What's the SCoPE?: SCoPE people (namely, my friend, Sylvia Currie over in British Columbia) is hosting an Elluminate event on my World is Open book today. According their Facebook account, "SCoPE brings together individuals who share an interest in educational research and practice and offers opportunities for dialogue across disciplines, geographical borders, professions, levels of expertise, and educational sectors." What a wonderful mission statement. This is exactly what we need in education--borderless interaction among the educators and caring citizens of this planet. But this is exactly the type of thing that Sylvia is great at.
I met Sylvia, Cindy Xin, Brian Fisher, and many other fantastic people at Simon Fraser back in November of 1998 when I was on a sabbatical. I miss them all. At the time, they were working for the TeleLearning Centres of Excellence which was headquartered at Simon Fraser University under the direction of Dr. Linda Harasim. As a side note, I often tell my students that Linda was "Queen of Online Learning"--an early adopter with many books on e-learning--so it was great to be there and learn from them all. At the time, Sylvia was running the Global Educators Network (GEN). GEN brought in a different expert or set of experts on a topic related to using technology in teaching and learning. It was a fabulous idea that had a wide following. It ran wonderfully for a few years but I think lost some funding. So now SCoPE is sorta version #2 of GEN. And, like GEN, attendance at SCoPE Webinars, forums, and what-nots is free.
I cannot think of many organizations as important as SCoPE. With millions of teachers around the world and more than a billion people now connected to the Internet in some fashion, you would think that organizations like GEN and SCoPE would be in high demand and have thousands of weekly viewers or millions of readers. These forums can serve as both an educational opportunity as well as chance to network and share stories and best practices. But, while it is not large, SCoPE, and organizations like it, serve a vital role in progressive education; especially that related to learning technology. SCoPE is one of thousands of such entities which is providing the push we need for change. Each one does not need thousands of members--just a few people and their networks can impact countless others.
SCoPE Web Event Today: The event in SCoPE later today will be held at 5 pm today EST or 2 pm Pacific. More information on the event is also posted to Facebook. You can look up the time in the World Clock link from that homepage. Or you can go directly to Elluminate: http://tinyurl.com/9m668l
Sylvia also recently blog posted on the event and my World is Open book on her Webbed Feat blog. As I said, she is highly creative.
Hope to see you there. There will be a short presentation followed by questions and I hope a few answers. Sorry for the late post on this but I am having computer problems lately and so I am now forced to use one of my laptops that I normally do not use for Elluminate meetings. Fortunatley, it is working great! I think I will use it more often. Even better news is that my hard disk that crashed is not as bad as expected--data recovery center people in Louisville said that they can get it all using Level 1 data retrieval procedures which will not be that costly. Cool!
Monday 21 December 2009
Friday 11 December 2009
eCampus News: R2D2: A model for using technology in education
What a wild and wacky week. Hard disk failure on my main machine. And of course I forgot to back it up for 16 months. It is now safely (I hope) tucked away at a data recovery center in Louisville. This has all my work for more than a year, so it is a stressful time. Fortunately, I have all my talks on a laptop computer and a few other things on my other laptop. Still, it is a lot of work that is potentially lost. Boot recovery errors and blue screens of death are not pleasant things to see on a Sunday afternoon.
That was not all. My back-up server died during the past week as well. My car is also having serious problems and may not last too long. The worse news came yesterday when my brother called to tell me that my mom had minor stroke. I am headed up to Milwaukee tomorrow morning on Midwest Express on what was to be a birthday party for her. Not to be. She is in West Allis Memorial Hospital (on the grounds of what used to be the field my friends and I played baseball and football on when growing up). So I guess I will see her there.
I will head to Madison Monday for a couple of Webinars for Inside the School which is owned by Magna Publications; one of which will be on blended learning during the swine flu. This will be a live session in the afternoon from 3:15 to 4:30 central time. I will do a taped show to be broadcast in February 22nd, 2010 on my Perfect e-Storm talk.
In addition to packing for Wisconsin, I am grading papers this week. Yuck. And I am revising my course syllabi for spring. Yuck. Yuck. And when I get back, I need to do my annual productivity report. Triple yuck waste of time. People wonder where faculty members spend their holiday break. I can tell you it is in front of the computer. I will do one course online related to my World is Open book and the other on instructional strategies using videoconferencing from Bloomington to Indianapolis.
Well some good news just came to me. Invites came this week to speak in Vienna, West Virginia January 7th, Auburn University March 12th, St. Johns in Newfoundland on October 15th (I have never been there!), and perhaps the Desire2Learn conference in Chicago in mid July. The recession is over for those of us who are keynote speakers. I will also be in Houston and Austin January 18-21, Fargo, North Dakota January 26th, University of Minnesota February 2nd, Houston and Austin February 16-19, Oklahoma City March 8-9, Atlanta March 11, IUPUI March 26, San Francisco for ISPI April 19-21, Denver for AERA April 30-March 3 or 4. Malaysia for Global Learn May 17-20 and Korea before and after that. There is more but I will stop there. Suffice to say, there will be many speaking venues in 2010.
More good news...Dennis Carter at eCampus News (part of eSchool News) said my article on my Read, Reflect, Display, and Do (R2D2) model is their top news story day. Some of you may recognize this as my Empowering Online Learning book with 100+ activities in it. It was great to hear that. I have been writing many such types of brief articles this fall. My fingers are getting sore.
The title of the article at eCampus News is: R2D2: A model for using technology in education. Hope you enjoy it. If you read it, be sure to go to the 3rd and 4th pages which include a bunch of web links to illustate Web technologies and resources addressing different phases of the R2D2 model. Please note that they did not include the main figure that I had included in the article related to the model.
Sometime later one, I may write another piece for eCampus News on my World is Open book. First I need to check on my mom and get my syllabi ready.
That was not all. My back-up server died during the past week as well. My car is also having serious problems and may not last too long. The worse news came yesterday when my brother called to tell me that my mom had minor stroke. I am headed up to Milwaukee tomorrow morning on Midwest Express on what was to be a birthday party for her. Not to be. She is in West Allis Memorial Hospital (on the grounds of what used to be the field my friends and I played baseball and football on when growing up). So I guess I will see her there.
I will head to Madison Monday for a couple of Webinars for Inside the School which is owned by Magna Publications; one of which will be on blended learning during the swine flu. This will be a live session in the afternoon from 3:15 to 4:30 central time. I will do a taped show to be broadcast in February 22nd, 2010 on my Perfect e-Storm talk.
In addition to packing for Wisconsin, I am grading papers this week. Yuck. And I am revising my course syllabi for spring. Yuck. Yuck. And when I get back, I need to do my annual productivity report. Triple yuck waste of time. People wonder where faculty members spend their holiday break. I can tell you it is in front of the computer. I will do one course online related to my World is Open book and the other on instructional strategies using videoconferencing from Bloomington to Indianapolis.
Well some good news just came to me. Invites came this week to speak in Vienna, West Virginia January 7th, Auburn University March 12th, St. Johns in Newfoundland on October 15th (I have never been there!), and perhaps the Desire2Learn conference in Chicago in mid July. The recession is over for those of us who are keynote speakers. I will also be in Houston and Austin January 18-21, Fargo, North Dakota January 26th, University of Minnesota February 2nd, Houston and Austin February 16-19, Oklahoma City March 8-9, Atlanta March 11, IUPUI March 26, San Francisco for ISPI April 19-21, Denver for AERA April 30-March 3 or 4. Malaysia for Global Learn May 17-20 and Korea before and after that. There is more but I will stop there. Suffice to say, there will be many speaking venues in 2010.
More good news...Dennis Carter at eCampus News (part of eSchool News) said my article on my Read, Reflect, Display, and Do (R2D2) model is their top news story day. Some of you may recognize this as my Empowering Online Learning book with 100+ activities in it. It was great to hear that. I have been writing many such types of brief articles this fall. My fingers are getting sore.
The title of the article at eCampus News is: R2D2: A model for using technology in education. Hope you enjoy it. If you read it, be sure to go to the 3rd and 4th pages which include a bunch of web links to illustate Web technologies and resources addressing different phases of the R2D2 model. Please note that they did not include the main figure that I had included in the article related to the model.
Sometime later one, I may write another piece for eCampus News on my World is Open book. First I need to check on my mom and get my syllabi ready.
Thursday 3 December 2009
Open Interview Tonight December 3rd with Steve Hargadon on "The World is Open" Book
Well, looks like 8 pm EST tonight (Thursday), Steve Hargadon will interview me about my "The World Is Open" book for 30 minutes with 15-30 minutes of Q&A to follow. To join in, click here: Elluminate.
According to Steve, "The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event."
Steve has quite a line-up this year: James Paul Gee, Daniel Pink, Tim Magner, David Thornburg, Dennis Littky on Big Picture Schools, Patti Schank, Howard Rheingold, Allan Collins, Larry Cuban, Danah Boyd, John Seely Brown, Maya Frost, Chris Dede, and there were some Flat Classrooms connections to talks of Don Tapscott and Thomas Friedman. As an aside, the Flat Classrooms project is from my friends, Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay. This fall their Flat Classrooms project is analyzing my World is Open book. I did a short and fun (and fast and furious) YouTube video of the entire 170,000 word book for them in like 8 or 9 minutes a couple of months ago. Last month Don Tapscott and I did a couple of videos for the Flat Classrooms project as well (see Part 1 and Part 2). They featured his Grown Up Digital book last year.
When I look at the line-up Steve has assembled for his Future of Education Webinars, all I can say is wow! I am honored to be asked. It is interesting how the Web can connect someone like Steve (and all the people who listen in to his shows) to so many talented people around the planet. Anyone can now teach anything to anyone else at any time.
