Wayne Mackintosh 🇳🇿🐧 @mackiwg@mastodon.oeru.org

"We pay for our contemporary digital infrastructure with our privacy: the structure of digital capitalism has trained us to treat that as the price of modern life." https://www.universityaffairs.ca/career-advice/the-digital-classroom/we-need-to-deal-with-data-privacy-in-our-classrooms/?utm_source=University+Affairs+e-newsletter&utm_campaign=90a8a57997-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_09_21&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_314bc2ee29-90a8a57997-426926325

University of Calgary student union advocating for Alberta to fund open educational resources (OER) to help struggling students https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/textbook-troubles-university-of-calgary-students-want-help-paying-for-course-materials-1.6068244

Do you grit your teeth and have your online meetings on Zoom, even though holding sensitive internal discussions using a corporate-run, proprietary service doesn't really fit your values? If so, you might like to check out the Online Meeting Cooperative, which offers online meeting services as a member-owned platform co-op, running free code software ( Big Blue Button):

https://www.meet.coop/

#MeetCoop #BigBlueButton

In volunteer organisations in which I participate, I'm seen as a 'bit difficult' because of my rejection of widely used (proprietary) technologies. But I don't merely reject them. I always offer (at my cost) a functional alternative that's adheres to my principles.

It's like someone invited me over for brunch, but instead of accepting their factory-hen eggs, I've brought along a dozen free-range eggs from my own chickens. Everyone has an equally tasty brunch & my integrity is uncompromised.

Are you a teacher?

Please share what #FreeSoftware do you use at #school so we can exchange solutions.

For example, at my online course I use for myself and students:

- GNU/Linux
- LibreOffice Writer
- LibreOffice Calc
- LibreOffice Impress
(Open Document Format is mandatory for all)
- Firefox browser
- Jitsi Meet
- GCC
- Geany
- WordPress
- CryptPad
- F-Droid

If you love #education, please boost.

We've been doing some reminiscing this year on the tenth anniversary of the B.C. Open Textbook Collection Through the Years: 2017 https://bccampus.ca/2022/08/24/b-c-open-textbook-collection-through-the-years-2017/

So much great blogging in the edtech space atm & how people are leaning on their networks for support, camaraderie & commiseration in challenging times. And asking hard questions about the purpose of EdTech. Some choice posts;

Anne-Marie Scott https://ammienoot.com/brain-fluff/3247/

Brian Lamb https://abject.ca/trailing-edge-technologies/

Alan Levine https://cogdogblog.com/2022/07/edtech-who-are-you/

Martin Weller http://blog.edtechie.net/edtech/reviewing-the-ed-tech-angst/

and the one that started this latest surge Audrey Watters https://hackeducation.com/2022/06/15/so-long-and-thanks-for-all-the-fish

Wrote a blog post about this, because this would be an awesome side project for someone.

There might even be funding somewhere? (e.g. @NGIZero)

https://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2022/07/11/open-badges-claim-codes/

#OpenBadges #OpenRecognition

(please boost for reach!)

#EDT4OL 🥰 The Acceptance Portfolio seems challenging and interesting...pressed for time between work and study...very useful course❤️ 💻

Wow, these improvements to the next major version of BigBlueButton will be great! https://docs.bigbluebutton.org/2.6/new.html

Give Up GitHub: The Time Has Come

Link: https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2022/jun/30/give-up-github-launch/
Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31932250

Listening to this: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018847654/using-technology-to-give-voices-back-to-asl-sufferers on RNZ I'm struck how wrong it is that this work is being done with a profit motive. Rather than improving things for people suffering pretty horrible disabilities, it's seems focused on improving bottom lines for shareholders. 1/2

Here's a bit more bg on the new B.C. Open Collection site https://bccampus.ca/2022/06/16/creating-a-better-user-experience-for-the-b-c-open-collection/ and the launch trailer https://media.bccampus.ca/media/B.C.+Open+Collection+Launch/0_b5q54e9d

@efakaua so great to hear this! All the best for tomorrow - hoping the MiLLL launch is videoed & recorded in some way - would love to see it after the fact!

@mackiwg Absolutely, we'll be showcasing Mastodon tomorrow at the launch.

I'm looking to talk to someone, ideally from an agency or small cooperative, who has switched to Nextcloud.

I'm interested in how people have things like Time Tracking and Deck configured for project/client work.

(please boost!)

I joined the #EDT4OL course because learning is always the way forward to gain and keep on improving.

The internet is broken because the internet is a business

https://thoughtshrapnel.com/2022/06/19/the-internet-is-broken-because-the-internet-is-a-business/

Realizing in some old school blog comment conversation how that is different— you are saying something to a person, the post author or another commenter. In social media a lot of the saying is really to be heard by many, and I weary of the posturing.