Personal Blogs

Downes makes the point that learning objects need not be duplicated because this can save time and effort (therefore money). Perhaps in our field of learning this could relate to e.g. Blooms Taxonomy, there are different visual representations but they are saying the same thing.

The discussion then leads onto if learning objects are shared then other materials could be too. However it was felt that teaching materials would not suitable to share because “no two courses share the same contents” Downes (2001). Although schools and colleges may have a common curriculum this is not true of universities, but Downes suggests that online university modules could share common themes citing Hamlet as an example. This piece of literature is interpreted similarly therefore Downes claims that other learning objects could work like this. It could be achieved by changing from the traditional method of course design by Bates (2000) to Rapid Application Design (RAD). 

RAD “is a process which allows software engineers to develop products more quickly and of higher quality” (Downes, 2001). If written in HTML it would be accessible to all, as this is a standard language. "The purpose of open standards is to allow engineers from various software or hardware companies develop devices and programs that operate in harmony. A document saved in an open standard could be read, printed, or transmitted by any number of programs and devices" (Downes, 2001). Although institutions and countries would need to agree definitions etc. for instance a common language of XML. The authoring of learning objects data is considered best "to create course materials not in HTML, but rather, in a structured markup language such as XML" (Downes, 2001). There are codes to convert various data into XML.

Figure 7. XML and XSL merge to create HTML (Downes, 2001)

"There is very much a tension, between those who create the knowledge, and who jealously guard their monopoly over its propagation and distribution, and those who must consume that knowledge .... My personal belief is ... professors ...will have to redefine their approach or be priced out of existence. Probably history, not argument, will show whether this belief is well founded" (Downes, 2001). This demonstrates that Downes understood the process of how and why to create OER and history has shown his belief  to be well-founded.

References

Bates, A. W. (2000). Managing Technological Change. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass.

Downes, S. (2001) ‘Learning objects: resources for distance education worldwide’, IRRODL, vol. 2, no. 1 [online], http://www.irrodl.org/ index.php/ irrodl/ article/ view/ 32/ 378 (last accessed 24 March 2014).

I was looking for another new tool to use for my Weller presentation and came across this pdf which may be useful for others in our MAODE studies, additionally it had this interesting quote about Prezi accessibility:

“While the movement of Prezi is definitely eye-catching, there has been some criticism of Prezis that move too quickly or dramatically, causing a negative visceral reaction—but by using and not abusing the zoom (a Prezi best practice) a presenter can introduce a sequence of ideas engagingly and effectively. Savvy Prezi users use the zoom function to show specific relationships of equality or subordination by “drilling down.”” (Bunzel, undated, p.6)

Bunzel (undated) 7 tools for Creating Visual Presentations [online]. Available at http://www.usb-ed.com/content/Downloadable%20documents/7-Tools-for-Creating-Visual-Presentations.pdf (last accessed 20 March 2014).

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Es4hrXHRjGwI5umilYjmgyg892kw00CuPtzGQ_R_K8s/edit?usp=sharing

Please view my Google Slides presentation (click weblink above). I've already attempted to place this summary into Prezi but time was against me so I shared a somewhat clumsy presentation in my tutor group forum.

Later (when I've finished marking - or am taking a marking break) I intend to summarise the following article:

Weller (2012), The openness–creativity cycle in education.