More information on tonight is available at his website. Hope you can attend tonight and enjoy it or view the archive.
According to Steve, "The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event."
Steve has quite a line-up this year: James Paul Gee, Daniel Pink, Tim Magner, David Thornburg, Dennis Littky on Big Picture Schools, Patti Schank, Howard Rheingold, Allan Collins, Larry Cuban, Danah Boyd, John Seely Brown, Maya Frost, Chris Dede, and there were some Flat Classrooms connections to talks of Don Tapscott and Thomas Friedman. As an aside, the Flat Classrooms project is from my friends, Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay. This fall their Flat Classrooms project is analyzing my World is Open book. I did a short and fun (and fast and furious) YouTube video of the entire 170,000 word book for them in like 8 or 9 minutes a couple of months ago. Last month Don Tapscott and I did a couple of videos for the Flat Classrooms project as well (see Part 1 and Part 2). They featured his Grown Up Digital book last year.
When I look at the line-up Steve has assembled for his Future of Education Webinars, all I can say is wow! I am honored to be asked. It is interesting how the Web can connect someone like Steve (and all the people who listen in to his shows) to so many talented people around the planet. Anyone can now teach anything to anyone else at any time.
More information on tonight is available at his website. Hope you can attend tonight and enjoy it or view the archive.
Friday 27 November 2009
It was "Good" to be in Kentucky...they're not Robin anybody at this depot!
A Good day in Frankfort, Kentucky:
Last week was interesting. I drove down to Kentucky on Tuesday November 17th to help with the opening of the Kentucky Learning Depot. Rain. Rain. And more rain! What a terrible ride there and back. Left in the dark. Came back in the dark and saw many accident victims along the way. Louisville was like a parking lot both in the morning and then again at 6:30 at night. I was headed to Frankfort, Kentucky. Fortunately, the Kentucky people I met there from the Council on Postsecondary Education were fabulous. Both Allen Lind, Vice-President of Information and Technology, and Miko Pattie, Senior Advisor, Information & Technology, took great care of me. So did all the others I met. Seems so much is happening in Kentucky right now.
First I gave a talk to the Distance Learning Advisory Committee’s Steering Committee--it was an updated version of my perfect e-storm talk. My talk was followed by a lunch meeting with some of these same people. Next I watched other speakers introduce the launching of the Kentucky Learning Depot. Many people spoke. Impressive stuff from the Council on Postseconday Education, the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, the Kentucky Office of Teaching and Learning, AT&T, the Education Professional Standards Board, and various others. Each had a unique and important message to share. AT&T apparently had provided a grant of over $130,000 to help with the depot creation and launching.
In the mix was Mac Wall, Executive Director of the Kentucky Educational Television (KET). I found out that KET people have created the EncycloMedia project. In this Website, there are 5,000 videos, 50,000 video segments, 20,000 digital still images, and 3,200 audio clips. These are for instructional uses in all areas. EncycloMedia is a free service of the Kentucky Department of Education. There are lesson plans, guides, quizzes, professional develeopment resources, and other items (including an online teacher network), that is all searchable by grade level, subject area, keywords, and academic standards. There are links to streaming content from Discovery Education.
I know people tend to question the use of such shared online content since there is no human being behind it when learners access it. Well, they have had 5 million viewers of this content in less than 4 years. KET also makes available instructional Web sites, high school learning classes, streaming video, and electronic field trips.
Their Website says to:
"Imagine you’re an elementary teacher planning a unit on desert biomes. Or a high school English teacher whose students are reading The Red Badge of Courage. Then imagine a single online source that lets you choose among hundreds of related instructional resources—full-length videos on desert environments or the Civil War, brief video clips, digital photographs, clip art—and then lets you easily incorporate those materials into your lessons."
Now it was time for the launch of the new Kentucky Learning Depot. According to their Website, "The Kentucky Learning Depot is a learning community of educators dedicated to providing a repository of quality digital learning content for classroom use. The lessons and resources you find here, submitted and reviewed by the community, represent the best educational practices today."
Exploring further, the "About" section says that, "The Kentucky Learning Depot is a digital library and a learning community that allows educators to share engaging, quality, and standards-based digital content to improve their courses. The depot provides a single point of entry where users can browse, search, upload, download, update, rate, and reuse learning content."
Just before 1:30 pm, there was the launch in front of 60-70 people and many pictures taken. After a talk from Elizabeth Johnson from the Florida Orange Grove Repository on their Legislatively-Mandated Textbooks Plus Initiative (for the development and operation of a central instructional content repository that allows faculty to search, locate, and use instructional resources, including open educational content), it was my turn to speak. My keynote was titled: "No Stopping this Train: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education." Fortunately, there was much good reaction to it.
After that, I met with folks from the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. They have developed quite a unique program for some of their online community college courses and programs. They know that hundreds of thousands of people in Kentucky alone would love to get obtain additional college education. Now they can sign up any time they want, start classes whenever, and a facilitator will be immediately assigned to help them through the content. Facilitators determine how many students they have time to teach and are paid per student with a bonus for the student's high academic performance. There is no set start date (though they must complete the content within something like 3 weeks). Most 3 credit classes have been modularized into 1 credit or less experiences.
What a marvelous invention. In effect, such a program makes learning available to learners when they want and in smaller doses that they can handle. Think of the tens of millions of Americans and hundrends of millions of people around the world who could benefit from such an on-demand or just-in-time learning approach. Sounds like something the Obama administration could showcase an a new model for learning in the 21st century and a success story in the making.
Fascinating stuff! This is exactly the type of thing that the country needs! It is what Peter Smith from Kaplan University (formerly President of Cal State Monterey Bay) talks about in his upcoming book from Jossey-Bass: "Harnessing America’s Wasted Talent: New Dimensions for Higher Education." I recently read and endorsed the book. No links to it yet online so it may be a few more months until it comes out.
Anyway, it was great to be back in Kentucky for the first time in 7-8 years and it is less than 2 hours away. It was quite an eventful day. When I got home, I found out that a blog post that I did for the GETideas.org people was posted to the Web. It was titled: "WE-ALL-LEARN--The Web 2.0 Revolution in Education." It was posted to their Thought Leaders Blog. GETideas was created by Cisco Systems. They will interview me on my World Is Open book on Monday, December 7, 2009 on the Cisco TV Network.
Time to Meet the Famous Robin Good:
Two days later (November 19, 2009), an interview that Robin Good from Rome, Italy had done with me was posted (see videos). It is available in short bites. Robin is an extremely funny and multi-talented person. This
was title: "Future Of Learning: A Video Interview With Curtis Bonk." A lot of people have viewed it and sent me positive comments. Some of these videos are also posted to YouTube. At least 1 or 2 of them are, including "New Teachers Should Become Content Curators" and "No More PowerPoint, Do Carnival Pedagogy Instead." These two were apparently posted on November 17th. Carnival Pedagogy is a concept I heard from Dr. Inae Kang from Kyung Hee University in Korea when I was there in May. Inae is a former student of mine. She is quite brilliant and always on the cutting edge.
I appreciated my time with Robin. Not only is he one of the most known bloggers and media people in the world, he is a highly engaging, insightful, creative, and warm person. He cares about the future of education and learning; especially with emerging technologies. And he does so with an optimistic spirit and smile that leans us all toward hope for a better tomorrow. These are the types of people I want hang out with! To quench your thirst for such optimism, do check out his MasterNewMedia site from time-to-time. And perhaps follow his theme: "Be Smart, Be Independent, Be Good." I love it.
Life Beyond Good:
Then on November 23rd, an article I wrote for Magna Publications in Madison, Wisconsin on the "Benefits and Audiences of Online Learning in K-12 Environments" appeared in the E-newletter called Inside the School (http://www.insidetheschool.com/). I will be doing a couple of K-12-related Webinars for them in 2-3 weeks including one on the use of blended learning during the swine flu. These will be on December 14th. They are not free but you can get a PDF of my slides at the link I just provided.
Earlier this month, Tech and Learning Mag featured my World is Open book with an article entitled "Big Picture." In this article, they include my 15 trends for the future which I list in the final chapter of the book; for digital, page flipping version of the article, see: page 1 and page 2. I need to spend more time at the Tech & Learning Website.
Another highly cool thing this week was when someone shared TED Talk India from Pranav Mistry. The title of his talk was: The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology. It just came out this month. Everyone I share it with, loves it. I hope you enjoy it too!
Here is what the abstract at the TED site says, "At TEDIndia, Pranav Mistry demos several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data -- including a deep look at his SixthSense device and a new, paradigm-shifting paper "laptop." In an onstage Q&A, Mistry says he'll open-source the software behind SixthSense, to open its possibilities to all." So cool. So cool. So cool! Will this change education as we know it? Humm...
Some Stuff Not as Good:
Those still needing more news from the past week or 2, can read about TwitterPeek and WikiReader (not worth getting apparently) or perhaps FLO TV (Personal Television leaves a little to be desired). Both were in the USA Today during the past week or so. Seems none of the 3 (TwitterPeek, WikiReader, or FLO TV) received good reviews. You might not include any of these in your Christmas list this year. Perhaps wait a while for something better that converges everything.
Final Goodies:
If still hungry for more to explore, you might read an article from eSchool News this week which discussed Larry Sangor's role in creating WatchKnow; a YouTube-like site for children. As many of you know, Sangor originally helped create Wikipedia with Jimmy Wales.
In the Wired Chronicle of Higher Education, there was an announcement this week of a new tool for searching through Google Books from the Haithi Trust. Apparently, a consortium of colleges has created the HaithiTrust Digital Library. According to the article, "Colleges working with Google on the company's effort to scan millions of library books today unveiled their own search tool to comb the full text of some 500,000 volumes." Sounds like a tool that is sorely needed to help overwhelmed college students and instructors discover the truly golden nuggets in all the masses of online content out there today from Google and others. A couple of my students have tried it out this week and found it useful in finding just what they needed within the e-book content that they located.
