I'm a frequent reader of your blog and would like te react on your recent post on intentional learning.

Concerning the reusability paradox (as Peter Baumgartner calls it), the way you see the web as a giant repository of LO's is partly correct. In effect the web consists of giant, partially tagged (like furl or flickr), collections of information objects. It is the way how these IO's are connected (for example through RSS) to any learning context that makes them functional LO's. That's the rip-mix-burn paradigm, where the interaction of blogs, wiki's and other tools falls in place.

Maybe the web is the better repository because the objects and the educational context are separated like the way people try to separate form (css) and content (html). Any repository that's purposely being build, incorporating the educational information/metadata and the information object, makes the paradox more persistent.

The same goes for the use of top-down proposed educational metadata (industrial standards) as opposed to the use of bottom-up emerging tags (folksonomy). When Baraniuk states that one should build communities he seems to forget that one of the main characteristics of communities is that these communities build shared beliefs, values and concerns, construct common ground, purposely define rules (read Shirky's piece on "Flaming wars") and so doing elaborate 'standards'.

The main difference is that communities are more self-directed and unpredictable. So there is not telling which direction standardization will take. That uncertainty is slowing down the major producers of proprietary software in the adoption of standards like IMS. But that's also the beauty of it. I guess the adoption of the "OpenDocument Format for Office Applications" is one excellent example. It's the way how communities of practice function (Wenger) or the way how developercommunities of FLOSS function. The main drawback however is 'balkanization'.

With kind regards,
Paulo Moekotte

I don't want to split hairs, but yes, in every smartphone there is a computer (processor, memory, operating system, software).

The term "technology enhanced learning" is a useful term, but if you take it literally it includes also such areas as school architecture, furniture and interior design, blackboard (the chalk one), overhead projectors etc. I am interested in these, too, but my primary focus is on digital tools (=computers).

I want to respond to your comments on the CSCL research community.
I think you are right. I always thought CSCL is a very old fashioned verb. "Computer Supported" while we have Internet in education for more than 10 years! Several researchers on ICT in education hesitate using weblogs. They think it is very time consuming. And in fact it is! Nevertheless I believe that we, who are providing consult about ICT and learning and doing research on this broad subject, are obliged to experiment with technology and use it ourselves ('practice what….'). Furthermore, I am learning a lot using my weblog. And I think it is great to share your ideas and insights with others.
I spend a lot of hours on reading weblogs and writing weblogs. My weblog is in Dutch. The only CSCL-community member with a weblog, that I know, is Jakko van der Pol (PHD-student Utrecht University): http://www.bloglines.com/blog/jakko...