K12 Open Source

"It therefore seems advisable to protect your data by unjoining Ning networks whose creators do not intend to pay for a Ning plan. This includes talketc.ning.com, the Ning network for ETC Journal. Moreover, when you unjoin a Ning network, you have the option to delete everything you contributed to it - you might wish to do that too. "

"Created by Gerry Bayne (EDUCAUSE) on October 29, 2007 In this 40 minute podcast, we feature a speech from the EDUCAUSE 2007 Annual Conference entitled "Tomorrow's Students: Are We Ready for the New 21st-Century Learners?". The presentation is by Julie Evans, Chief Executive Office for Project Tomorrow - NetDay. Video and slides for this speech are also available here. Abstract: The national Speak Up initiative annually collects and reports on the authentic, unfiltered viewpoints of K-12 students, teachers, parents, and school leaders about education technology and 21st-century learning environments. Learn about the expectations of today's K-12 students (the higher ed students of tomorrow) for technology use and their new aspirations for learning as uncovered in the most recent survey data. "

"The SNSF already jointly signed the "Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities" with other scientific organisations in Switzerland in 2006. In doing so, it underlined its intention to support the efforts towards establishing Open Access - i.e. free access to scientific publications - in Switzerland."

A wonders about free networks being stull online. Exchange with Thunder X. Eric Suesz:\n"Hi, Alex. All free Ning Networks are now locked and can't be accessed. At some point, the space the data takes up on our servers will be overwritten. There's no plan to send you an email when that happens."

A very odd affirmation by Ning's Eric Suesz

By Claude Almansi and Jan Schwartz October 3rd, 2011 "Scoop.it is a new application that is still in beta, although it's fairly easy to get an invite to join. Claude Almansi found the app, sent an email about it to a list serv, which prompted Jan Schwartz to join. We've only been at it for a month or so, but already both of us have found some good information that we otherwise would have missed, and we are helping to spread the good work about education technology and change. First, some information about Scoop.it that Claude dug up. The web service was conceived in France, launched in December 2010 and its web site is in English. It's a social site for sharing news events and articles via subscription. Even if you don't subscribe, Scoop.it can be used to look for information items selected by others on a given theme via its public search engine. You do need to subscribe if you want to create and curate your own topic on a given theme or subject. For example, Jan was particularly excited to find a blog written as a result of a live chat sponsored by the Chronicle of Higher Education, which talked about the topic of Cathy Davidson's recent book, Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work and Learn. There were four panelists and 1500 participants on the chat and one of them, David Palumbo-Liu, wrote a blog about his experience, which was very different than Jan's and so an interesting read for perspective. She would not have found that blog if not for Scoop.it. Claude curates a site for Multimedia Accessibility. Currently Jan is 'scooping' under the title Technology for Teaching and Learning . You can curate as many different topics as you like."

Mahara is an open source e-portfolio system with a flexible display framework. Mahara, meaning 'think' or 'thought' in Te Reo Māori, is user centred environment with a permissions framework that enables different views of an e-portfolio to be easily managed. Mahara also features a weblog, resume builder and social networking system, connecting users and creating online learner communities.

Article Last Updated: 3rd Apr 2009 Posted by Ruhani Rabin "Firefox is always been the favorite choice for the developers for debugging and developing web applications. The extension architecture allows anyone to add powerful add-on to the browser for robust enhancement on many different development needs. I use Firefox everyday like I need to take my lunch and dinner. So here are the most useful Firefox extensions I use that I want to share with everyone. I have to admit, many of these extensions won't come as a eye opener to developers those who are already so deep with Firefox extensions, but hopefully there will be some you've yet to know about."

