I got a little uneasy when I read cel4145's entry, The Open Source Development Model Meets Professional Writing and Service Learning: OSDDP, not from anything cel4145 said, but because I don't care for the term "service learning." And Matt asked for comments, so here goes.

On the positive side, the cause (open source documentation) is a fine one (and lord knows, an improvement on Bugzilla). Open source and Open Education are heroic endeavors. But I'm not very happy with the term "service learning." Maybe it's just semantics. Or a bad mood.

Today I learned about IPac, a "nonpartisan group dedicated to preserving individual freedom through balanced intellectual property policy." I was impressed enough by their effort to donate $10 to their cause. What I find most appealing about their approach is their emphasis on promoting candidates who endorse sensible views of copyright/patent law reform. I was very pleased to see a fellow Barton on the list of supported candidates; perhaps this "Joe Barton" is a distant relative of mine? :-) It's also good to see at least two candidates from California, where ol' "Ahnold" is giving away California citizens' freedoms to the RIAA and MPAA as fast as he can sign his signature on the dotted line. I'm not rich enough to send money to all of these IPac-endorsed candidates. To that end, let me get off this thing and start grading papers.

You know, stuff like this really gets my blood boiling and re-affirms my interest in voting for good ol' Ralph in this upcoming election. We all know that the "debates" we've been watching on television aren't public, as they should be, but private events. Not only are the two major parties the only parties represented in these "debates," but the Commission on Presidential Debates has gone so far as to arrest Michael Badnarik (Libertarian) and David Cobb (Green Party) as they tried to force their way into the debates.

What toy, er, "academic technology" would you give an incoming freshmen class? AThere's an interesting article on this topic in the Chronicle with discussion. Apparently, laptops are "so last year," even though they guarantee that every student at least has access to a modern computer and, if we assume they ship with integrated wireless LAN, access to the internet. As someone who has suffered through 8 years of college without a laptop, I know just how useful these gadgets can be. It's become a common sight to see at least one graduate student typing away on a laptop during class, and occasionally (though rarely) I see a freshman using one. Quite a shame. I know if I had access to the kind of "Daddy's Money" some of these students enjoy, I'd make extensive use of a good laptop (including a microphone I could stick up near the prof and make digital recordings to share on P2P networks.)