Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age: Hosted by Google

Connie Yowell (Director of Education - MacArthur Foundation) introduces a panel of digital media entrepreneurs in this video. Her introduction, in which she explains what the Foundation has learned in their grant making, is excellent. It is worth watching the first 18 minutes of this video. Here are some excerpts...

Data Point: "Kids today are learning differently, socializing differently, and engaing civically differently as a result of their participation with digital media."

Learning Point: We are in the process of making several conceptual shifts, these include...

1. Shift from education to one of learning (learning happens anywhere and anytime). If we are going to make the shift to a 21st century learning system we need to start operating in the best interests of the learners.
2. Shift from consumption to participation. This is a core ambition of a learning system for the 21st century
3. Shift from institutions to networks.

Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age.

Howard Reingold - On teaching methods

In this short unscripted interview Howard Reingold talks about the teaching methods he uses at Stanford and Berkeley. Howard and I have been corresponding about teaching methods for some time now - mainly about how difficult it is to get students to engage and produce their learning. It is always interesting and valuable to me to get insights from one of the all time great thinkers of social media. This is worth watching. Thanks again Howard for sharing and for being so generous with your time.

Pink Glove Dance

This video was posted on YouTube on November 13th, 2009 and since that time has been viewed over 4 million times. What a great way to raise awareness! What a great way to increase consumer-to-consumer marketing - 4 millions times over.

Getting people involved in contributing to something larger, while having fun is a formula for success.

Old-School Innovation No Longer Cuts It

In August I wrote about the Deloitte Center for the Edge and the Shift Index. Yesterday the ITBusinessEdge wrote up an interview that they conducted with John Hagel the director of the Center. They suggest that the real opportunity is in moving beyond product, technology and even process innovation to institutional innovation. As I understand it, this will require a more holistic approach that involves everyone in an organization increasing their Edgility.

Here are are a few quotes that I found interesting...

"One of the issues I think is preventing companies from responding more effectively is they tend to divide their labor forces into knowledge workers and everybody else. One of the things Toyota did was take the front-line assembly workers and converted them into creative problem solvers."

"The real purpose of the firm is to provide an environment where you can learn faster than you could on your own."

MIT wins social networking balloon contest - ABC News

Games that connect online social networking to the real world allow us to have fun while we learn to leverage the power of networks (increasing our edgility). This ABC News story provides a great example - very innovative.

Recessions Over... Editorial Cartoonist - Matt Wuerker

This editorial cartoon has hit the top of the charts on Popurls. Tells you something about the mood of the country right now.

(click here to view)

Matt Wuerker Politico.com Sep 22, 2009 EditorialCartoonists.com

President Obama's Educate to Innovate Campaign

Here is President Obama's message...



My question is... will the Educate to Innovate campaign encourage innovation? Or will the focus be on science, math, and technology for science, math, and technology sake.

I like the President's rhetoric of children "getting their hands dirty." And I like the fact that Obama had the Myth Busters in the audience - those guys know how to tinker (true innovators).

But I see faults in some of his comments. First, I believe that athletes should not just stand side-by-side with scientists. They should learn to tinker with scientists to innovate. It is this crossover of cultures (robotics/science geeks & athletes, e.g.) that will create an ecosystem for innovation. If you can be a creator in a sport such as football - it may become cool not by association (scientist standing next to an athlete) but by being an athletic inventor (there is a big difference).

Also, the robotics demonstration is nice - but being a robotics "geek" is not going to attract crowds of kids. Furthermore, we have already attracted the robotics kids. It is the other 80-90 percent that need to become interested in innovation based on their interests. This innovative drive will lead them to math, science, and technology.