Keynote Speaker - Stephen Downes

The Web of Data: Next Generation Internet Services

As students gradually acquire and become accustomed to ubiquitous internet access on campus, they will increasingly benefit from a range of online information and services. Some of these applications may be fun and frivolous, such as league tables or competition ladders. Others, such as security and emergency notifications, will serve a critical role on campus. These applications will draw data from administration services, sensors and other input devices, and the students themselves, and will distribute information using a variety of syndication technologies. In this talk Stephen Downes will outline a number of these services and describe the technologies that will enable them.
Stephen Downes


Born in Montreal, Quebec, Stephen Downes lived and worked across Canada before joining the National Research Council as a senior researcher in November, 2001. Currently based in Moncton, New Brunswick, at the Institute for Information Technology's Internet Logic Research Group, Stephen has become a leading voice in the areas of learning objects and metadata, weblogs in education, content syndication, digital rights and related issues.

Stephen is perhaps best known for his daily research newsletter, OLDaily (short for Online Learning Daily), which reaches thousands of readers across Canada and around the world.

You can read more about Stephen at his website.