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The Blackboard Patent

The patent disaster is closing in on the nonprofit sector. Stephen Downes is documenting the issues related to The Blackboard Patent, wherein one company has been awarded patents that cover most of the field of elearning. I'm wondering when major nonprofits and funders are going to notice how this affects the sector, let alone the fact that something similar has been quietly happening for several years in the field of online fundraising. Posted: 8/7/06; 10:15:23 AM #

Given Enough Minds...: Bridging the Ingenuity Gap

Hassan Masum and Mark Tovey examine two case studies in their First Monday paper entitled Given Enough Minds...: Bridging the Ingenuity Gap. I don't share the common belief that more people automatically lead to smarter outcomes, but I support any effort that helps us make it so. The authors are looking specifically at how to make a problem solving architecture so much fun that it draws a quality of participation that elevates the collective result above that produced by experts who are in the employ of interested parties. Posted: 8/7/06; 9:54:57 AM #

Hiroshima and the WWW
	Yesterday was the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and the creation of the World Wide Web. For many years, my hope has been that the latter will help us better learn the lessons of the former. Now I'm not so hopeful, but I do observe them both. Posted: 8/7/06; 9:48:40 AM #