You are making a good point about context being separate from content, and about context usually being user-created. That brings to mind a platform that I recently heard of, which allows just that.

Shift Space

http://shiftspace.org/what-is-shiftspace

seems to be doing exactly that.

“ShiftSpace is an open source layer above any website. It seeks to expand the creative possibilities currently provided through the web. ShiftSpace provides tools for artists, designers, architects, activists, developers, students, researchers, and hobbyists to create online contexts built in and on top of websites.”

Learning and understanding how things work is for many, including me, the end goal of this unique journey called life. When you look down to it, no matter what your ideals or character inclinations may be, having the ability to……

…it sounds just like what we are trying to achieve with WikiEducator – http://www.wikieducator.org In creating a vast array of free and open educational resources – at all education levels – educators are experiencing a new way of sharing information and collaborating on projects of interest to them, and connecting to like-minded people all over the word. Moreover, educators are adding value to other educators’ content (i.e., handouts, pedagogy, interactive learning activities, collaborative video, etc.) in a way that reduces development time, cost to the organization and increases individual energy and productivity.

Glad to see this type of message coming from you and the blogosphere!

Harold Jarche offers important comments on User Generated Context: “Creating good content on a platform that lets users (teachers & learners) add context may be the the real killer application in education. Content developers and institutions have bee…

Actually, the whole thing can take place with or without the LMS. The section where the actual “course” takes place can be a discussion-based entity (a group blog, with contributions aggregated, comparable to the course David Wiley ran last year, and the course George Siemens and Stephen Downes will be running this fall); or, it can be within a more tradional LMS.

Part of the reason why I separated out the assessment piece from the learning/discussion piece is that learning can (and many times should) take place separate and distinct from the reporting — and in this context, when I use the term “assessment” I mean the type of grading required by institutions to determine certification/matriculation, as opposed to the type of reflection that tends to accompany self-directed learning.