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Yochai Benkler's wealth of nations book online Next Chapter: Part I: The Networked Information Economy » read paragraph Chapter 1: Introduction: A Moment of Opportunity and Challenge 1 Information, knowledge, and culture are central to human freedom and human development. How they are produced and exchanged in our society critically affects the way we see the state of the world as it is and might be; who decides these questions; and how we, as societies and polities, come to understand what can and ought to be done. For more than 150 years, modern complex democracies have depended in large measure on an industrial information economy for these basic functions. In the past decade and a half, we have begun to see a radical change in the organization of information production. Enabled by technological change, we are beginning to see a series of economic, social, and cultural adaptations that make possible a radical transformation of how we make the information environment we occupy as autonomous individuals, citizens, and members of cultural and social groups. It seems passé today to speak of "the Internet revolution." In some academic circles, it is positively naïve. But it should not be. The change brought about by the networked information environment is deep. It is structural. It goes to the very foundations of how liberal markets and liberal democracies have coevolved for almost two centuries.

CSALT What is CSALT? CSALT is the Centre for Studies in Advanced Learning Technology. Established in 1992 the Centre for Studies in Advanced Learning Technology (CSALT) at Lancaster University is one of Europe's leading academic research groups in the field of technology enhanced learning (TEL) applied to adult education and training. The Centre carries out basic and applied research with an emphasis on the development of theory that can be used in real settings. Its members are also closely involved in the education and professional development of workers in the e-learning industry, and in consultancy. Our research has a strong focus on adult education especially in higher education and industrial contexts. Our interest is not in the technology per se, but in the social, psychological and organisational issues which are thrown into sharp relief during the design and introduction of new technology-enhanced learning environments. CSALT: * is focused on research into networked learning and the design of advanced learning technology(ALT), * is made up of staff with expertise in eg, online tutoring, computer supported collaborative learning, cognitive psychology, design of learning technology and simulation based training, * runs an innovative Doctoral distance learning programme on the design and use of technology enhanced learning * develops course designs that support e-groups and communities, * is based in the RAE grade 5 Department of Educational Research at Lancaster University, UK. This site reflects primarily the interests of CSALT in the Department of Educational Research. Other members of the university wide CSALT are part of the Department of Management Learning, in particular the Networked Management Learning research group and the Learning Technology Group.

george siemens blog on connectivism, social and networked learning

Building Learning Power In 1999 I wrote a book called Wise Up: Learning to Live the Learning Life (published by Bloomsbury / Network Press), in which I reviewed the growing evidence for the idea that people could be helped to become more effective learners. In 2001 I was approached by Bristol-based educational publisher TLO Ltd to write a book for teachers that drew out the practical implications, and in 2002 Building Learning Power: Helping Young People Become Better Learners, was published. In the box below are some of the enthusiastic reactions to that book.

Some general comments on the "Twitter Experiment" by Monica Rankin (UT Dallas) There has been a lot of interest in the "Twitter Experiment" video posted by Kim Smith chronicling my U.S. History class at U.T. Dallas and our use of twitter in the classroom. I have fielded a number of inquiries from educators across the United States and even overseas who are interested in finding ways to use social networking in an educational setting. This write-up is intended as an informal summary of my use of twitter in the classroom. I hope it will help to clarify my experience and I welcome additional questions and commentary, particularly suggestions for how to improve this type of classroom interaction. The class: I used twitter in the basic U.S. History II survey course at U.T. Dallas in the spring 2009 semester. This is a "core" course requirement in the state of Texas. It generally enrolls students from all majors across campus. At the beginning of the semester, there were 90 students enrolled in my class. The class met in a large auditorium-style classroom on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11:30-12:20. I had one graduate student teaching assistant to help with grading and other administrative duties for the class.

The "Google generation" of today's students has grown up in a digital world. Most are completely au fait with the microblogging site Twitter; they organise their social lives through Facebook and MySpace; 75% of students have a profile on at least one social networking site. And they spend up to four hours a day online. Modern students are happy to share and participate but are prone to impatience - being used to quick answers - and are casual about evaluating information and attributing it, and also about legal and copyright issues. With almost weekly developments in technology and research added to increasingly web-savvy students' expectations, how are British universities keeping up? Pretty well, according to Sir David Melville, chair of Lifelong Learning UK and author of a new report into how students' use of new technologies will affect higher education.