Enjoy the news! There is always more where that came from. For instance, I just finished pieces for FamilyEd Magazine here in Indiana (on technologies that high school and beginning college students need to take into consideration before getting into college and issues they will deal with the first year on campus) and an article for eCampus News on the pedagogical aspects of my R2D2 model. More on those articles when they come out. Now I must write a piece for Educational Leadership Magazine on transforming schools. Always more to write.
Last week was interesting. I drove down to Kentucky on Tuesday November 17th to help with the opening of the Kentucky Learning Depot. Rain. Rain. And more rain! What a terrible ride there and back. Left in the dark. Came back in the dark and saw many accident victims along the way. Louisville was like a parking lot both in the morning and then again at 6:30 at night. I was headed to Frankfort, Kentucky. Fortunately, the Kentucky people I met there from the Council on Postsecondary Education were fabulous. Both Allen Lind, Vice-President of Information and Technology, and Miko Pattie, Senior Advisor, Information & Technology, took great care of me. So did all the others I met. Seems so much is happening in Kentucky right now.
First I gave a talk to the Distance Learning Advisory Committee’s Steering Committee--it was an updated version of my perfect e-storm talk. My talk was followed by a lunch meeting with some of these same people. Next I watched other speakers introduce the launching of the Kentucky Learning Depot. Many people spoke. Impressive stuff from the Council on Postseconday Education, the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, the Kentucky Office of Teaching and Learning, AT&T, the Education Professional Standards Board, and various others. Each had a unique and important message to share. AT&T apparently had provided a grant of over $130,000 to help with the depot creation and launching.
In the mix was Mac Wall, Executive Director of the Kentucky Educational Television (KET). I found out that KET people have created the EncycloMedia project. In this Website, there are 5,000 videos, 50,000 video segments, 20,000 digital still images, and 3,200 audio clips. These are for instructional uses in all areas. EncycloMedia is a free service of the Kentucky Department of Education. There are lesson plans, guides, quizzes, professional develeopment resources, and other items (including an online teacher network), that is all searchable by grade level, subject area, keywords, and academic standards. There are links to streaming content from Discovery Education.
I know people tend to question the use of such shared online content since there is no human being behind it when learners access it. Well, they have had 5 million viewers of this content in less than 4 years. KET also makes available instructional Web sites, high school learning classes, streaming video, and electronic field trips.
Their Website says to:
"Imagine you’re an elementary teacher planning a unit on desert biomes. Or a high school English teacher whose students are reading The Red Badge of Courage. Then imagine a single online source that lets you choose among hundreds of related instructional resources—full-length videos on desert environments or the Civil War, brief video clips, digital photographs, clip art—and then lets you easily incorporate those materials into your lessons."
Now it was time for the launch of the new Kentucky Learning Depot. According to their Website, "The Kentucky Learning Depot is a learning community of educators dedicated to providing a repository of quality digital learning content for classroom use. The lessons and resources you find here, submitted and reviewed by the community, represent the best educational practices today."
Exploring further, the "About" section says that, "The Kentucky Learning Depot is a digital library and a learning community that allows educators to share engaging, quality, and standards-based digital content to improve their courses. The depot provides a single point of entry where users can browse, search, upload, download, update, rate, and reuse learning content."
Just before 1:30 pm, there was the launch in front of 60-70 people and many pictures taken. After a talk from Elizabeth Johnson from the Florida Orange Grove Repository on their Legislatively-Mandated Textbooks Plus Initiative (for the development and operation of a central instructional content repository that allows faculty to search, locate, and use instructional resources, including open educational content), it was my turn to speak. My keynote was titled: "No Stopping this Train: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education." Fortunately, there was much good reaction to it.
After that, I met with folks from the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. They have developed quite a unique program for some of their online community college courses and programs. They know that hundreds of thousands of people in Kentucky alone would love to get obtain additional college education. Now they can sign up any time they want, start classes whenever, and a facilitator will be immediately assigned to help them through the content. Facilitators determine how many students they have time to teach and are paid per student with a bonus for the student's high academic performance. There is no set start date (though they must complete the content within something like 3 weeks). Most 3 credit classes have been modularized into 1 credit or less experiences.
What a marvelous invention. In effect, such a program makes learning available to learners when they want and in smaller doses that they can handle. Think of the tens of millions of Americans and hundrends of millions of people around the world who could benefit from such an on-demand or just-in-time learning approach. Sounds like something the Obama administration could showcase an a new model for learning in the 21st century and a success story in the making.
Fascinating stuff! This is exactly the type of thing that the country needs! It is what Peter Smith from Kaplan University (formerly President of Cal State Monterey Bay) talks about in his upcoming book from Jossey-Bass: "Harnessing America’s Wasted Talent: New Dimensions for Higher Education." I recently read and endorsed the book. No links to it yet online so it may be a few more months until it comes out.
Anyway, it was great to be back in Kentucky for the first time in 7-8 years and it is less than 2 hours away. It was quite an eventful day. When I got home, I found out that a blog post that I did for the GETideas.org people was posted to the Web. It was titled: "WE-ALL-LEARN--The Web 2.0 Revolution in Education." It was posted to their Thought Leaders Blog. GETideas was created by Cisco Systems. They will interview me on my World Is Open book on Monday, December 7, 2009 on the Cisco TV Network.
Time to Meet the Famous Robin Good:
Two days later (November 19, 2009), an interview that Robin Good from Rome, Italy had done with me was posted (see videos). It is available in short bites. Robin is an extremely funny and multi-talented person. This
was title: "Future Of Learning: A Video Interview With Curtis Bonk." A lot of people have viewed it and sent me positive comments. Some of these videos are also posted to YouTube. At least 1 or 2 of them are, including "New Teachers Should Become Content Curators" and "No More PowerPoint, Do Carnival Pedagogy Instead." These two were apparently posted on November 17th. Carnival Pedagogy is a concept I heard from Dr. Inae Kang from Kyung Hee University in Korea when I was there in May. Inae is a former student of mine. She is quite brilliant and always on the cutting edge.
I appreciated my time with Robin. Not only is he one of the most known bloggers and media people in the world, he is a highly engaging, insightful, creative, and warm person. He cares about the future of education and learning; especially with emerging technologies. And he does so with an optimistic spirit and smile that leans us all toward hope for a better tomorrow. These are the types of people I want hang out with! To quench your thirst for such optimism, do check out his MasterNewMedia site from time-to-time. And perhaps follow his theme: "Be Smart, Be Independent, Be Good." I love it.
Life Beyond Good:
Then on November 23rd, an article I wrote for Magna Publications in Madison, Wisconsin on the "Benefits and Audiences of Online Learning in K-12 Environments" appeared in the E-newletter called Inside the School (http://www.insidetheschool.com/). I will be doing a couple of K-12-related Webinars for them in 2-3 weeks including one on the use of blended learning during the swine flu. These will be on December 14th. They are not free but you can get a PDF of my slides at the link I just provided.
Earlier this month, Tech and Learning Mag featured my World is Open book with an article entitled "Big Picture." In this article, they include my 15 trends for the future which I list in the final chapter of the book; for digital, page flipping version of the article, see: page 1 and page 2. I need to spend more time at the Tech & Learning Website.
Another highly cool thing this week was when someone shared TED Talk India from Pranav Mistry. The title of his talk was: The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology. It just came out this month. Everyone I share it with, loves it. I hope you enjoy it too!
Here is what the abstract at the TED site says, "At TEDIndia, Pranav Mistry demos several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data -- including a deep look at his SixthSense device and a new, paradigm-shifting paper "laptop." In an onstage Q&A, Mistry says he'll open-source the software behind SixthSense, to open its possibilities to all." So cool. So cool. So cool! Will this change education as we know it? Humm...
Some Stuff Not as Good:
Those still needing more news from the past week or 2, can read about TwitterPeek and WikiReader (not worth getting apparently) or perhaps FLO TV (Personal Television leaves a little to be desired). Both were in the USA Today during the past week or so. Seems none of the 3 (TwitterPeek, WikiReader, or FLO TV) received good reviews. You might not include any of these in your Christmas list this year. Perhaps wait a while for something better that converges everything.
Final Goodies:
If still hungry for more to explore, you might read an article from eSchool News this week which discussed Larry Sangor's role in creating WatchKnow; a YouTube-like site for children. As many of you know, Sangor originally helped create Wikipedia with Jimmy Wales.
In the Wired Chronicle of Higher Education, there was an announcement this week of a new tool for searching through Google Books from the Haithi Trust. Apparently, a consortium of colleges has created the HaithiTrust Digital Library. According to the article, "Colleges working with Google on the company's effort to scan millions of library books today unveiled their own search tool to comb the full text of some 500,000 volumes." Sounds like a tool that is sorely needed to help overwhelmed college students and instructors discover the truly golden nuggets in all the masses of online content out there today from Google and others. A couple of my students have tried it out this week and found it useful in finding just what they needed within the e-book content that they located.
Enjoy the news! There is always more where that came from. For instance, I just finished pieces for FamilyEd Magazine here in Indiana (on technologies that high school and beginning college students need to take into consideration before getting into college and issues they will deal with the first year on campus) and an article for eCampus News on the pedagogical aspects of my R2D2 model. More on those articles when they come out. Now I must write a piece for Educational Leadership Magazine on transforming schools. Always more to write.
