reference for references

these posts by the OEDB link to different very interesting articles. they treat numerous tools, reference pages, and other resources.

clipped from oedb.org e-Learning Reloaded: Top 50 Web 2.0 Tools for Info Junkies, Researchers & Students clipped from oedb.org 100 Ways to Use Your iPod to Learn and Study Better clipped from oedb.org Skip the Tuition: 100 Free Podcasts from the Best Colleges in the World clipped from oedb.org 200 Free Online Classes to Learn Anything clipped from oedb.org 101 Web 2.0 Teaching Tools clipped from oedb.org 250+ Killer Digital Libraries and Archives clipped from oedb.org The Memory Toolbox: 75 Tips and Resources to Go from Amnesic to Elephantic clipped from oedb.org How to Get a Green Education clipped from oedb.org The Self-Directed Student Toolbox: 100 Web Resources for Lifelong Learners clipped from oedb.org Top 25 Reference Sites (By the Numbers)

2 Free Online Courses

Last year, I did a free online course called "Introduction to Open Education", a very successful experiment by David Wiley. Now, I saw on his blog a posting about another free course he set up about Blogs, Wikis, and New Media:

clipped from newmediaocw.wordpress.com

Innovation continues to occur on the internet at an extremely lively pace. What was once the realm of email, FTP, Gopher, and the Web is barely recognizable a mere 10 years later. Keeping up with the speed of innovation and maintaining a familiarity with the most recent tools and capabilities is handy in some professions and absolutely critical in others. This course is designed to help you understand and effectively use a variety of “web 2.0″ technologies including blogs, RSS, wikis, social bookmarking tools, photo sharing tools, mapping tools, audio and video podcasts, and screencasts.

Another interesting course, with a much different setup, is the course by Andreas Meiszner (Open University); The ne(x)t generation learner - Skills you need in lifelong learning knowledge and information societies.

The course is supposed to be an open and participatory learning experience that involves practical ‘hands-on' sessions where your learning activities and the things you create will become a part of the course. This is to say that future course participants should be enabled to benefit from your achievements and build upon the things you started, instead of starting from scratch.

The course will allow you to act not only as a learner, but to become an active contributor and co-creator. You will be asked to establish your own course learning projects or to join into course learning projects of others; and you also will have a voice to tell us what you think this course still needs.

clipped from www.netgeners.net

The objective of this course is for you to become a knowledgeable ne(x)t generation learner that:

1. Is able to update his skills and knowledge self-dependently within a lifelong learning context


2. Knows how to take full advantage of the web to support your own learning, to collaborate with others and use the tools required to do so


3. Is capable to find sources at the web and to critically evaluate and analyse them


4. Is aware about available free online and desktop software solutions that facilitate learning, knowledge exchange and collaboration


5. Knows how to find online communities, to engage in them for personal support, and to and understands the way they function


6. Has the today's required soft skills; like to communicate, collaborate and engage in discussions with others, defend your own work and thoughts and present them, know how to manage a project, or how to resolve conflicts

Further information is available at:

• NetGeners.Net website
• NetGeners.Net course leaflet at scribd
• NetGeners.Net introduction at slideshare

I think I might do another online free course, because my previous experience was quite rewarding. The persons that have set up these courses have really put an effort in creating and assembling good resources. The subject matter is really relevant, and I am certain participation will turn out to be quite valuable.

The Blog Readability Test... mm

I did the blog readability test. The Blog Readability Test. What level of education is required to understand your blog?

Maybe. I. Need. To. Write. More. Simple.
What. Do. You. Think?

OLCOS Roadmap 2012 - Skills

In this authorative report on Open Educational Resources, education, and other related issues, skills for knowledge workers are discussed (amongst other things). Professional skills needed in a knowledge economy are acquired by using interactive, collaborative, and constructive tools as weblogs and wikis. The reason I am now blogging, and more or less used to it, is because of a course given by David Wiley (http://opencontent.org). Not because of my university, where not a single course mandated or suggested any of these technologies. (BTW. I assisted in setting up a wiki for a course, which was one of the first wikis to be used for a course on the uni :: evaluation on my blog next week)

clipped from 64.233.183.104

If students have their own Weblog they engage in a self-directed, constructive practice. As authors of postings they must make their minds up about a topic, gather, evaluate and interpret information, take a position, come up with convincing arguments and evidence, and find the right means and style of expression. And this practice is inherently social and conversational, because the students themselves experience being part of a distributed community of interest and refer to ideas and writings of others. The same is true if students work collaboratively on a thematic Wiki, where each of them can add information, edit and rework texts of others, etc. They engage in collaborative knowledge creation, which will include discussing certain assumptions, statements, information sources, etc.