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Koko: Universities, iTunes, Learning, and Open Source Everything

04 Education, IO Impotency
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Koko

Are universities reluctant to use iTunes U?

By | May 5, 2012, 7:30am PDT

zdnet iGeneration

Summary: Is iTunes U a viable platform for school systems to implement?

Many of us remember Steve Jobs and his wish to ‘revolutionize education’, but how many universities and colleges are taking advantage of the learning-based tools Apple has provided?

Created in 2007, iTunes U is advertised by Apple as a service that can be used to design and distribute courses that go beyond traditional print media. Designed to appeal to educators, the platform can be used to create interactive learning material for students at university, college or K-12 level.

According to Apple, there have been over 700 million downloads to date of iTunes U. However, are there many colleges and universities who have made the transition from their own platforms to the modern service on offer?

Read more.

Phi Beta Iota:  Proprietary does not scale nor adapt.  Any questions?

See Also:

THE OPEN SOURCE EVERYTHING MANIFESTO: Transparency, Truth & Trust

The Craft of Intelligence

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Theophillis Goodyear: Will Durant and the Original Declaration of Interdependence

Cultural Intelligence, Earth Intelligence
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Theophillis Goodyear
The Declaration of Interdependence was launched on March 22, 1945 at a gala event in Hollywood.
Will Durant's Declaration of Interdependence (PDF)

http://www.willdurant.com/decenglish.pdf

I've read Durant's declaration over and over, and one phrase stands out.
” . . . bonded in the fellowship of danger . . . “
Each time I read it, those words went under my radar. But I think I finally got it.
The danger he's talking about is uncertainty: the eternal existential dilemma.
Even if humans were the most loving and cooperative species in the entire universe, it wouldn't relive our existential uncertainty, because all of our collective truths could still fall short of providing the big picture necessary for our survival.
I think that's what he meant by “bonded in the fellowship of danger.”
Even in the best of circumstances, humans are eternally vulnerable to forces far greater than us. And if we were smart, we would cling together so that we could face those forces with all our collective potential and creative ingenuity.
If we were smart.
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Sepp Hasslberger: Wind Into Water

01 Agriculture, 05 Energy, 12 Water, Earth Intelligence
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Sepp Hasslberger

French company uses wind turbine to create fresh water

(Phys.org) — French company Eole Water has announced that they have developed and are now in the process of selling wind turbines that have been modified to produce fresh drinking water.

“The turbines work by combining two current types of technology; traditional generation of electricity using wind as the driving force, and compressors commonly used by dehumidifiers and refrigerators.”

“The water that is produced drips down to the base of the turbine tower where it is filtered and delivered for use.”

“The new turbines do have one major drawback and that is the price…”

Read more.

Phi Beta Iota:  Maritime fresh-water makers have been around for a long time.  Solar energy at the localized level is much more interesting, but the point of all of Brother Sepp's posts is that technology is escaping from elite control and becoming much more democratic in nature.

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DefDog: Turning Cyber-Confuse Into a Major Command (Sinkhole for Fraud, Waste, and Abuse)

Corruption, IO Impotency, Military
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DefDog

They have gone completely insane…..

Military leaders seek higher profile for Pentagon’s Cyber Command unit

Senior military leaders are recommending that the Pentagon’s two-year-old cyberwarfare unit be elevated to full combatant command status, sending a signal to adversaries that the U.S. military is serious about protecting its ability to operate in cyberspace, officials said.

Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will recommend the change to Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss classified matters. Final approval rests with President Obama. Little opposition is expected, though the timeline is uncertain.

Read more.

Phi Beta Iota:  Isolated successes not-with-standing, this is nuts.  What we should be doing is closing down NORTHCOM, SOUTHCOM and AFRICOM, rejiggering CENTCOM to be the originally intended global rapid readiness command, and squeezing the Pentagon's balls very very tightly until they can a) account for every penny and b) shift to open source everything.  DISA, NSA, and Cyber-Confuse remain disaster areas.  What would be interesting is a new Whole of Government approach in which OMB's search for common solutions turned decisively toward open source everything, and Robert Steele's concept for restructuring the US IC, turning NSA and NGA into the National Processing Agency, came together.

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Berto Jongman: Interesting Global Security Links

Links (Global Security)
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Berto Jongman

Alert: Major cyber attack aimed at natural gas pipeline companies

Al Qaeda Is Coming Back [says] Former Special Ops Advisor

Cryptocom: Covers secret intelligence world

Google Could Face $10 Million Fine For Tracking Safari Users

ISRAEL:  The Man With Messianic Tendencies

Occupy and the Evolving Micro-techniques of Police Repression

Rethinking Social Networking

SYRIA: The Lutfallah II Arms-Smuggling Scandal

U.S. special forces commander seeks to expand [clandestine] operations

VIDEO (3:42): Ode to the Brain! by Symphony of Science

Watergate’s final mystery [CIA role]

Yemen Smart Book for US Forces

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DefDog: FBI reportedly pressing for backdoor access to Facebook, Google

Government, Law Enforcement
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DefDog

FBI reportedly pressing for backdoor access to Facebook, Google

engaget, 5 May 2012

Investigators at the FBI supposedly aren't happy that social networks like Facebook or Google+ don't have the same kind of facility for wiretaps that phones have had for decades. If claimed industry contacts for CNET are right, senior staff at the bureau have floated a proposed amendment to the 1994-era Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) that would require that communication-based websites with large user bases include a backdoor for federal agents to snoop on suspects. It would still include the same requirement for a court order as for phone calls, even if US carriers currently enjoy immunity for cooperating with any warrantless wiretapping. As might be expected, technology firms and civil liberties advocates like the Electronic Frontier Foundation object to deepening CALEA's reach any further, and Apple is thought to be preemptively lobbying against another definition of the law that might require a government back channel for audiovisual chat services like FaceTime or Skype. The FBI didn't explicitly confirm the proposal when asked, but it did say it was worried it might be “going dark” and couldn't enforce wiretaps.