Sunday 22 November 2009
Announcing the Premiere of Global Learn: Global Conference on Learning and Technology (May 17-20, 2010)
Introducing Global Learn:
During the past year, with my colleagues, Tom Reynolds from National University in San Diego and Mimi Miyoung Lee from the University of Houston, I have helped create a new conference called Global Learn: Global Conference on Learning and Technology. The three of us collaborated to write the mission statement and also the first draft of the conference topics and subtopics (which others expanded upon). We were also involved in site selection, the creation of the executive board for the conference, and initial keynote and invited speaker nominations. Lots of work. But often fun work. Seeing something new come into fruition is highly motivating; especially something with global educational consequences.
Gary Marks, the Founder and Director of AACE, also was heavily involved in all of this (actually he led the way). The four of us made for a great team. Tom and Mimi have the insightful global and international educational perspectives that helped shape the GL conference in a highly positive direction. And Gary has created or expanded many conferences in the past (SITE, Ed Media, E-Learn, etc.) so he knows what is possible and what is not. It is always fun working with talented people.
Once the initial plans were in place, many others got involved as well. You can see the program and executive board at the Global Learn site. All are fabulous people. I am talking about people like Insung Jung in Tokyo, Okhwa Lee in Seoul, Zoraini Wati Abas in Kuala Lumpur, Joe Luca in Perth, Siew-Mee Barton in Melbourne, Theo Bastiaens in the Netherlands, Sanjaya Misra in New Dehli, Grace Lin in Hawaii, Marc Curcher in Dubai, Betty Collis in the Netherlands, Tom Reeves in Georgia, Wenxia Wu in Columbus, Ohio, and dozens more peoeple including Tracy Jacobs and Sarah from AACE headquarters. So many brilliant and kind people helping make this thing happen. I am really blessed to know them all.
You might wonder how we created such a major conference without meeting face-to-face in over a year (we did have a couple of FTF meetings in Las Vegas during E-Learn last November). Answer: An assortment of collaborative Web tools were employed. Technologies like PBWiki (now PBWorks), Google Docs, Adobe Connect Pro, Skype, Google Groups, and email helped us collaboratively create the conference. We also shared numerous Web resources each week.
More information on Global Learn is below. See what you think of it.
Global Learn will be in Asia and the Pacific Rim each year in April or May. As alluded to, this conference will be run by AACE (the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education). AACE also runs E-Learn, Ed Media, and SITE. The call for papers for Global Learn is below (proposals for this call are due tomorrow--November 23rd). Also noted below are the keynote and invited speakers. I think many of the invited speakers would be keynotes at other conferences. This is going to be a fabulous conference! There are speakers from the Millennium Project, the Pocket School Project, the Hole in the Wall Project in India, Commonwealth of Learning, and so on. How cool is that?
YOU must consider this conference. It could be the conference of the decade. Global learning--that is where all learning is at today. Everything is moving global. Everything. And so should you! And this conference is in a fantastic location. No, not just anyplace, but the Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort in Penang. It is the the Pearl of the Orient (even Wikipesia says so). Read on.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Educational Technology & E-Learning [EDUCTECH@LISTSERV.UH.EDU] On Behalf Of AACE Announcements [announce@AACE.ORG]
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 3:08 PM
To: EDUCTECH@LISTSERV.UH.EDU
Subject: Global Learn Asia Pacific 2010: Keynotes Announced & Call Due: Nov. 23
UPDATE:
A Fantastic Group of Keynote/Invited Speakers Is Announced!
http://aace.org/conf/glearn/speakers/
_______________________________________________________________
Global Learn Asia Pacific 2010--
Global Conference on Learning and Technology
May 17-20, 2010 * Penang (island), Malaysia
(Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort)
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
http://aace.org/conf/GLearn/call.htm
** Submission Deadline: November 23, 2009 **
Organized by:
Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)
http://AACE.org
Co-sponsored by:
Education & Information Technology Digital Library
http://EdITLib.org
Hosted by:
Open University of Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, and Wawasan Open University
______________________________________________________________
COLOR POSTER: Global Learn 2010 Asia Pacific (Available to Print & Distribute)
http://aace.org/conf/glearn/GL10Poster.pdf
>> CONTENTS & LINKS <<
1. UPDATE: Keynote/Invited Speakers: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/speakers/
2. Introduction
3. Topics: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/topics.htm
4. Program Activities & Submission Information, Deadline November 23:
5. Presentation Categories: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/categories.htm
6. Penang (island), Malaysia: http://aace.org/conf/cities/penang/
7. Deadlines: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/deadlines.htm
UPDATE: KEYNOTE / INVITED SPEAKERS
----------------------------------------------------------
http://aace.org/conf/glearn/speakers/
Keynote Speakers:
------------------------
Teaching Learning Framework through the Power of Innovation
Anuwar Ali, Open University Malaysia, Malaysia
Sustainable Higher Education Learning Futures
James Taylor, University of Southern Queensland, Australia
Increasing Individual and Collective Intelligence
Jerome Glenn, Executive Director, The Millennium Project, USA
Title to be announced
Asha Kanwar, Commonwealth of Learning, Canada
Invited Speakers: (partial list)
-------------------------------------
Global Educational Technology: A Luddite View
Jon Baggaley, Athabasca University, Canada
Authentic Mobile Learning: The Affordances of Mobile Technologies in Authentic Learning
Jan Herrington, Murdoch University, Australia
Mobile Innovation and Global Education Ecosystem
Paul Kim, Stanford University, USA
Distance and Blended Learning in Asia: An Overview
Colin Latchem, Open Learning Consultant, Australia
Beyond Dichotomies: Rethinking the World Through New Technologies
Merry Merryfield, Ohio State University, USA
An Alternative Schooling: Self Organising Systems in Education
Sugata Mitra, Newcastle University, UK
INTRODUCTION:
---------------------
Mission: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/mission.htm
Global Learn Asia Pacific is an annual, international conference organized by the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). The conference will be guided by a respected, international Executive Committee, primarily from countries of the Asia Pacific region. ( http://aace.org/conf/glearn/committeeEC.htm )
This conference serves to further the advancement and innovation in learning and technology. As the educational world becomes increasingly global, new ways to explore, learn, and share knowledge are needed.
Global Learn is a means to connect and engage creative educators, researchers, consultants, training managers, policy makers, curriculum developers, entrepreneurs, and others in the topics and fields in which they are passionate about. Many individuals are transforming learning environments in local as well as more global ways. Global Learn offers them an opportunity to meet and discuss their ideas, findings, and next steps.
TOPICS:-----------
The following nine themes exemplify the vision and goals of Global Learn for advancement and innovation in:
1. Advanced Technologies for Learning and Teaching
2. Assessment and Research
3. Educational Reform, Policy, and Innovation
4. Evaluation and Quality Improvement Advances
5. Global Networks, Partnerships, and Exchanges
6. Innovative Approaches to Learning and Learning Environments
7. Open Education
8. Technologies for Socially Responsive Learning
9. Virtual and Distance Education
For specific topics within these themes, see: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/topics.htm
PROGRAM ACTIVITIES & SUBMISSION INFORMATION, Deadline November 23::--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Keynote Speakers & Invited Panels/Speakers
* Papers, Best Practice Sessions & Roundtables
* Research/Technical Showcases & Products/Services Showcases
* Tutorials/Workshops
* Virtual Sessions
All presentation proposals are peer reviewed and selected by a Program Committee, based on merit and the perceived value for attendees.
Call for Presentations: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/call.htm
Submission guidelines: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/submitguide.htm
Presentation and AV Guidelines, see: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/PresenterLounge
PRESENTATION CATEGORIES:
---------------------------------------------
http://aace.org/conf/glearn/categories.htm
The Program includes a wide range of interesting and useful activities designed to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information.
PENANG (ISLAND), MALAYSIA:
---------------------------------------------
http://aace.org/conf/cities/penang/
Experience the Pearl of the Orient; Culture, Dining, Shopping, Attractions, & Tours!
DEADLINES:
------------------
http://aace.org/conf/glearn/deadlines.htm
Submissions Due: November 23, 2009
Authors Notified: December 22, 2009
Proceedings File Due: March 22, 2010
Early Registration: March 22, 2010
Advanced Registration: April 26, 2010
Conference: May 17-20, 2010
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To be added to the mailing list for this conference, link to http://aace.org/info.htm
Global Learn Community: http://www.aaceconnect.org/group/glearnasiapacific
AACE Blog: http://blogs.aace.org/aace
If you have a question about Global Learn, please send an e-mail to
AACE Conference Services, conf@aace.org
Contact:
AACE--Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education
P.O. Box 1545, Chesapeake, Virginia 23327 USA
Phone: 757-366-5606 * Fax: 703-997-8760
E-mail: conf@aace.org * http://AACE.org
========================================================
Departing Thoughts:
Ok, time for you to consider presenting at or attending Global Learn. Don't let the premiere year of this conference pass you by. I do not want to hear you in the 2nd or 3rd year saying, I wish I had attended the first Global Learn conference back when it was smaller and much more fun. Oh and by the way, I am creating an "unconference" prior to Global Learn to be held for 2 days (May 15-16, 2010) on an island near Penang for people to reflect, share, listen, speak, and relax. Come join us.
If you have questions, send me an email (curt at worldisopen.com) or perhaps write to Gary Marks, Mimi Lee, Tom Reynolds, or anyone else on the program or executive committees that you know. We have worked hard to get to this point. And we all look forward to hearing from you!
During the past year, with my colleagues, Tom Reynolds from National University in San Diego and Mimi Miyoung Lee from the University of Houston, I have helped create a new conference called Global Learn: Global Conference on Learning and Technology. The three of us collaborated to write the mission statement and also the first draft of the conference topics and subtopics (which others expanded upon). We were also involved in site selection, the creation of the executive board for the conference, and initial keynote and invited speaker nominations. Lots of work. But often fun work. Seeing something new come into fruition is highly motivating; especially something with global educational consequences.
