Web directory: My Virtual Reference Desk
"In June 1995, I began refdesk in an attempt to bring some semblance of order to the chaos of the Internet. Somewhere along the way, refdesk became my passion, my source of bliss. ...
Refdesk has three goals: (1) fast access, (2) intuitive and easy navigation and (3) comprehensive content, rationally indexed. The prevailing philosophy here is: simplicity. 'Simplicity is the natural result of profound thought.' And, very difficult to achieve."
(Bob Drudge)
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Simon PerkinsSHARE
E-learning 2.0: content is used rather than read and resembles language or conversation rather than a book or a manual
"What happens when online learning software ceases to be a type of content-consumption tool, where learning is 'delivered,' and becomes more like a content-authoring tool, where learning is created? The model of e-learning as being a type of content, produced by publishers, organized and structured into courses, and consumed by students, is turned on its head. Insofar as there is content, it is used rather than read- and is, in any case, more likely to be produced by students than courseware authors. And insofar as there is structure, it is more likely to resemble a language or a conversation rather than a book or a manual.
The e-learning application, therefore, begins to look very much like a blogging tool. It represents one node in a web of content, connected to other nodes and content creation services used by other students. It becomes, not an institutional or corporate application, but a personal learning center, where content is reused and remixed according to the student's own needs and interests. It becomes, indeed, not a single application, but a collection of interoperating applications-an environment rather than a system.
It also begins to look like a personal portfolio tool. The idea here is that students will have their own personal place to create and showcase their own work. Some e-portfolio applications, such as ELGG, have already been created. IMS Global as put together an e-portfolio specification. 'The portfolio can provide an opportunity to demonstrate one's ability to collect, organize, interpret and reflect on documents and sources of information. It is also a tool for continuing professional development, encouraging individuals to take responsibility for and demonstrate the results of their own learning'."
(Stephen Downes, 17 October 2005)
Fig.1 Andrey Nepomnyaschev, 'Six Seconds', LooksLikeGoodDesign.
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Simon PerkinsSHARE
e-learning 1.0: LMSs, VLEs, e-portfolios
"the dominant learning technology employed today is a type of system that organizes and delivers online courses - the learning management system (LMS). This piece of [e-learning 1.0] software has become almost ubiquitous in the learning environment; companies such as WebCT, Blackboard, and Desire2Learn have installed products at thousands of universities and colleges and are used by tens of thousands of instructors and students. The learning management system takes learning content and organizes it in a standard way, as a course divided into modules and lessons, supported with quizzes, tests and discussions, and in many systems today, integrated into the college or university's student information system."
(Stephen Downes, 17 October 2005)
Downes, S. (17 October 2005). "E-learning 2.0." eLearn Magazine, an Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. publication.
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Simon PerkinsSHARE
TinEye: reverse image search engine
"TinEye is a reverse image search engine. You can submit an image to TinEye to find out where it came from, how it is being used, if modified versions of the image exist, or to find higher resolution versions.
TinEye is the first image search engine on the web to use image identification technology rather than keywords, metadata or watermarks."
(Idée Inc., Canada)
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Simon PerkinsSHARE
Social Mention: a social media search and analysis platform
"Social Mention is a social media search and analysis platform that aggregates user generated content from across the universe into a single stream of information.
It allows you to easily track and measure what people are saying about you, your company, a new product, or any topic across the web's social media landscape in real-time. Social Mention monitors 100+ social media properties directly including: Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, YouTube, Digg, Google etc."
(Jon Cianciullo)
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Simon PerkinsSHARE
