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So this sounds so unlike Europe, but maybe I'm just naive: "There is a new generation of kids startups focused on platform, tools and adtech fuelled by a broader structural shift in the sector. Occasionally referred to as 'kidtech', they are tackling opportunities in the kids market that are worth billions of dollars in the adult sector." The tenor of the argument is that the U.S. Children's Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA) prohibits behavioural online advertising, and that this is being adopted by Europe, creating a spending gap that is being addressed by, well, what? Advertgising? Kidtech? "Already kids brands are doubling and tripling their digital ad spend for 2015 and it seems highly likely that kids digital ad market will be a $2 billion space inside two years driven by the availability of kid-safe platforms..." It seems to me that if they're loaded with advertisements, they're not exactly kid safe. But like I say, maybe I'm naive. -- OLDaily

Icon There are three distinct phases to this article: first, the author describes the development of creative technologies (Wordpress, Lulu, Garage Band) is enabling us all to create and distribute images, objects, sound and text. However, second, as these technologies become more complex, they require teams of people to produce quality materials. "Lone instructors rarely have the time, incentives, budgets, or skill sets required to fully realize the potential of the digital format." This leads to the final phase, whereby "the academic may be perceived as being 'deskilled'; that is, one of the core functions of the occupation is taken away from the academic and done elsewhere." Image (and useful slide show): Chrissi Nerantzi.oldailt

Against close reading Alex Reid, Digital Digs, 2015/04/15 Icon There are some really good observations in this post. The practise of 'close reading' as it is widely taught involves "the careful, sustained interpretation of a brief passage of text." A common criticism of social media and online reading is that students "find nuance, complexity, or just plain length of literary texts less to their liking than we did." I don't think they ever found it to their liking, but let's assume they do. Alex Reid asks, "What does it mean to read your Facebook status feed closely when what is being offered to you has been produced by algorithmic procedures that take account of your own activities in ways that you are not consciously aware?" It's not so much that close reading is irrelevant, but rather, that close reading has changed, and while students may be aware of the new nuances, the same is not clear of instructors still embedded in critical theory (and still bent with noses in books). As Reid says, "we should pay closer attention to the ways in which the operation of text is shifting." Image: Sheron Brown, found here.

stories about grandfather

Badges are quietly becoming mainstream. As this article notes, a number of universities are now offering them "as a form of micro-credential or 'subdegree' to students who pass individual courses or certifications, and want to show potential employers what they've learned." The badges can be posted to LinkedIn or to e-portfolios and offer details about the course or sub-program completed. oldaily

OK, honestly, I don't understand all the details, but I think this - or something like this - is pretty important. Keybase is a website where you can "get a public key, safely, starting just with someone's social media username(s)." I used it to create my own public key and associate it with my accounts on Twitter and Github. So why is this useful? If someone wanted to send me an encrypted message, they could get the public key associated with my twitter account, use it to encrypt it, and send it to me; only I would be able to read it. You can also so you can request my key, get my proofs, and verify my identity in any software. It also allows me to digitally sign messages and other document, so you know I am the author of them.

Tacit Knowledge Acquisition and Dissemination in Distance Learning Annel Ketcha, Jokull Johannesson, Paul Bocij, The European Journal of Open and Distance Learning, 2015/12/28 Icon This is quite a good discussion of the concept of tacit knowledge, how it evolved since its original description in Polanyi, and focusing on the the "organisational view supporting the articulation of tacit knowledge" by people like Nonaka and Takeuchi. Tacit knowledge is "is that part of knowledge that is widely embodied in individuals but not able to be readily expressed." In more recent years, one objective of e-learning in organizations has been to disseminate tacit knowledge across the organization, but as the authors note, this use is contentious. "Many researchers argue that means to share tacit knowledge cited by the previous schools are no longer suitable in the current digital era." Maybe so. Or maybe - as I think - all knowledge is tacit knowledge. Either way, the discussions of tacit knowledge in the field are premature. "A major gap in tacit knowledge in e-learning research is the lack of empirical evaluation of tacit knowledge and its flow among online learners and tutors." Image: Nonaka and Takeuchi (1997) (from here) (more).old