Author: Michael Chalk

Literacy + Technology Network 'jumping'

Michael ChalkLeave a commentadult literacy, technology

Well all right, it’s not exactly jumping, but what an interesting experience. There’s over eighty educators, researchers and students from all around Australia who have been sharing insights and stories related to technology in the classroom. A whole lot of amazing people, from outback Alice Springs to an island off the coast of ‘FNQ’ – far north Queensland, to Tasmania, Adelaide and the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Come and join the list if you’re into Literacy+Technology .. PRACE= outstanding provider ! Here at Preston Reservoir Adult Community Education (PRACE) Read More …

LERN conference in Havana

Michael ChalkLeave a commentace, professional development

Back from Cuba .. Well the LERN Conference in Havana was very exciting, very hot, and filled with whispers of radical dissent. What a lovely flavour! 600 delegates full of good ideas. Michael Apple’s keynote was definitely the highlight, setting the tone for the rest of the conference. He railed against the rise of the ultra-conservatives, and urged us educators to get fighting. Mary Kalantzis told us the reason for choosing Cuba – the country has very high indicators on all the UN tests for educational development. (A nation with Read More …

Publications and interviews

Michael ChalkLeave a commentresearch

“Open Source, Language and Literacy” It’s been an exciting couple of months for me, as i’ve been asked to write a few articles. One for the coming Journal “Australian Language and Literacy Matters”, a new project emerging from Australian Language Matters and the ARIS Resources Bulletin. [“Open Source, Language & Literacy” @ ALLM : ms word doc 180k] Current Directions in Flexible Learning Another for Literacy Link, the Australian Council for Adult Literacy magazine, about current happenings in the Australian Flexible Learning Community. [FlexiLearni @ LitLink : ms word doc Read More …

Legal challenge to Linux (Fud from Sco)

Michael ChalkLeave a commenttechnology

Need to know more about “The Lawsuit”? If you’re interested in the general hoo-ha surrounding the SCO group and their challenge to Linux, head over to groklaw.net/ where Pamela Jones will keep you informed on the case. A big site with a lot of user-feedback. If you want the Open Source perspective on the situation, no better place than Eric Raymond’s “Halloween Documents”. When i say “Fud from Sco” i use the acronym that means “Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt”, a well known strategy used by large software firms to protect Read More …

how to sum up open source?

Michael ChalkLeave a commentresearch

Updating slows Hello i haven’t updated here for a while – yes i’ve become a ‘blogger who doesn’t blog’ .. and i’m still working on my final report – “How on Earth do i Encapsulate or Sum Up Open Source?” It’s so big! Updates will be rare from now on .. also working on more accessible presentation, categorisation and description of all the links listed in the blog section. Phew. Currently what i’m finding interesting is the economic and business models that are put forward by Eric Raymond in his Read More …

big shifts afoot (from microsoft to open source)

Michael ChalkLeave a commenttechnology

big shifts afoot Big predictions, as the inquirer reports a worldwide shift from Microsoft to Open Source. This article is a comment with attitude – Charles at the Inquirer puts the case that the Redmond giant is about to get very badly stung by a growing movement, as governments and corporations everywhere weigh a zero-outlay software against another which costs hundreds. (i should say at this point that i am not an anti-MS crusader. i like MS Word – it’s my very favourite word processor – and i’m very grateful Read More …

Michael ChalkLeave a commentace

Wikipedia tops Britannica Thanks to Stephen Downes for this link – a comparison showing that the open source encyclopedia using "wiki" software is now more popular than encylops Britannica .. WikiPedia is run on contributions from volunteers. .. incidentally the same site that gives these stats lists (alexa.com) a range of open source/open content encyclopedias in their category page.

Michael ChalkLeave a commentace

Review of ESL Sites Don’t know how many people know about this report – in 2002, the LearnScope team at Kangan Batman TAFE put together a thorough and very useful review of many online ESL resources. Get your copy Now! (whoops – sorry if you tried that link, doesn’t seem to be working – i’ll try & find another access point.) Using other people’s Scripts okay, i’ve been talking mostly about the big open source systems and the learning management platforms, such as GNU/Linux and Moodle, but honestly i think Read More …

Michael ChalkLeave a commentace

Photo gallery for learning English! i’m very excited about a new open source script i’ve found .. to dynamically create a picture gallery! I think using images is vital for language learning – especially for a theme-based topic like the beach – people want to see the beach in front of their very eyes, and how relaxing is it to watch a beach scene! There are a few ideas for picture-gallery-related language-learning activities on the site – would be grateful if anyone has additional ideas. There are many scripts for Read More …