Worrying news - it seems that at least a quarter of all Internet connected computers could be used by cybercrims in massive botnets - those suffering such as affliction should seek help as soon as possible. No. It's no laughing matter, as such 'possessed computers' - known as 'zombies' are operating without their owners' knowledge or consent, being used for spam, denial of service attacks, spam, online fraud activities, and did I mention ... spam.
The article, posted today on the BBC News website, also claims that pirated copies of Vista are only adding to the problem, with around half infected with Trojans. Where will it all end? How can we stop from being attacked like this? I think we should be trolled...
Thursday, 25 January 2007
Monday, 22 January 2007
Altered Vista?
It seems that Microsoft's new Vista operating system is under fire even as it is birthed... In one of today's news articles about the new operating system BBC News reports that Microsoft is vigorously defending Vista against the criticism that it deliberately 'downgrades' the quality of audio and video. Well who'd 'a thought it....? (Pictured Above: Bill Gates indicates the life expectancy of Vista)
Dr Peter Gutman, a lecturer at the University of Auckland, down under in New Zealand is one of the leaders of the attack. He is quoted as saying that Vista's content protection spec is "the longest suicide note in history", and claims that "The sheer obnoxiousness of Vista's content protection may end up being the biggest incentive to piracy yet created." Hmmm .... we will soon see (or maybe not).
Wednesday, 17 January 2007
Something Wiki this way comes...
We've been experimenting with wikis recently in the University of Plymouth down here in the South West of England. We've been using them since the start of the new term. Only a few weeks in, and already wikis appear to be paying dividends. The students who use them are undergrads and postgrads, and it will be interesting to see if they interact and/or transgress into each other's spaces during editing.
I'm most interested in the dynamics that go on between students when they are creating content and editing each other's work. Ownership seems to be a real issue for some - they quickly realise that once the 'send' button has been pressed, the content is no longer their own, but belongs to the entire learning community, to alter, extend, mix, mashup or delete as they see fit. Its a problem for some, but I guess they will get used to it.... I hope to present a paper (or two) on our findings later in the year, probably at the EDEN conference, aptly entitled 'New Learning 2.0?' in Naples in June.
In the meantime, we are using two wikis: epedagogy and IMPOnline.
Check out a really useful (but slightly dated) commentary on wikis at Using Wiki in Education - it also offers some useful links to previous work and good tips about ways to use wikis in education.
I'm most interested in the dynamics that go on between students when they are creating content and editing each other's work. Ownership seems to be a real issue for some - they quickly realise that once the 'send' button has been pressed, the content is no longer their own, but belongs to the entire learning community, to alter, extend, mix, mashup or delete as they see fit. Its a problem for some, but I guess they will get used to it.... I hope to present a paper (or two) on our findings later in the year, probably at the EDEN conference, aptly entitled 'New Learning 2.0?' in Naples in June.
In the meantime, we are using two wikis: epedagogy and IMPOnline.
Check out a really useful (but slightly dated) commentary on wikis at Using Wiki in Education - it also offers some useful links to previous work and good tips about ways to use wikis in education.
Friday, 12 January 2007
The Boggs e-Learning Chronicle
Check out the Boggs e-Learning Chronicle which provides neat commentary on a number of recent and relevant issues impacting upon the use of technology in education and training (I may be wrong, but from what I've seen, I think this 'blog leans more toward corporate training). Included in recent posts is a link to a very useful paper on combating online learner isolation by Susan Nash Smith. Includes a good dose of social learning theory.
Thursday, 11 January 2007
Told you so...
Won't say I told you so, but.... In my blog on 3rd January 'Living in a post-modem world', I predicted that due to better broadband connections in the UK, and the subsequent increase in music downloads, highstreet shops such as HMV Records would be hard pressed to sell CDs.
Well lo and behold, yesterday HMV announced they will no longer be stocking CD singles, as 'it is no longer relevant to the way it sells music.' (BBC News Online) Didn't take them long, did it?
To be fair, it's not just about broadband and the web but these are influential factors. As a result, last week there were changes in the way the singles charts in the UK will be compiled. The charts will now take into consideration all the web downloads as well as high street sales. So HMV are the first... will Virgin and the others follow?