Gary Marks, the Founder and Director of AACE, also was heavily involved in all of this (actually he led the way). The four of us made for a great team. Tom and Mimi have the insightful global and international educational perspectives that helped shape the GL conference in a highly positive direction. And Gary has created or expanded many conferences in the past (SITE, Ed Media, E-Learn, etc.) so he knows what is possible and what is not. It is always fun working with talented people.
Once the initial plans were in place, many others got involved as well. You can see the program and executive board at the Global Learn site. All are fabulous people. I am talking about people like Insung Jung in Tokyo, Okhwa Lee in Seoul, Zoraini Wati Abas in Kuala Lumpur, Joe Luca in Perth, Siew-Mee Barton in Melbourne, Theo Bastiaens in the Netherlands, Sanjaya Misra in New Dehli, Grace Lin in Hawaii, Marc Curcher in Dubai, Betty Collis in the Netherlands, Tom Reeves in Georgia, Wenxia Wu in Columbus, Ohio, and dozens more peoeple including Tracy Jacobs and Sarah from AACE headquarters. So many brilliant and kind people helping make this thing happen. I am really blessed to know them all.
You might wonder how we created such a major conference without meeting face-to-face in over a year (we did have a couple of FTF meetings in Las Vegas during E-Learn last November). Answer: An assortment of collaborative Web tools were employed. Technologies like PBWiki (now PBWorks), Google Docs, Adobe Connect Pro, Skype, Google Groups, and email helped us collaboratively create the conference. We also shared numerous Web resources each week.
More information on Global Learn is below. See what you think of it.
Global Learn will be in Asia and the Pacific Rim each year in April or May. As alluded to, this conference will be run by AACE (the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education). AACE also runs E-Learn, Ed Media, and SITE. The call for papers for Global Learn is below (proposals for this call are due tomorrow--November 23rd). Also noted below are the keynote and invited speakers. I think many of the invited speakers would be keynotes at other conferences. This is going to be a fabulous conference! There are speakers from the Millennium Project, the Pocket School Project, the Hole in the Wall Project in India, Commonwealth of Learning, and so on. How cool is that?
YOU must consider this conference. It could be the conference of the decade. Global learning--that is where all learning is at today. Everything is moving global. Everything. And so should you! And this conference is in a fantastic location. No, not just anyplace, but the Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort in Penang. It is the the Pearl of the Orient (even Wikipesia says so). Read on.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Educational Technology & E-Learning [EDUCTECH@LISTSERV.UH.EDU] On Behalf Of AACE Announcements [announce@AACE.ORG]
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 3:08 PM
To: EDUCTECH@LISTSERV.UH.EDU
Subject: Global Learn Asia Pacific 2010: Keynotes Announced & Call Due: Nov. 23
UPDATE:
A Fantastic Group of Keynote/Invited Speakers Is Announced!
http://aace.org/conf/glearn/speakers/
_______________________________________________________________
Global Learn Asia Pacific 2010--
Global Conference on Learning and Technology
May 17-20, 2010 * Penang (island), Malaysia
(Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort)
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
http://aace.org/conf/GLearn/call.htm
** Submission Deadline: November 23, 2009 **
Organized by:
Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)
http://AACE.org
Co-sponsored by:
Education & Information Technology Digital Library
http://EdITLib.org
Hosted by:
Open University of Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, and Wawasan Open University
______________________________________________________________
COLOR POSTER: Global Learn 2010 Asia Pacific (Available to Print & Distribute)
http://aace.org/conf/glearn/GL10Poster.pdf
>> CONTENTS & LINKS <<
1. UPDATE: Keynote/Invited Speakers: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/speakers/
2. Introduction
3. Topics: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/topics.htm
4. Program Activities & Submission Information, Deadline November 23:
5. Presentation Categories: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/categories.htm
6. Penang (island), Malaysia: http://aace.org/conf/cities/penang/
7. Deadlines: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/deadlines.htm
UPDATE: KEYNOTE / INVITED SPEAKERS
----------------------------------------------------------
http://aace.org/conf/glearn/speakers/
Keynote Speakers:
------------------------
Teaching Learning Framework through the Power of Innovation
Anuwar Ali, Open University Malaysia, Malaysia
Sustainable Higher Education Learning Futures
James Taylor, University of Southern Queensland, Australia
Increasing Individual and Collective Intelligence
Jerome Glenn, Executive Director, The Millennium Project, USA
Title to be announced
Asha Kanwar, Commonwealth of Learning, Canada
Invited Speakers: (partial list)
-------------------------------------
Global Educational Technology: A Luddite View
Jon Baggaley, Athabasca University, Canada
Authentic Mobile Learning: The Affordances of Mobile Technologies in Authentic Learning
Jan Herrington, Murdoch University, Australia
Mobile Innovation and Global Education Ecosystem
Paul Kim, Stanford University, USA
Distance and Blended Learning in Asia: An Overview
Colin Latchem, Open Learning Consultant, Australia
Beyond Dichotomies: Rethinking the World Through New Technologies
Merry Merryfield, Ohio State University, USA
An Alternative Schooling: Self Organising Systems in Education
Sugata Mitra, Newcastle University, UK
INTRODUCTION:
---------------------
Mission: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/mission.htm
Global Learn Asia Pacific is an annual, international conference organized by the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). The conference will be guided by a respected, international Executive Committee, primarily from countries of the Asia Pacific region. ( http://aace.org/conf/glearn/committeeEC.htm )
This conference serves to further the advancement and innovation in learning and technology. As the educational world becomes increasingly global, new ways to explore, learn, and share knowledge are needed.
Global Learn is a means to connect and engage creative educators, researchers, consultants, training managers, policy makers, curriculum developers, entrepreneurs, and others in the topics and fields in which they are passionate about. Many individuals are transforming learning environments in local as well as more global ways. Global Learn offers them an opportunity to meet and discuss their ideas, findings, and next steps.
TOPICS:-----------
The following nine themes exemplify the vision and goals of Global Learn for advancement and innovation in:
1. Advanced Technologies for Learning and Teaching
2. Assessment and Research
3. Educational Reform, Policy, and Innovation
4. Evaluation and Quality Improvement Advances
5. Global Networks, Partnerships, and Exchanges
6. Innovative Approaches to Learning and Learning Environments
7. Open Education
8. Technologies for Socially Responsive Learning
9. Virtual and Distance Education
For specific topics within these themes, see: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/topics.htm
PROGRAM ACTIVITIES & SUBMISSION INFORMATION, Deadline November 23::--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Keynote Speakers & Invited Panels/Speakers
* Papers, Best Practice Sessions & Roundtables
* Research/Technical Showcases & Products/Services Showcases
* Tutorials/Workshops
* Virtual Sessions
All presentation proposals are peer reviewed and selected by a Program Committee, based on merit and the perceived value for attendees.
Call for Presentations: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/call.htm
Submission guidelines: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/submitguide.htm
Presentation and AV Guidelines, see: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/PresenterLounge
PRESENTATION CATEGORIES:
---------------------------------------------
http://aace.org/conf/glearn/categories.htm
The Program includes a wide range of interesting and useful activities designed to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information.
PENANG (ISLAND), MALAYSIA:
---------------------------------------------
http://aace.org/conf/cities/penang/
Experience the Pearl of the Orient; Culture, Dining, Shopping, Attractions, & Tours!
DEADLINES:
------------------
http://aace.org/conf/glearn/deadlines.htm
Submissions Due: November 23, 2009
Authors Notified: December 22, 2009
Proceedings File Due: March 22, 2010
Early Registration: March 22, 2010
Advanced Registration: April 26, 2010
Conference: May 17-20, 2010
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To be added to the mailing list for this conference, link to http://aace.org/info.htm
Global Learn Community: http://www.aaceconnect.org/group/glearnasiapacific
AACE Blog: http://blogs.aace.org/aace
If you have a question about Global Learn, please send an e-mail to
AACE Conference Services, conf@aace.org
Contact:
AACE--Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education
P.O. Box 1545, Chesapeake, Virginia 23327 USA
Phone: 757-366-5606 * Fax: 703-997-8760
E-mail: conf@aace.org * http://AACE.org
========================================================
Departing Thoughts:
Ok, time for you to consider presenting at or attending Global Learn. Don't let the premiere year of this conference pass you by. I do not want to hear you in the 2nd or 3rd year saying, I wish I had attended the first Global Learn conference back when it was smaller and much more fun. Oh and by the way, I am creating an "unconference" prior to Global Learn to be held for 2 days (May 15-16, 2010) on an island near Penang for people to reflect, share, listen, speak, and relax. Come join us.
If you have questions, send me an email (curt at worldisopen.com) or perhaps write to Gary Marks, Mimi Lee, Tom Reynolds, or anyone else on the program or executive committees that you know. We have worked hard to get to this point. And we all look forward to hearing from you!
Saturday 14 November 2009
The World is Open on WGN TV and Chicago and Milwaukee Public Radio
In the stories below, I am recapping events from this week (mainly being on TV in Chicago on Tuesday) as well as four weeks ago when I was on 4 radio shows in one day. They all link together somehow as part of my World is Open fall book tour. As I added pictures, this blog post got much longer than the 1-2 paragraphs that I had intended. To watch me on WGN TV in Chicago, scroll down to the bold section. Hope you enjoy.
Chicago WGN TV and Chicago Public Radio:
Tuesday was a highly unique day in my life. Got up at 3:55 am in order to drive to the Indianapolis airport and fly to Chicago where I would be on WGN TV Midday show later that day. I flew back the same day. Between interesting taxicab rides and sitting in the cafeteria for 3-4 hours waiting to go on the show and then sitting in the airport for 3 more hours waiting for my flight, it made for a particularly long day.
