New Brunswick’s motto is Spem Reduxit (hope restored). In my case it may be spam reduxit, as I’m now getting about 200 comment spam per day. The Akismet spam module for WordPress is doing a good job, but I still check the comments marked as spam before deleting them permanently.
Usually, the spam concerns pills and [...]
Filed under: Technology | No Comments »
I just came across this project in Saint John, New Brunswick called PropelSJ, with a stated aim of creating 32 new information and communications technology (ICT) companies in the next 36 months. This is similar to what I recommended as a prescription for the NB learning industry in Rx for NB Learning, minus the aggressive [...]
Filed under: Work | 4 Comments »
We may talk about being continuous learners, but the reality is that those who question the existing systems put themselves on the fringe. Christian Long cites the recent case of Pluto no longer being a planet and how this shows how brittle our formal education system is after some 100 years.
And let me get this [...]
Filed under: Informal Learning | No Comments »
A couple of recent articles reminded me about the importance of doing the small things well and possibly reaping large rewards. We often look for magic bullets or big systems to address big problems but it’s usually the little stuff that makes a difference.
Christian Long tells a story about teachable moments and how this statement [...]
Filed under: Informal Learning, Performance Improvement | No Comments »
It’s Banned Books Week in the US, an event sponsored by the American Library Association;
BBW celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish [...]
Filed under: Learning | 5 Comments »
A local New Brunswick blogger is looking for a good photo-blogging application for his site. Any suggestions? Please post your responses on Brikwall’s blog:
I want easy to use yet highly-customizable software for my new photoblog. However, I’m having trouble finding something that meets my needs.
I tried PixelPost but it won’t install properly on my host’s [...]
Filed under: Technology | 6 Comments »
I just came across Radian6, a start-up in Fredericton that is focused on the analysis of online social media:
Radian6’s core technology, SentimentLive, is designed to identify, correlate and deliver the following elements from Social Media:
Topic
A topic represents the key concept being tracked such as a brand, product name, movie, sports team, politician, country, or celebrity. [...]
Filed under: Technology, Work | 6 Comments »
Complaining about any existing system is usually futile and always frustrating. I try to focus my energies on developing alternatives and trying these out. It’s what we’re doing with our Commons initiative and what we should be doing with education.
My first formal education experience was in a one-room school. It was a wonderful time [...]
Filed under: Learning | 10 Comments »
We attended the annual “meet the parents” session at our local high school last night. Given my criticism of the existing school system (as regular readers will know), I decided to concentrate on listening for understanding and kept my mouth shut.
I found the teachers to be interested in education and motivated to teach. They [...]
Filed under: Learning | 15 Comments »
This cartoon, from Hugh MacLeod, sums up much of my work over the past few years:
My focus on open source software & business models as well as informal learning, puts me outside many established business and education hierarchies. That’s why I recently left our local learning industry association. I’ve made several recommendations on what I [...]
Filed under: Work | 3 Comments »