About the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education\n\nThe Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) was established in 1997 to provide independent assessment of how higher education institutions in the UK maintain their academic standards and quality.\n\nThe primary responsibility for academic standards and quality rests with individual institutions. QAA reviews and reports on how well they meet those recommendations, and encourages continuous improvement in the management of the quality of higher education. We do this by:\n\n * conducting external reviews of universities and colleges\n * publishing reports on the confidence that can be placed in an institution's ability to maintain standards and quality\n * offering expert guidance on maintaining and improving the quality of higher education\n * advising the government on applications for degree awarding powers and university title.

Omnium - Online Creative and Education Communities\n\nOmnium is a research group of artists, designers, programmers, writers and academics who work collaboratively (and from different countries) to explore the potential the Internet allows for what we term - online collaborative creativity (OCC). Our activities are split into four main areas:

Practice and Evidence of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education\nThis journal offers an opportunity for those involved in University learning and teaching to disseminate their practice. It aims to publish accounts of scholarly practice that report on small-scale practitioner research and case studies of practice that involve reflection, critique, implications for future practice and are informed by relevant literature, with a focus on enhancement of student learning. This publication thus offers a forum to develop and share scholarly informed practice in Higher Education through either works in progress or more detailed accounts of scholarly practice. There will be opportunities for discussions/comments regarding works in progress to be shared with journal readers on the journal site. The journal is published twice a year (April and October).

Highlight and Share the Web! Diigo is a powerful research tool and a knowledge-sharing community Research and Collaborate * Don't just bookmark! Highlight the web! Add sticky notes too! * Access and search your findings from any PC or iphone! * Create groups to pool resources for specific projects. Connect and Discover * You are what you annotate, creating a presence for you in the community. * Connect with friends effortlessly and non-intrusively through content. * Discover quality resources on any subject or get personalized recommendations. * Learn More » Play Demo Video

An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth Written in 1998, the Incomplete Manifesto is an articulation of statements exemplifying Bruce Mau's beliefs, strategies and motivations. Collectively, they are how we approach every project.

Yung Tae Kim, aka Dr. Tae, is a skateboarder, videographer, scientist, and teacher. He earned his bachelor's degree in physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has held faculty positions Lake Forest College, DePaul University, and Northwestern University. As a skateboarder, he's best known for his consistent 360 flips, which admirers have nicknamed "Tae flips." His most recent video project is The Physics of Skateboarding with Dr. Tae, a series which combines his interests in science, skepticism, skateboarding, and education. When the Los Angeles Times needed someone to explain the physics behind Jake Brown's slam on the MegaRamp at X Games XIII, they called Dr. Tae. His unique background also caught the attention of Robomodo, a video game studio that hired him as a consultant for the development of Tony Hawk: RIDE for Activision (read about it in Time Out Chicago).

The Sound Archive Listening and Viewing Service at the St Pancras building offers free access to our huge collection of recorded sound and video: music, wildlife, drama, literature, oral history and BBC broadcasts.

Twitter: A Tool for Academia to Connect, Share, and Grow Relationships\n\nTwitter: A Tool for Academia to Connect, Share, and Grow Relationships\nJohn LeMasney\nDigital Media Convergence\nCOMM 563 SP09\nIntroduction\n\nTwitter allows individuals to send out messages to followers as well as the public about any topic, without editing, complete with what a power user of the system named Andrew Korf calls "ambient intimacy" or "to follow or be somewhat intimate with people without needing to directly engage them" (Salas, 2009). It is a very direct way to broadcast, relatively easy to do (comparative even to blogs), and allows for an asynchronous audience and interaction (Siegel, 2007). It allows for the following of others in the thousands and the ability to be followed by thousands (Johnson-Elie, 2009). As a result, it has the potential for greatness as a mass communication tool, as well as a one-to-one communication, often simultaneously (Johnson-Elie, 2009). While it was first envisioned as a fun way to keep in touch with friends, its ability to meet much more serious needs is being quickly realized (Shropshire, 2009; Antlfinger, 2009). Given the right context, training, and support, it can transform the ways that organizations, businesses, and communities communicate (Robinson, 2009; Ferak, 2009; Antlfinger, 2009). I'll demonstrate in this paper that Twitter is a yet-undiscovered powerful communication tool for academic staff, faculty and students to connect, share, and grow relationships.

GRADUATE education is the Detroit of higher learning. Most graduate programs in American universities produce a product for which there is no market (candidates for teaching positions that do not exist) and develop skills for which there is diminishing demand (research in subfields within subfields and publication in journals read by no one other than a few like-minded colleagues), all at a rapidly rising cost (sometimes well over $100,000 in student loans).