Founded in 1995, Stephen’s Web is best described as a digital research laboratory for innovation in the use of online media in education. More than just a site about online learning, it is intended to demonstrate new directions in the field for practitioners and enthusiasts.
Specifically, the design of Stephen’s Web is intended to embody the following new directions in online learning:
– Integration of Learning, Practice and Research – it is the author’s belief that learning in an online environment will gradually merge with other domains of activity, and specifically, practice and research. Consequently, Stephen’s Web merges these three uses of online content into a single space.
– Integration of Content and Community – it is the author’s belief that content and community – that is, the presentation of content and consequent discussion of content – should be presented as an integrated unit and not segregated (as is typical in learning management systems).
– Content Syndication – a single online learning resource is depicted on this view as one node in a network of resources, whereby these resources exchange content and services among each other. This outcome is achieved by means of content syndication and supported throughout Stephen’s Web
– Dynamic Organization – learning, and the presentation of learning, should not be static. On any given day, the organization, structure and delivery of learning resources may change according to the changing knowledge of the instructor, the changing nature of the field, and the changing preferences of the learner.
A more detailed description of the underlying pedagogical principles embodied in the site may be read in the presentation, Learning Objects in a Wider Context, available in PowerPoint.
Source: Stephen’s Web ~ Personal Learning Environments ~ Stephen Downes