Well lo and behold, yesterday HMV announced they will no longer be stocking CD singles, as 'it is no longer relevant to the way it sells music.' (BBC News Online) Didn't take them long, did it?
To be fair, it's not just about broadband and the web but these are influential factors. As a result, last week there were changes in the way the singles charts in the UK will be compiled. The charts will now take into consideration all the web downloads as well as high street sales. So HMV are the first... will Virgin and the others follow?
Wednesday, 10 January 2007
Publish and be jammed
I might be wrong, but I think the days of the paper based academic journal could be numbered....
At the EARLI 2004 conference in Cyprus delegates were invited to a 'meet the editors' session, where we could quiz 15 or so editors about their journals. I was first on my hind legs to ask a question which was later echoed by several other delegates. How could editors justify the long lead in times between acceptance of papers to publication - as academics, we want our ideas to be in the public domain as quickly as possible, before they grow hairs on their chins. Satisfactory answer came there none.
One of the worst culprits is Computers and Education. A long long time ago, when dinosaurs still roamed the earth (alright, 26 November 2004), my colleagues Sue Waite, Carolyn Bromfield and I received confirmation that our article 'Our Flexible Friend' had been accepted for publication in the journal. More than two years later, our article still isn't in print, but we can expect it to be published around summer 2007!
Last year my colleagues Maged Boulos, Cito Maramba and I submitted our paper 'Wikis Blogs and Podcasts' to the online medical journal BMC Medical Education. When our manuscript was accepted, we were pleasantly surprised that it was published online the same day! Since then, in only four months, it has recorded over 5,500 viewings on the BMC site alone. It is mirrored on other sites around the globe including Pub Med Central, so this figure can be at least doubled. Our ideas and theories have been disseminated well and in a timely manner, to the extent that other articles and blogs have already appeared online reviewing, commenting and challenging us. Here are a few notable ones:
I know where a lot of my work will be published in the future... what do you think?
At the EARLI 2004 conference in Cyprus delegates were invited to a 'meet the editors' session, where we could quiz 15 or so editors about their journals. I was first on my hind legs to ask a question which was later echoed by several other delegates. How could editors justify the long lead in times between acceptance of papers to publication - as academics, we want our ideas to be in the public domain as quickly as possible, before they grow hairs on their chins. Satisfactory answer came there none.
One of the worst culprits is Computers and Education. A long long time ago, when dinosaurs still roamed the earth (alright, 26 November 2004), my colleagues Sue Waite, Carolyn Bromfield and I received confirmation that our article 'Our Flexible Friend' had been accepted for publication in the journal. More than two years later, our article still isn't in print, but we can expect it to be published around summer 2007!
Last year my colleagues Maged Boulos, Cito Maramba and I submitted our paper 'Wikis Blogs and Podcasts' to the online medical journal BMC Medical Education. When our manuscript was accepted, we were pleasantly surprised that it was published online the same day! Since then, in only four months, it has recorded over 5,500 viewings on the BMC site alone. It is mirrored on other sites around the globe including Pub Med Central, so this figure can be at least doubled. Our ideas and theories have been disseminated well and in a timely manner, to the extent that other articles and blogs have already appeared online reviewing, commenting and challenging us. Here are a few notable ones:
- British Medical Journal Online (BMJ.com)
- Drugscope Blog
- Clinical Evidence Blog
- Informaticopia (Rod Space)
- Stuart Glendinning Hall
- a-brest.net (France)
- Medinfo.net
- e-Learning at UWC (South Africa)
- Cases Blog
- OLDaily (Canada)
I know where a lot of my work will be published in the future... what do you think?
Monday, 8 January 2007
Liquid Learning runs hot
Star blog of the week award has to go to Liquid Learning: Blogging the Future - a blog by Dr Steve Warburton who is IT and e-Learning Manager at Kings College London. Steve's take on Second Life has just been posted on his blog today. This very minute. Go there.
Steve writes: "If, as it seems to me, the authenticity of the SL experience constantly needs to be defended by 'fans' (not just here but in many quarters) then the crude collapsing of SL and RL (Real Life) to justify this authenticity is a bizarre way to accomplish this. The most glaring disjuncture for me is simply is the naming of avatars, the lack of [RL] profiles and the almost obsessive desire of most SL citizens to avoid any link to their real world selves".
Now didn't I just ....?
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