaning the emergence of the written, preferring the spoken oral language for variety of reasons (cp Derrida, see Phaedrus).
• As New York University professor Clay Shirky notes, “Most of the arguments made against the printing press were correct, even prescient.” But, again, the doomsayers were unable to imagine the myriad blessings that the printed word would deliver.
• Perhaps those who dismiss critics of the Internet as Luddites or nostalgists will be proved correct, and from our hyperactive, data-stoked minds will spring a golden age of intellectual discovery and universal wisdom.
• Deep reading, as Maryanne Wolf argues, is indistinguishable from deep thinking.
• In a recent essay, the playwright Richard  Foreman  eloquently described what’s at stake:
• I come from a tradition of Western culture, in which the ideal (my ideal) was the complex, dense and “cathedral-like” structure of the highly educated and articulate personality—a man or woman who carried inside themselves a personally constructed and unique version of the entire heritage of the West. [But now] I see within us all (myself included) the replacement of complex inner density with a new kind of self—evolving under the pressure of information overload and the technology of the “instantly available.”
• we risk turning into “‘pancake people’—spread wide and thin as we connect with that vast network of information accessed by the mere touch of a button.”
• HAL’s outpouring of feeling contrasts with the emotionlessness that characterizes the human figures in the film, who go about their business with an almost robotic efficiency.
• That’s the essence of Kubrick’s dark prophecy: as we come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into artificial intelligence.

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• The first goal of education, "what to think," is so traditionally obvious that instructors and students may focus all their energies and efforts on the task of transmitting and acquiring basic knowledge. Indeed, many students find that this goal alone is so overwhelming that they have time for little else. On the other hand, the second goal of education, "how to think" or critical thinking, is often so subtle that instructors fail to recognize it and students fail to realize its absence.
• So much has become known about the natural world that the information content of science has become enormous. This is so well known that science educators and science textbook writers came to believe that they must seek to transmit as much factual information as possible in the time available. Textbooks grew larger and curricula became more concentrated; students were expected to memorize and learn increasingly more material
• Critical thinking means correct thinking in the pursuit of relevant and reliable knowledge about the world.

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• Adaptive mode

    

  If you choose Yes for this option then the student will be allowed multiple responses to a question even within the same attempt at the quiz. So for example if the student's response is marked as incorrect the student will be allowed to try again immediately. However a penalty will usually be subtracted from the students score for each wrong attempt (the amount of penalty is determined by the penalty factor, set by the next option).

    

  This mode also allows adaptive questions that can change themselves in response to a student's answer. Here is how the IMS QTI specification defines adaptive questions (items):

    

   

  An adaptive item is an item that adapts either its appearance, its scoring (Response Processing) or both in response to each of the candidate's attempts. For example, an adaptive item may start by prompting the candidate with a box for free-text entry but, on receiving an unsatisfactory answer, present a simple choice interaction instead and award fewer marks for subsequently identifying the correct response. Adaptivity allows authors to create items for use in formative situations which both help to guide candidates through a given task while also providing an outcome that takes into consideration their path 

    

  In adaptive mode an additional Submit button is shown for each question. If the student presses this button then the response to that particular question is submitted to be scored and the mark achieved  is displayed to the student. If the question is an adaptive question then it is displayed in its new state that takes the student's answer into account and will in many cases ask the student for another input. In the simplest adaptive questions  this new state may differ only in the feedback text and prompt the student to try again; in more complicated question also the question text and even the interaction elements can change. 

• If you choose Yes for this option then the student will be allowed multiple responses to a question even within the same attempt at the quiz. So for example if the student's response is marked as incorrect the student will be allowed to try again immediately. However a penalty will usually be subtracted from the students score for each wrong attempt (the amount of penalty is determined by the penalty factor, set by the next option).

    

  This mode also allows adaptive questions that can change themselves in response to a student's answer. Here is how the IMS QTI specification defines adaptive questions (items):

    

   

  An adaptive item is an item that adapts either its appearance, its scoring (Response Processing) or both in response to each of the candidate's attempts. For example, an adaptive item may start by prompting the candidate with a box for free-text entry but, on receiving an unsatisfactory answer, present a simple choice interaction instead and award fewer marks for subsequently identifying the correct response. Adaptivity allows authors to create items for use in formative situations which both help to guide candidates through a given task while also providing an outcome that takes into consideration their path 

    

  In adaptive mode an additional Submit button is shown for each question. If the student presses this button then the response to that particular question is submitted to be scored and the mark achieved  is displayed to the student. If the question is an adaptive question then it is displayed in its new state that takes the student's answer into account and will in many cases ask the student for another input. In the simplest adaptive questions  this new state may differ only in the feedback text and prompt the student to try again; in more complicated question also the question text and even the interaction elements can change. 

• Our quest for portability and mobility is steadily growing, so is   the demand for batteries. Where will the mountains of batteries go   when spent? The answer is recycling.
• Careless disposal of nickel-cadmium is hazardous to the environment.   If used in landfills, the cadmium will eventually dissolve itself   and the toxic substance can seep into the water supply, causing serious   health problems. Our oceans are already beginning to show traces of   cadmium (along with aspirin, penicillin and antidepressants) but the   source of the contamination is unknown.
• Lithium-ion batteries used for cell phones and laptops do not contain   metallic lithium and the disposal problem does not exist. Most lithium   systems contain toxic and flammable electrolyte.
• Current battery recycling methods requires a high amount of energy.   It takes six to ten times the amount of energy to reclaim metals from   recycled batteries than it would through other means
• Who pays for the recycling of batteries? Participating countries impose   their own rules in making recycling feasible. In North America, some   recycling plants bill on weight. The rates vary according to chemistry.   Systems that yield high metal retrieval rates are priced lower than   those, which produce less valuable metals.
• Nickel-metal-hydride yields the best return. It produces enough nickel   to pay for the process. The highest recycling fees apply to nickel-cadmium   and lithium?ion because the demand for cadmium is low and lithium-ion   contains little retrievable metal.

