The lack of a spaced repetition-algorithm in Moodle--or any other course management system, such as Blackboard or Sakai--is a such a glaring omission that I wonder why no one has done it. SuperMemo, a Windows program written in Delphi, remains the best spaced repetition system for memorization despite an idiosyncratic user interface. Piotr Wozniak, the developer of SuperMemo, used it to learn English; an article in Wired mentions that Wozniak speaks perfect English despite never having set foot in an English-speaking country. In addition to SuperMemo, there are two open source spaced-repetition systems: Anki and Mnemosyne. But the algorithms have yet to be incorporated into online learning systems.

An extensive literature attests to the efficacy of spaced repetition algorithms, especially for learning language. I've used SuperMemo to make quick work of memorizing the FCC question pools for the General and Extra class amateur radio examinations. In fact, the program was so efficient that I was left with hardly any sense of accomplishment having used it to pass the exams.

The need for memorization algorithms is so obvious (I repeat myself) that I'm tempted to write a spaced-repetition plugin for Moodle myself.

You make an excellent empirical point. It's not enough to make the across-the-board ideological claim that taxes are bad for business and that the taxes their employees pay more than compensate the state for ensuring that markets function under controlled conditions (this is one of the primary functions of the contemporary capitalist state--an observation routinely omitted from ideological claims on account of its empirical basis). The Telegraph article doesn't make the point that if Ireland raises its taxes, corporate leeches such as Bank of America and Merrill Lynch will have to cook their books somewhere else. It's not enough to accept what corporate spokepersons would like us to hear: we need to see the world's spreadsheet.

If only raising taxes in the United States were enough to get rid of J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Merrill Lynch. Ireland should jump at the chance to jettison these systemically dangerous financial institutions and replace them with sound banks of their own.

The TSA can pat me down in the crotch or scan it until they're blue in the face: they'll never find anything.

Listen, I'd formulate a cogent reply to this if I weren't busy fulminating against national health care on 70cm from my wheelchair and deathbed.

We hams should be patrolling with our solar powered Heathkits and hot dogs ready to spring into action. And if that doesn't work, we can turn on our cellphones.

Three.

Indeed. Some of us are more affected than indiscriminate bans than others.

Not so, anonymous coward. I found the injustice of the ban distressing enough to repeat myself. Try Occam's Razor next time.

At least you got further than me. My attempt to learn the ropes was prematurely cut short when an admin blocked a range of 8192 Verizon IP addresses. I found this out when attempting to edit my user page. My appeal was summarily dismissed since there really is no mechanism for distinguishing legitimate users from vandals. To add insult to injury, Wikipedia requires that the appeal remain on my talk page until the range block is lifted some time in 2011. I thought that banning editing from a /19 was excessive, but now I see they are contemplating /7s and /6s. I think they should try for /0.

This is the logical progression now that they find that blocking /19s just doesn't make them feel sufficiently powerful.
My own Verizon IP address was caught in a ban of 8190 host addresses. My appeal to lift the block, at least for my address--was denied--they have no mechanism for identifying users and for distinguishing legitimate users from vandals. I have come to the conclusion that if Wikipedia cannot solve the technical problem of user authentication and identification or adapt someone else's approach, then its admins should be encouraged to block editing from /0.

I created an account on Wikipedia to learn more about its culture and vernacular. But when I attempted to edit my user page, I was greeted with the news that my IP--one among 8192 other Verizon addresses--was banned. An appeal to lift what I considered to be an excessive block was denied by an administrator. But now I see that banning a mere 8192 address won't satisfy the administurbatory will to power. I was wrong to politely request that an exception should be made in my case. I must have been suffering from a profound sense of entitlement commensurate with my self-importance when I made my appeal. Blocking millions of IP addresses is not enough. Wikipedia's administrators must be encouraged to ban the entire Internet.