Fortunately, there was intermittant Internet access that kept my mind occupied when stuck in the cafeteria. After being at Chicago Public Radio a few weeks earlier on Navy Pier in downtown Chicago with a gorgeous view, this was quite different. See pictures from Chicago Public Radio below. LISTEN TO RADIO SHOW: If interested in that earlier show, you can listen to either the audio stream or the MP3 link. I recommend the MP3 link since the audio stream is currently down.
This is a picture or two of the area near Chicago Public Radio:
Walking back to my hotel (the "W" hotel is in the distance):
And this is a picture of Navy Pier from my hotel room:
WGN is on the near north side of Chicago in a highly secure facility that was reminiscent of my days working in factories in Milwaukee. I was soon reminded why I do not fit in a corporate setting and why academia is preferable. Each person walking in and out must swipe their card to get access to the building. They have set times, places, and meetings. I really do not like set schedules or mandates on my time. I need my freedom to learn, to teach, and to live.
The WGN guard laughed at me for showing up so early. But, given existing plane schedules, I really had no choice. For the entire morning I could watch the comings and goings of many people. But, as with Chicago Public Radio, they were extremely polite and helpful people. When I was finally called in for my appearance, a make-up person took care of my shiny nose. Then after a short bathroom break, I was escorted quickly to the set. The production people placed a microphone on my tie and we did a sound check. After a brief chat with Steve Sanders, the WGN anchor who was about to interview me, we were on the air (the picture below is of the set).
The questions came relatively fast and I responded to them as succinctly as I could. Much of it is stuff people who have heard me speak or who have read my "The World Is Open" book already know. But it went pretty well overall. Steve Sanders said he really liked the interview and the book. After signing the book Steve had, he soon left the room. Allison Payne, the other anchor, remained and I got my picture with her. The first picture was fuzzy but the second was pretty good (see below).
It was great to meet Steve and Allison Payne whom I had seen on TV many times before. Looks like this particular show may have made it to some cable stations not just Chicago (WGN 8). If I had been on 20 minutes later, it would have been on WGN America (national). I am just happy to have had this opportunity. So I took another interesting taxi ride back to the airport (my driver had liked to go fast as he could). And with that, my 4-5 minutes on TV was now over. WATCH TV CLIP: You can watch the show: either the video only or read the story and the video.
What wonderful experience! I say this despite the papers sticking out of my suitcoat at the end. Smile.
Milwaukee Area Radio:
Three days later (November 13, 2009--yesterday), an interview I had done for Wisconsin Public Radio (WUWM-FM 89.7 FM) appeared. The particular show I was on was called "Lake Effect” and the interviewer was Mitch Teich. He too asked about my “The World Is Open” book. LISTEN TO RADIO SHOW: The show I was on had various participants but you can just listen to my segment if you want. Compared to the Chicago Public Radio interview, the audio seems fast for both Mitch and me (especially at the beginning). Not sure what happened.
This interview was important to me since Milwaukee is my hometown. I wonder if anyone I grew up with or worked with back in the day was listening to it. Anyone from high school? How about St. Matthias grade school? Some pictures I took in the studio are below.
Here is a picture of Mitch in the studio:
I had fun in this one:
It was so satisfying to be in Milwaukee. All those years or driving downtown through rush hour traffic watching my father head off to work at AT&T and Wisconsin Bell. Now, here I was downtown once again but not to work. Instead, I was there for a book interview. And, in contrast to the early elementary teachers who questioned my ability to read and write, it was a book that I wrote.
The same day of that interview in Milwaukee, I also was on a radio station in Racine, Wisconsin (WRJN-AM 1400 AM). I was on the “Afternoon Show” with Pete Ferrand. Again we discussed my book. This was a full hour show with call in. It too was quite fun! See pics below.
About three hours after the Racine radio show, I was on a program from Mequon (a Northeast suburb of Milwaukee) called Dresser after Dark. Dresser after Dark is part of the IRA/USA Radio Network. It is hosted by Michael Dresser.
Doing this particular one was interesting since this was not a live show nor was I required to be in the studio. I could call in remotely, though I would have been happy to drive over to Mequon since it had been a long time since I was last there. It is an upscale part of Milwaukee. So, instead of driving there, I called from my mom's house. I told my brother, Richard, to be quiet. Amazingly, he was. I even offered him a $20 and then $40 to behave and he turned it down and pouted and went to his room.
But my mom was not so quiet. Within a few minutes of the interview with Michael Dresser, my mom turned on the TV full blast (she wears a hearing aid or I should say multiple ones) since she is basically deaf without them. Then, as I wandered downstairs, she started doing dishes and banged her pots and pans. I lost my concentration. Of course, the house chimes also went off; they go off every 15 minutes. Loud ding! Ding! Ding! And not just three times. Oh my.
It was the worst interview of the day (from my perspective--still not too bad). But to be on 4 radio shows in one day (Chicago Public Radio, Milwaukee Public Radio, Racine, and now Mequon), albiet 2 of them were taped and 2 live, it made for one very interesting day. Dirving in the rain and through miles of highway construction was not fun, however. Chicago went the best. It was so cool to be there. They prepped with me the night before. Milwaukee was cool too--I had a chance to take more pictures in their studio. And I also got a chance to walk in both downtown Chicago and Milwaukee the same day. As noted below, the next day, I was walking in downtown Madison as well as the UW-Madion campus.
Off to Madison for Two Webinars:
The following day I did a couple of Webinars for Magna Publications in Madison, Wisconsin. These talks were targeted for higher education people interested in online and blended learning. I talked about both my "World is Open" book ideas (the book had just come out in July) an my R2D2 and TEC-VARIETY mdels (my Empowering Online Learning/RD2 book had come out the prevous July. Here are those 2 talks:
1. The Flat World Swung Open: Now WE-ALL-LEARN with Web Technology
2. Creatively Engaging Online Students: Models and Activities
DOWNLOAD TALK PDFs: You can download PDF copies of the PowerPoints from those talks at my TrainingShare.com archived talks site. When you click, look for the October 16, 2009 talks.
Both of these went very well (So well, that Bill Haight, Magna President and Founder, gave me tickets for the Wisconsin Badger Homecoming game for the following day. I am an alum so I gladly took them. To be honest, he told me about the tickets before the show.). It was quite exciting to be in Madison during homecoming weekend.
A couple of pictures with Chris Hill and Kate Stover from Magna are below. As you can see, after five different shows in 2 days, I was getting the hang of it. I love having a mic in front of me. Ham? Yes. Sure. Why not?
Chris was a great host for the show we did. He read the data from the polling questions we received as well as the questions from the audience at the end. He also did the introductions an closings for each Webinar.
As with all my stops, Magna people were great. I also love Madison since I went to graduate school there.
I do like the camera! I will be back at Magna in Madison on December 14th for a couple of K-12 Webinars. One will be on blended learning and H1N1. I did not think I would have to be a swine flu expert. But apparently so.
How can you not love Madison? Here are some pictures from Lake Mendota and the UW union area as well as homecoming with Michael Thomas (a former student) and Bill Haight (the owner of Magna Publications). We had a great time that day, despite the Wisconsin loss.
Indiana does not have a terrace with a view like this. Nor does IU allow beer.
When I was a young kid, my father took me ice fishing on this lake and it was cold!
The Rathskeller in the UW union (a fine place for a beer):
Katrina Liu, Mike Thomas' student, shows off her Badger pride at an alumni homecoming event.
Homecoming parade! A tad cold but not bad.
My sister, Cathy (from Oshkosh), and brother, Tom (from Syracuse, NY), were home at mom's after the football game so I drove back to Milwaukee. It was great to see every one. Only my sister, Ann, was missing. (Note: Richard and Cathy are in the front row, while Tom and I are in the back.)
Ok, that recaps this past week on TV and radio plus a few earlier radio shows as well. Many of these gigs were obtained by my publicist, Meryl Moss and her crew. Meryl did a great job getting the book some PR. Her work for me is done now. I will miss her.
I recommend TV and radio to anyone still reading this long blog post. Radio is a blast. And you typically have more time than with TV. So much is possible when you have extra time. The interviewer can lead you into so many exciting and thought provoking directions. Fun! Perhaps when the e-book extension comes out (i.e., "The World Is More Open) more such things will arise. I hope so.
Chicago WGN TV and Chicago Public Radio:
Tuesday was a highly unique day in my life. Got up at 3:55 am in order to drive to the Indianapolis airport and fly to Chicago where I would be on WGN TV Midday show later that day. I flew back the same day. Between interesting taxicab rides and sitting in the cafeteria for 3-4 hours waiting to go on the show and then sitting in the airport for 3 more hours waiting for my flight, it made for a particularly long day.
Fortunately, there was intermittant Internet access that kept my mind occupied when stuck in the cafeteria. After being at Chicago Public Radio a few weeks earlier on Navy Pier in downtown Chicago with a gorgeous view, this was quite different. See pictures from Chicago Public Radio below. LISTEN TO RADIO SHOW: If interested in that earlier show, you can listen to either the audio stream or the MP3 link. I recommend the MP3 link since the audio stream is currently down.
This is a picture or two of the area near Chicago Public Radio:
Walking back to my hotel (the "W" hotel is in the distance):
And this is a picture of Navy Pier from my hotel room:
WGN is on the near north side of Chicago in a highly secure facility that was reminiscent of my days working in factories in Milwaukee. I was soon reminded why I do not fit in a corporate setting and why academia is preferable. Each person walking in and out must swipe their card to get access to the building. They have set times, places, and meetings. I really do not like set schedules or mandates on my time. I need my freedom to learn, to teach, and to live.