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• AC SG Create new 'Next Next Steps' Course - Ongoing (next meeting scheduled for friday 16 September)
• will stick up some enlightening thoughts on clt blog as soon as... hopefully friday
• meeting Ellen Helsper from Media&Comms next wed 11am to discuss PRS.

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• Current higher education is about selling apples (the basic undergrad course). We have different types of apples, and they vary slightly in size, colour and taste. But it is still just apples.
• As a party host I can create my own fruit offering, just as an educator I can create a 'course' on any subject I want by mixing together resources, tools and adding in my own elements.

• The key advantage to using a VLE is the ability to use it anywhere, any time and at any place.
• Consider designing learning activites that can be re-used in different contexts (sustainability).

• Course information such as past exam papers, timetables, and administrative information can all be found in one place, and are available from one authoritative source.
• Using a VLE can save time for tutors by reducing time required for photocopying, course material distribution and updating course material

• Reasons for using a VLE

   
   
  • Reduce Teaching Time
   
  • Provide on-line service.
   
  • Provide standard method for collecting data.
   
  • Facilitate integration of distance and campus-based learning.
• You should use a VLE if you want to economise on teaching time, especially if research or administration is involved.

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• Administrative Tools

    

   Tutors can benefit from the 'administrative tools' within a VLE. Many VLEs provide information to staff about how often and when students have accessed a VLE through the tracking tool.

  • tracking

• Collaboration and Communication

    

   A VLE also offers tutors tools to encourage collaboration and communication.

• Active Engagement

    

   It is often difficult to find time or a way to ensure students actively participate in face-to-face sessions.

• Community of learners

    

   The result of this collaboration and communication may be to develop a unique space which the student cohort builds into its own identity and community: a community of learners.

• Signposting

    

   Through careful course design, tutors can support the communication and collaboration in a VLE with specific signposting and access to a vast array of up-to-date, multimedia, interactive online materials for students.
• It is also extremely helpful for students to have all their course information including timetable, regulations, past exam papers and administrative information in one place and from one authoritative source.

• Saving Time

    

   There is much debate as to whether VLEs save time for students and tutors. In the case of lectures, a VLE can help you to change the focus of your time since much time is lost through students copying complicated diagrams and references and general administration; these can be transferred to the VLE. It will also reduce time required for photocopying
• If you are careful in your planning, you can use and re-use the materials in your VLE in many and different ways as indicated in the section 'Designing for Sustainability'.

  • Designing for sustainability

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• Although the total number of participants was just 234, which is statistically insignificant in a country with more than 15 million undergraduates, the author makes no categorical claims but rather seeks to discern underlying issues that might throw light on a problem that haunts all of us working in education.
• The research clearly indicates a disconnection between student attitudes to citation and conventions in the academic community
• Students are gradually moving away from a preoccupation with identity and "finding yourself" (associated with, say, Catcher in the Rye, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and identity politics from the late 1960s onwards) to a more social self "performed" via the internet and mobile phones, and bringing with it the pressures of 24/7 connectivity.

  • Links to Michael Wesch! Also anthropologist
• this relentless ethic of collaboration is reinforced by universities themselves, with a growing emphasis on group work and presentations as part of assessment culture.
• Clearly there is no simple answer to such a complex problem, but Blum's conclusions are both insightful and filled with practical ideas. This is a truly absorbing read for parents and teachers, and it will certainly resonate next time you are confronted with hysterical newspaper headlines

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• Motivating
• Offering variation in pedagogical approaches is supported by a VLE.
• For example, a teacher can use an online discussion forum to introduce new ways of discussing the material. A teacher can use multimedia (images, sound, video), animations, or simulations to add variation in the format of the material.
• Activating prior knowledge
• A VLE can be used to create a simple test to determine what students already know and what is lacking. Activating knowledge requires that the questions and examples relate to the experiences students have; this will ensure that the knowledge will sink in properly.
• Instructing
• Some prefer reading written material; others deduce from observation and analyze real-life situations. Subject matter should therefore be offered in different formats (written text, oral instruction, assignments, etc.).
• A VLE supports different formats of instruction.
• Practicing
• a student must also apply the information to solve a concrete problem.
• n a VLE, a teacher can create links to streaming material, animations, simulations, and other media that provide students with different ways to practice the subject matter. Most VLEs also offer the possibility to create tests.
• Giving feedback
• Different actors play a role here: the student, the teacher, fellow students, and the VLE itself. It is important that feedback is more than an indication whether an answer is right or wrong; it should also remedy the situation
• A VLE offers a number of ways to give feedback. For example, this can be done by writing feedback for the items in an online test. The teacher can also give feedback on assignments sent in via the VLE, using a digital drop-box or online discussion forum.
• Regulating
• monitoring a student's progress and taking steps if needed.
• results on a diagnostic test built in a VLE
• Assessing
• A VLE supports a number of ways to assess the competencies a student has acquired.
• The VLE can be used for uploading essays

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