Having just installed OpenOffice on my laptop I was quite surprised to see that extensions are now available for the software. I’m unsure of whether this has always been the case; but it certainly is now.
Of particular interest is the Sun Weblog Publisher 1.1.0. According to the description, the plugin is designed to let OpenOffice users take advantage of the formatting capabilities inherent in the software, and then having done that quickly post the results to their blogs.
Personally speaking this is a really nice option to have. I frequently …

While wrapping up my last post on self-directed learning a thought occurred to me that I’d like to explore here.  I’m also hoping to inspire some discussion around the subject since in my mind this could present a key opportunity for higher education moving forward.
I attended a Research Showcase yesterday in which one of the topics covered was Threshold Concepts.  This notion is a new one to me, and to be honest I don’t know much about it; however based on the definition I’ve just uncovered online, a threshold concept …

A post I read yesterday really got me to thinking about curriculum-based instruction versus self-directed learning models.  This post is a reflective writing exercise that seeks to clarify my philosophies on the subject in my own head.
In “Downes on Learning and Web 2.0“, Diego Leal reflects on the following video in which Stephen Downes argues 3 key points:

You are at the center of your own personal learning network;
To gain from self-directed learning you must be self-directed;
These principles should guide how we teach as well as how we …

A while back a thread emerged in my Facilitating Online Communities course regarding the differences between discussion in forums and email lists and those that occur on or between blogs.  To some, discussion forums were more conducive to indepth discussion than blogs are, and were much easier to follow.  In response to this I posted the following thoughts:
Interestingly I find it far more difficult to keep up with the conversation on discussion forums and email lists than blogs – particularly with respect to the volume of posts that come through. …

#FOC08 – Any Seesmic Users (or potential ones)?
At the risk of throwing another technology into the mix I thought I might introduce Seesmic to my fellow students of Facilitating Online Communities. If you’re interested in exploring Seesmic but aren’t sure how to get started please let me know or leave a comment and we can have a chat.
If you’re on Seesmic already and would like to add me as a contact, I’m located here.