The WGN guard laughed at me for showing up so early. But, given existing plane schedules, I really had no choice. For the entire morning I could watch the comings and goings of many people. But, as with Chicago Public Radio, they were extremely polite and helpful people. When I was finally called in for my appearance, a make-up person took care of my shiny nose. Then after a short bathroom break, I was escorted quickly to the set. The production people placed a microphone on my tie and we did a sound check. After a brief chat with Steve Sanders, the WGN anchor who was about to interview me, we were on the air (the picture below is of the set).
The questions came relatively fast and I responded to them as succinctly as I could. Much of it is stuff people who have heard me speak or who have read my "The World Is Open" book already know. But it went pretty well overall. Steve Sanders said he really liked the interview and the book. After signing the book Steve had, he soon left the room. Allison Payne, the other anchor, remained and I got my picture with her. The first picture was fuzzy but the second was pretty good (see below).
It was great to meet Steve and Allison Payne whom I had seen on TV many times before. Looks like this particular show may have made it to some cable stations not just Chicago (WGN 8). If I had been on 20 minutes later, it would have been on WGN America (national). I am just happy to have had this opportunity. So I took another interesting taxi ride back to the airport (my driver had liked to go fast as he could). And with that, my 4-5 minutes on TV was now over. WATCH TV CLIP: You can watch the show: either the video only or read the story and the video.
What wonderful experience! I say this despite the papers sticking out of my suitcoat at the end. Smile.
Milwaukee Area Radio:
Three days later (November 13, 2009--yesterday), an interview I had done for Wisconsin Public Radio (WUWM-FM 89.7 FM) appeared. The particular show I was on was called "Lake Effect” and the interviewer was Mitch Teich. He too asked about my “The World Is Open” book. LISTEN TO RADIO SHOW: The show I was on had various participants but you can just listen to my segment if you want. Compared to the Chicago Public Radio interview, the audio seems fast for both Mitch and me (especially at the beginning). Not sure what happened.
This interview was important to me since Milwaukee is my hometown. I wonder if anyone I grew up with or worked with back in the day was listening to it. Anyone from high school? How about St. Matthias grade school? Some pictures I took in the studio are below.
Here is a picture of Mitch in the studio:
I had fun in this one:
It was so satisfying to be in Milwaukee. All those years or driving downtown through rush hour traffic watching my father head off to work at AT&T and Wisconsin Bell. Now, here I was downtown once again but not to work. Instead, I was there for a book interview. And, in contrast to the early elementary teachers who questioned my ability to read and write, it was a book that I wrote.
The same day of that interview in Milwaukee, I also was on a radio station in Racine, Wisconsin (WRJN-AM 1400 AM). I was on the “Afternoon Show” with Pete Ferrand. Again we discussed my book. This was a full hour show with call in. It too was quite fun! See pics below.
About three hours after the Racine radio show, I was on a program from Mequon (a Northeast suburb of Milwaukee) called Dresser after Dark. Dresser after Dark is part of the IRA/USA Radio Network. It is hosted by Michael Dresser.
Doing this particular one was interesting since this was not a live show nor was I required to be in the studio. I could call in remotely, though I would have been happy to drive over to Mequon since it had been a long time since I was last there. It is an upscale part of Milwaukee. So, instead of driving there, I called from my mom's house. I told my brother, Richard, to be quiet. Amazingly, he was. I even offered him a $20 and then $40 to behave and he turned it down and pouted and went to his room.
But my mom was not so quiet. Within a few minutes of the interview with Michael Dresser, my mom turned on the TV full blast (she wears a hearing aid or I should say multiple ones) since she is basically deaf without them. Then, as I wandered downstairs, she started doing dishes and banged her pots and pans. I lost my concentration. Of course, the house chimes also went off; they go off every 15 minutes. Loud ding! Ding! Ding! And not just three times. Oh my.
It was the worst interview of the day (from my perspective--still not too bad). But to be on 4 radio shows in one day (Chicago Public Radio, Milwaukee Public Radio, Racine, and now Mequon), albiet 2 of them were taped and 2 live, it made for one very interesting day. Dirving in the rain and through miles of highway construction was not fun, however. Chicago went the best. It was so cool to be there. They prepped with me the night before. Milwaukee was cool too--I had a chance to take more pictures in their studio. And I also got a chance to walk in both downtown Chicago and Milwaukee the same day. As noted below, the next day, I was walking in downtown Madison as well as the UW-Madion campus.
Off to Madison for Two Webinars:
The following day I did a couple of Webinars for Magna Publications in Madison, Wisconsin. These talks were targeted for higher education people interested in online and blended learning. I talked about both my "World is Open" book ideas (the book had just come out in July) an my R2D2 and TEC-VARIETY mdels (my Empowering Online Learning/RD2 book had come out the prevous July. Here are those 2 talks:
1. The Flat World Swung Open: Now WE-ALL-LEARN with Web Technology
2. Creatively Engaging Online Students: Models and Activities
DOWNLOAD TALK PDFs: You can download PDF copies of the PowerPoints from those talks at my TrainingShare.com archived talks site. When you click, look for the October 16, 2009 talks.
Both of these went very well (So well, that Bill Haight, Magna President and Founder, gave me tickets for the Wisconsin Badger Homecoming game for the following day. I am an alum so I gladly took them. To be honest, he told me about the tickets before the show.). It was quite exciting to be in Madison during homecoming weekend.
A couple of pictures with Chris Hill and Kate Stover from Magna are below. As you can see, after five different shows in 2 days, I was getting the hang of it. I love having a mic in front of me. Ham? Yes. Sure. Why not?
Chris was a great host for the show we did. He read the data from the polling questions we received as well as the questions from the audience at the end. He also did the introductions an closings for each Webinar.
As with all my stops, Magna people were great. I also love Madison since I went to graduate school there.
I do like the camera! I will be back at Magna in Madison on December 14th for a couple of K-12 Webinars. One will be on blended learning and H1N1. I did not think I would have to be a swine flu expert. But apparently so.
How can you not love Madison? Here are some pictures from Lake Mendota and the UW union area as well as homecoming with Michael Thomas (a former student) and Bill Haight (the owner of Magna Publications). We had a great time that day, despite the Wisconsin loss.
Indiana does not have a terrace with a view like this. Nor does IU allow beer.
When I was a young kid, my father took me ice fishing on this lake and it was cold!
The Rathskeller in the UW union (a fine place for a beer):
Katrina Liu, Mike Thomas' student, shows off her Badger pride at an alumni homecoming event.
Homecoming parade! A tad cold but not bad.
My sister, Cathy (from Oshkosh), and brother, Tom (from Syracuse, NY), were home at mom's after the football game so I drove back to Milwaukee. It was great to see every one. Only my sister, Ann, was missing. (Note: Richard and Cathy are in the front row, while Tom and I are in the back.)
Ok, that recaps this past week on TV and radio plus a few earlier radio shows as well. Many of these gigs were obtained by my publicist, Meryl Moss and her crew. Meryl did a great job getting the book some PR. Her work for me is done now. I will miss her.
I recommend TV and radio to anyone still reading this long blog post. Radio is a blast. And you typically have more time than with TV. So much is possible when you have extra time. The interviewer can lead you into so many exciting and thought provoking directions. Fun! Perhaps when the e-book extension comes out (i.e., "The World Is More Open) more such things will arise. I hope so.
Sunday 8 November 2009
Talking with the World's Youngest Teacher and the Founder of the University of the People
This was an interesting week with interesting people. Below are some details.
Meeting the World's Youngest Teacher:
On Tuesday night, I drove to Indianapolis to hear a talk from the world's youngest teacher at our IUPUI sister campus. It is slightly over 1 hour away, though with rish traffic a tad longer. As I noted in my recent blog post interviews, the name of the person I was about to see was Adora Svitak. Adora is 12 years old and has been teaching half her life (she learns and teaches online and also teaches teachers how to use technology). She has 3 books already written and read and endorsed my World is Open book.
Adora Svitak is a sign of nontraditional teaching and learning in the 21st century. She is a leader in the nontraditional learning movement which I attempt to document in my World is Open book. As I noted before, Adora reads 2-3 books a day and types 100+ words per minute. She had written hundreds of short stories. Wow. You might check out her homepage or Wikipedia page.
When I got to IUPUI, I discovered that Adora teaches with a very cool Promethean Active Board. People from Promethean typically come to help her out and bring all the equipment. This included the clickers or response system for audience participants. While she was in Indianapolis for the national Middle School conference, this night she was teaching teachers about writing. She gave them a series of writing-related tips. Things like break all the rules, use collaborative writing, build on student interests, make learning relevant, design inquiry-based activities, use Web 2.0 technology to excite students into learning (blogs, wikis, etc.), make learning a social and sharing event, and so on, were among her ideas. While most of these ideas have been common aspects of the process writing people for a few decades, hearing a 12 year old who is an accomplished writer and teacher spout them off is worth paying attention too.
Adora was interactive with her audience. She involved them in discussion, fielded many questions, and used the clickers to get their ideas and opinions. It was great to see her using active learning while simultaneously sharing her expertise.
Needless to say, Adora loves writing. She has been writing articles, short stories, and books since her mother got her a computer when she was 6 years old. In effect, it was technology that sparked her love of writing--here is a prime example where technology has definitely changed the life of someone. It perhaps does not hurt that her father works for Microsoft. While Adora is well above grade level in English, social studies, and writing, she is at grade level in her math and science. She still has a lot to learn and she realizes it.
When I spoke with her at dinner, there were times I felt like I was talking to a graduate student of mine, instead of a preteen. We discussed many topics--travel, technology, main interests, writing books, speaking, active learning, TV interviews, etc. It was clear to me by the end of the night that Adora has had a lot of experiences around the world. Her mother, Joyce Svitak, travels with her to all events. Each stop is a learning experience filled with visits to historical monuments, libraries, museums, schools and universities, parks, convention centers, and other points of interest. The sky is the limit for this young lady.
