Linking from a blog to a discussion forum

In theory it's simple to link from a blog to a discussion forum like this one on blogging.

PLE -v- VLE

There's been a lot of debate about PLEs that I'm only just catching up with now.

Crudely defined, a PLE seems to be about moving away from the big cumbersome VLEs (yes, we're talking about you, Blackboard) and opting instead for smaller bits of technology (e.g. a blog, a Flickr account, RSS feeds, favourited web sites etc.) held together by, for example, a start/portal page like Pageflakes or Netvibes (My Yahoo!, iGoogle, and Microsoft Live are other types).

Is a PLE just a nice idea (see this post from the elearnspace blog) or a bit of Blackboard-bashing software (PLE Project - Bolton University) that's under development?

I'm not sure. Talk of PLEs feels like the (utopian) expression of a desire for a future beyond monolithic systems: something small, customisable, decentralised/user-centred, open-source, open to the hundred of new developments happening, eclectic, supportive of sharing, collaboration etc..

Here are some links to blogs on PLEs:

• History of personal learning environments (Wikipedia)
  
  
• The Bamboo Project (Michelle Martin)

Embedding video into a blog post

This is a test to see how easy it is to embed video into a blog post:



It's of Prince Buster singing Judge Dread on Jools Holland's music show.

More on what blogs can do

Here are some more thoughts - from Anne Davies - on what blogs can do.

I'm not sure about the research that supports these assertions but it's an interesting argument.

One of the advantages of blogs is the ease with which one can deep link to other individual entries (the techie term seems to be the `discreet addressability of information objects').

Here's an entry on Future learning environments (the talk I never gave) from Martin Weller's blog that chimes with discussions I've been having with colleagues.