Resources on the Concept of
Learning

Articles

Nelson (1974): No more teachers’ dirty looks

nmr-21-nelson^4.2MB(pp. 8) – This sample chapter of The New Media Reader by Noah Wardrip-Fruin contains a transcripted (and highly abridged) version of Computer Lib/Dream Machines.

Nelson (1974): How to learn anything

Ted Nelson in Dream Machines (p. DM 42), »As far as I can tell, these are the techniques used by bright people who want to learn something other than by taking courses in it. . . . «

Shneiderman (1993): The Maryland Way

Seven lessons by Ben Shneiderman on supporting the process of innovation and building a successful teams.

Nygaard (1996): Inspiration

»We teach students very little about the production of new knowledge, and many believe that important new ideas somehow descend upon us through inspiration. It is true that you may get euphoric when something suddenly is understood or created in your mind. I remember very, very clearly the exact moment, around two o’clock in the night at the desk in the bedroom at Nesodden, January 1967, when...«

Kirsten Nygaard^† at IRIS ’96

Müller-Prove (2002): Vision and Reality of Hypertext and Graphical User Interfaces

What happened to the original vision to create a personal dynamic medium for creative thought? Retrospect reveals promising insights that might help to reconcile the desktop environment with the web in order to design a consistent and powerful way to interact with the computer. Join me on this fascinating trip to discover the common roots of the PC Desktop and the World Wide Web.

Hillis (2000/2004): Aristotele – The Knowledge Web

This edition of EDGE is a special event focusing on an idea by (W. Daniel) Danny Hillis, currently Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of Applied Minds, Inc., and best known for his innovative work in the design and implementation of the massively parallel supercomputer.

In 2000, Danny wrote the prescient paper "Aristotle", in which he proposed "The Knowledge Web", at a time when the technological possibilities did not equal the vision.

"With the knowledge web," he writes, "humanity's accumulated store of information will become more accessible, more manageable, and more useful. Anyone who wants to learn will be able to find the best and the most meaningful explanations of what they want to know. Anyone with something to teach will have a way to reach those who want to learn. Teachers will move beyond their present role as dispensers of information and become guides, mentors, facilitators, and authors. The knowledge web will make us all smarter. The knowledge web is an idea whose time has come."

"Aristotle" is available on EDGE along with "Reality Club" responses (to date) by Douglas Rushkoff, Marc D. Hauser, Stewart Brand, Jim O'Donnell, Jaron Lanier, Bruce Sterling, Roger Schank, George Dyson, Howard Gardner, Seymour Papert, Freeman Dyson, Esther Dyson, Kai Krause.

EDGE #138

Thomas Vogt (2003): Assistenzformen

(diploma thesis, in German)

Software applications are complex systems. Even experienced users rarely use the entire functionality of a system. It is desirable not only to offer users an easy entry into a system, but also to support them in their daily work to continuously deepen their understanding of a system. This article investigates how to support users, who already know a system, to make better use of the offered potential. Therefore, a new classification of systems to support users is introduced, the primary purpose of which is to facilitate the development of new ideas for supporting users. We analyse the Microsoft Office Assistant, as it is very well known, and describe an implementation of delayed usage-hints for a high traffic website.

Thomas Vogt

The Institu t e for the Future of the Book

Notes Toward a Meeting on the Future of Academic Publishing: On the Future of Academic Publishing, Peer Review, and Tenure Requirements (Jan 2006)

Blogs as Teaching Tools (Apr 2006)

Videos

Sir Ken Robinson on education and creativity, TED 2006

Stephen Downes: Web 2.0 and Your Own Learning and Development, 2007

Projects

Squeak /Kay

squeakland.org

Squeak in Germany

according to Markus Denker, 27-Sep-2002

squeakland-de Mailinglist

There is now a German "squeakland-de" Mailinglist. The idea is to have a list for all people interested to use Squeak in German-speaking schools. The list was set up only some weeks ago, traffic is low and there are not yet many subscribers (maybe 5 teachers and 4 other squeakers). But it's a start.

(side-note: This list was set up because we (Markus Gaelli and Markus Denker) got asked to do a short article about Squeak for a German book about "Free Software in Schools". The interesting thing is that this book is published by a german federal government agency and will be available at allmost no cost (EUR 1.50). The book isn't released yet, but it should get released later this year.)

German Squeak Association: Squeak Deutschland e.V.i.Gr.

We (some squeakers from Germany) have started to set up a non-profit, member-based local organisation to support Squeak use and development in Germany.

We are not yet officialy registerd, but we hope to have something going early next year.

More information (in German)

A short description in English was posted to the squeak-dev list.

THE – The Humane Environment /Raskin

The THE project at sourceforge.net

Open souce project based on the ideas of Raskin’s book The Humane Interface.

DeepaMehta /Richter

LAssi – Learner’s Assistant /Töpel, Vallendor

Das LAssi Projekt

HITeC: LAssi

Workshop Präsentation

several dozens of learning activities collected – might be worked out as patterns
working prototype, tested and used in 4 Hamburg schools
intent to open source

Learning Activitiy: Matrix

An Evening with Ivan Sutherland: »Research and Fun«
Q&A at about 1:22:30: A matrix is a special way of thinking. Several axes with certain characteristics form a space for items of a domain. Then put all known items into the matrix fields. Empty spots are strong indicators for yet unknown items of the domain.