Recent Bookmarks 26-Jan-2009

Israeli Entrepreneur Plans a Free Global University That Will Be Online Only
Tamar Lewin, nytimes.com, 25-Jan-2009
“The open-source courseware is there, from universities that have put their courses online, available to the public, free,” Mr. Reshef said. “We know that online peer-to-peer teaching works. Putting it all together, we can make a free university for students all over the world, anyone who speaks English and has an Internet connection.”

Free and Open as a Business Model in HE?
Li Yuan, Li’s work blog, 16-Jan-2009
Li Yuan of JISC CETIS asks: “Can a university give away 99% of its courses for free and still make a profit? What new services and functions should universities provide to attract students when all the course materials are freely available online? What different business models are needed to diversify their income sources?”

Laptops, not mobile phones, are the means to liberate the developing world
Cory Doctorow, guradian.co.uk, 13-Jan-2009
“[A]n open laptop with mesh networking is designed to be locally customised, to have its lessons broadcast to others who can use them, and to avoid centralised control and vulnerability to bad weather and bad governments. It is designed to be nearly free from operating costs, so that once the initial investment is made, all subsequent use is free, encouraging experimentation and play, from which all manner of innovations may spring.”

The Search Race hits the finish line!
AltSearchEngines, 01-Jan-2009
gml: It’s unclear how the race was conducted and whether the results are meaningful, but the list of over 250 search engines is impressive by itself.