"The winners for each category, selected by an international jury of experts, will win thousands of Euros in cash prizes and ICT equipment. Also, following a successful launch in 2009, the 2010 edition will again be open to international competitors, from countries outside of Europe (see full list of eligible countries in the rules below). Another recent feature: the top 50 entries submitted will be included in the Learning Exchange Resource library (http://lreforschools.eun.org), to give increased visibility to teachers' innovative practices and encourage others to follow their lead. To be eligible for the eLearning Awards, entries must be submitted by schools or teacher training institutions in EU member states, EEA countries, EU applicant countries as well as Switzerland, Israel and Georgia. For the category International cooperation entries are accepted worldwide. A gallery on the eLearning Awards website will showcase all contributions, which will be judged by a panel of experts. Entries can be made from now until 28 September 2010 via the website: http://elearningawards.eun.org. Prize Ceremony The prize-giving ceremony, which will be followed by a gala dinner, will take place in Copenhagen early November 2010, during the annual EMINENT conference. The EMINENT conference is a unique chance to meet and discuss with European ministries of education, global companies and key stakeholders in education. Prize-winners will be given a trip to Copenhagen to attend the award ceremony. Full list of categories Rules"

Cologny, Fondation Martin Bodmer, Cod. Bodmer 78, p. 42r (www.e-codices.unifr.ch) Persistent URL: www.e-codices.ch/en/cb/0078/42r Manuscript title: Guido de Columnis, Historia destructionis Troiae Date of origin: XIVe s. (ca 1370?)

"I'm wondering whether Ning isn't beginning to regret the move to pay-only sites. All the Nings with which I am associated have decided to move to other platforms; not one has opted to pay. That may not be surprising. But now I read that Ning is extending its 'select an option' period before shuttering non-compliant sites. And reading between the lines they seem to be drawing a lot of criticism on the Ning Creators Ning"

"Your Last 3 Options If you chose a new Ning plan: We're thrilled you'll be sticking around! As you may have noticed, we're rapidly releasing new features, so stay tuned to Creators for what's coming next. If you aren't able to continue, we've put together this page to explain your three options. John McDonald VP, Advocacy"

"Ning announced repeatedly that it would delete free networks whose creators had not paid for one of its new pricing plans by midnight Aug. 20. On Aug. 21, however, Ning extended this deadline to August 30. Here's the announcement of this extension on its Help page: Deadline for Selecting a Ning Plan Extended to August 30, 2010 A number of Network Creators, particularly those based outside the United States, have requested more time to arrange for payment and make the right decision on a plan for their network. As a result, we have extended the deadline for selecting one of the three new plans (Ning Mini, Plus and Pro) to August 30, 2010. Beginning on this date, we will block access to any free Ning Network that isn't subscribed to one of the three plans. Please let us know if we can help, or if you have questions or comments. Thank you!"

The commission did not assess a fine, but it ordered Comcast to stop cutting off transfers of large data files among customers who use a special type of file-sharing software. [(free) registration needed to read the whole article]

A nice collection of OpenOffice and "that other office" templates.

Tip o' the hat to M. Guhlin for this gem.

From eLearning Europe, available in all EU languages

This issue of eLearning Papers is dedicated to the thriving work around Open Educational Resources (OER) by committed individuals, institutions and user communities. Five selected papers by the guest editors investigate the organisational, social, cultural, pedagogical and technical aspects of implementing OER.

A site advocating use of Open Source Solutions in UK Schools

Open Source Schools is here to share information about open source software in schools. Our aim is to help you decide whether open source software might offer benefits for learning, teaching, engaging pupils and parents, managing information and resources, or school administration. The website provides information and articles about open source software, advice on getting started, case studies of its adoption in schools, a directory for exploring what is available, and a glossary.

Scribus Templates

If you are considering a transition from M$ Publisher to Scribus then templates will be a question mark. I have not tried these templates.

available in all EU languages

The case study outlines the objectives of the OpenLearn project; notes its relationship to The Open University's mission; lists the major internal and external benefits that have arisen from the project; and sets out the future directions for the project.

"Wikipedia-Kritiker Felix von Leitner über Zensurzwänge, Kontrollmechanismen und Chancen des Online-Lexikons"