Hapgood

Mike Caulfield's latest web incarnation. Networked Learning, Open Education, and Online Digital Literacy


  • Thug Life, or the Napster of Books

    I just stole food out of the mouths of Kenneth Fearing’s heirs — I pulled down his The Big Clock today from my new favorite book-sharing site instead of forking over the money for it to my local chain bookstore. I think his heirs will survive, but the $26 I would have had to pay Continue reading

  • Nontheism

    A weird thing happened the other day that I’ve been thinking quite a lot about. Someone asked me when I would run for office. (If you know my political history that makes more sense). I replied offhand what I usually say, which is I wouldn’t have a chance anyway, I’m an atheist. I’ve said that Continue reading

  • GReader, Twitter Feeds, and Searching the PLN

    Not sure how I missed this the first a couple days ago, but luckily @psychemedia called my attention to it today. Scott Leslie has a great post on using Twitter with Google Reader and the implications of that. Money graf is here: I’m not sure how many people actually realize that GReader allows you to Continue reading

  • Parent-Teacher Conference Day

    Anyone who thinks that the internet will change the fundamental building-basedness of primary education should ask their friends with children about the joys of parent-teacher conference day. Continue reading

  • Bookstore Chains as the Unsustainable Middle

    Further interesting trends in bookstores in my neverending attempt to find a bricks-and-mortar business model that can withstand broadband. (And if you don’t understand why that’s important to education, well, I don’t have enough time to help you.) OK, you saw below the recent slump that the chains have hit, compared to Amazon. Well, here’s Continue reading

  • Or, Then Again (The Bookstore Numbers Are In)

    I’d been looking for an example of an industry that had successfully altered its business model, and defied the onslaught of BEE (Broadband Eats Everything). Stories about the newspapers and the record industries wake people up, but people need positive models to function and get inspired, one can’t run entirely on anti-patterns. The other day, Continue reading

  • Bookstores as Social Hubs and Education

    Clay Shirky, from a recent post on his blog about bookstores: The local bookstore creates all kinds of value for its community, whether its providing community bulletin boards, putting rocking chairs in the kids section, hosting book readings, or putting benches out in front of the store. Local writers, harried parents, couples on dates, all Continue reading

  • Better Balance

    I think I’m going to try to get a better balance on this blog. I’m actually excited about a lot of things we are doing at Keene State — but because a lot of the things we are moving forward are fragile I’m in the position a lot of bloggers are in — the rants Continue reading

  • School Choice, Civics Knowledge, and Fraud

    So that Oklahoma “civics test“” from a couple of months ago? The one that looked fishy to anyone with half a brain? The one where most students couldn’t name the first president, and thought the two parties in the U.S. were Republican and Communist? The one that generated of so much-hand wringing from the Ed Continue reading

  • Open Google Test

    This is a neat idea — because if you make assessment authentic, courses have to change, of necessity: In Denmark, the government has taken the bold step of allowing pupils full access to the internet during their final school year exams. A total of 14 colleges in Denmark are piloting the new system of exams Continue reading