A Call from the Founder of the University of the People:
The week got more interesting on Thursday morning. It was then that I got a call from from Shai Reshef who founded the University of the People. While also chairman of Cramster, Shai said he is currently devoting his life to the UoPeople. He is on a mission to provide access to higher education to the people of the world.
The UoPeople is a free or nearly free unviersity (there are some minor assessment costs per course depending on the country you are in that range from $10-$100. There is also a university entry fee of $15 to $50, again depending on the country you are located in). Shai noted that the UoPeople is intended for the millions (or billions)of people around the globe who do not have access to traditional higher education. Like Lucifer Chu who used his own money to create OOPS which is translating MIT content to traditional and simplified Chinese, Shai is contributing his own money to get this innovative university started (a cool $1 million of his own money). Of course, like the Wikimedia Foundation, his university also takes donations. He noted that the business plan indicates that they will break even when they get to 15,000 students. This might not be too far off into the future.
When I asked about current enrollments, he said that they have 180 students this fall. He also noted that people are signing up from nearly 50 countries already--for example, Jordan, Saudi, Brazil, Vietman, China, USA, Ethiopia, Russia, Syria, Columbia, Nigeria, Germany, UK, Israel, etc. The initial two courses are orientation ones in computer science and English which students must pass in order to continue their studies. At this point, they are not inventing any courses or technology. They are using free content found online and the Moodle course management system. There is no video content found in the UoPeople courses at this point; it is all text. Shai told me that the university is about access first and low cost. They do not want to deter people who are interested in learning. Hence, no video content for now as many would not be able to access them.
For the 180 students, there are more than 800 professors volunteering to teach. This is not your Aunt Betsy type of PTA volunteers. These professors come with master's or doctoral degrees. Simple math indicates that this is more than 4 professors for each student. That is certainly the best instructor-student ratio I have ever heard of. What's more, it is an indication of the many people who want to teach college level courses or expand beyond their current offerings. But these "professors" are not directly instructing students. Instead, they are available for students when and where needed. I think that is the model of 21st century teaching and learning. When a learning need arises, a teacher should appear. And those teachers can come from any setting or location on the planet.
When I asked him about similar ventures, Shai noted that they are different from Peer 2 Peer University, in that P2PU does not offer programs and degrees. Instead P2PU just provides guides people through free online content. How do these compare? Perhaps think of it this way...perhaps OpenCourseWare and Open Educational Resources are Level 1 or Phase 1 of the Open Education movement--free stuff which you can explore online. P2PU is a transitionary phase but let's call it Phase 2--free stuff you can explore online with help from mentors, tutors, coaches, and facilitators. The University of the People is then Phase 3--free courses and degrees using free and open content. What is Phase or Level 4 or 5? Where is this headed?
Shai also surprised me by saying that they hope to be accredited at some point. He did not mention how or by what agency. For now, the University of the People is located in Pasedena, California. You might stop by and visit if you are in the LA area.
So much happening today in the open education movement! How can you not be interested or excited? We will all benefit from it in a few years in ways we cannot even dream about today. Happy dreams tonight.
Meeting the World's Youngest Teacher:
On Tuesday night, I drove to Indianapolis to hear a talk from the world's youngest teacher at our IUPUI sister campus. It is slightly over 1 hour away, though with rish traffic a tad longer. As I noted in my recent blog post interviews, the name of the person I was about to see was Adora Svitak. Adora is 12 years old and has been teaching half her life (she learns and teaches online and also teaches teachers how to use technology). She has 3 books already written and read and endorsed my World is Open book.
Adora Svitak is a sign of nontraditional teaching and learning in the 21st century. She is a leader in the nontraditional learning movement which I attempt to document in my World is Open book. As I noted before, Adora reads 2-3 books a day and types 100+ words per minute. She had written hundreds of short stories. Wow. You might check out her homepage or Wikipedia page.
When I got to IUPUI, I discovered that Adora teaches with a very cool Promethean Active Board. People from Promethean typically come to help her out and bring all the equipment. This included the clickers or response system for audience participants. While she was in Indianapolis for the national Middle School conference, this night she was teaching teachers about writing. She gave them a series of writing-related tips. Things like break all the rules, use collaborative writing, build on student interests, make learning relevant, design inquiry-based activities, use Web 2.0 technology to excite students into learning (blogs, wikis, etc.), make learning a social and sharing event, and so on, were among her ideas. While most of these ideas have been common aspects of the process writing people for a few decades, hearing a 12 year old who is an accomplished writer and teacher spout them off is worth paying attention too.
Adora was interactive with her audience. She involved them in discussion, fielded many questions, and used the clickers to get their ideas and opinions. It was great to see her using active learning while simultaneously sharing her expertise.
Needless to say, Adora loves writing. She has been writing articles, short stories, and books since her mother got her a computer when she was 6 years old. In effect, it was technology that sparked her love of writing--here is a prime example where technology has definitely changed the life of someone. It perhaps does not hurt that her father works for Microsoft. While Adora is well above grade level in English, social studies, and writing, she is at grade level in her math and science. She still has a lot to learn and she realizes it.
When I spoke with her at dinner, there were times I felt like I was talking to a graduate student of mine, instead of a preteen. We discussed many topics--travel, technology, main interests, writing books, speaking, active learning, TV interviews, etc. It was clear to me by the end of the night that Adora has had a lot of experiences around the world. Her mother, Joyce Svitak, travels with her to all events. Each stop is a learning experience filled with visits to historical monuments, libraries, museums, schools and universities, parks, convention centers, and other points of interest. The sky is the limit for this young lady.
A Call from the Founder of the University of the People:
The week got more interesting on Thursday morning. It was then that I got a call from from Shai Reshef who founded the University of the People. While also chairman of Cramster, Shai said he is currently devoting his life to the UoPeople. He is on a mission to provide access to higher education to the people of the world.
The UoPeople is a free or nearly free unviersity (there are some minor assessment costs per course depending on the country you are in that range from $10-$100. There is also a university entry fee of $15 to $50, again depending on the country you are located in). Shai noted that the UoPeople is intended for the millions (or billions)of people around the globe who do not have access to traditional higher education. Like Lucifer Chu who used his own money to create OOPS which is translating MIT content to traditional and simplified Chinese, Shai is contributing his own money to get this innovative university started (a cool $1 million of his own money). Of course, like the Wikimedia Foundation, his university also takes donations. He noted that the business plan indicates that they will break even when they get to 15,000 students. This might not be too far off into the future.
When I asked about current enrollments, he said that they have 180 students this fall. He also noted that people are signing up from nearly 50 countries already--for example, Jordan, Saudi, Brazil, Vietman, China, USA, Ethiopia, Russia, Syria, Columbia, Nigeria, Germany, UK, Israel, etc. The initial two courses are orientation ones in computer science and English which students must pass in order to continue their studies. At this point, they are not inventing any courses or technology. They are using free content found online and the Moodle course management system. There is no video content found in the UoPeople courses at this point; it is all text. Shai told me that the university is about access first and low cost. They do not want to deter people who are interested in learning. Hence, no video content for now as many would not be able to access them.
For the 180 students, there are more than 800 professors volunteering to teach. This is not your Aunt Betsy type of PTA volunteers. These professors come with master's or doctoral degrees. Simple math indicates that this is more than 4 professors for each student. That is certainly the best instructor-student ratio I have ever heard of. What's more, it is an indication of the many people who want to teach college level courses or expand beyond their current offerings. But these "professors" are not directly instructing students. Instead, they are available for students when and where needed. I think that is the model of 21st century teaching and learning. When a learning need arises, a teacher should appear. And those teachers can come from any setting or location on the planet.
When I asked him about similar ventures, Shai noted that they are different from Peer 2 Peer University, in that P2PU does not offer programs and degrees. Instead P2PU just provides guides people through free online content. How do these compare? Perhaps think of it this way...perhaps OpenCourseWare and Open Educational Resources are Level 1 or Phase 1 of the Open Education movement--free stuff which you can explore online. P2PU is a transitionary phase but let's call it Phase 2--free stuff you can explore online with help from mentors, tutors, coaches, and facilitators. The University of the People is then Phase 3--free courses and degrees using free and open content. What is Phase or Level 4 or 5? Where is this headed?
Shai also surprised me by saying that they hope to be accredited at some point. He did not mention how or by what agency. For now, the University of the People is located in Pasedena, California. You might stop by and visit if you are in the LA area.
So much happening today in the open education movement! How can you not be interested or excited? We will all benefit from it in a few years in ways we cannot even dream about today. Happy dreams tonight.
Thursday 22 October 2009
The Wide Open Learning World: Sea, Land, and Ice Views
As we all realize, informal learning is exploding--especially with innovative Web options. Such learning extends far beyond traditional learning venues. For the past few years, I have become interested in how people use technology in unusual ways to teach or learn with it (from trains, planes, mountain tops, resorts, caves, icebergs, parks, cafes, boats, etc.). There are teachers today on sailboats in the ocean who communicate with kids in schools about what they are doing or seeing.
With this in mind, I had an informal learning article come out this week in an e-newsletter from the UK. I explore teaching and learning from the sea, land, and ice. I think this will be my new research area. Here is a link to that article.
Bonk, C. J. (2009, October 19). The Wide Open Learning World: Sea, Land, and Ice Views. Association for Learning Technology Online Newsletter, Issue 17, Available: http://newsletter.alt.ac.uk/g57hhv01ses15pbvrjm4bf
Hope you enjoy it.
Lots happening. Earlier today (Thursday) I was interviewed for the Kathryn Zox radio show (tape delay--to come out later). She does radio shows for the VoiceAmerica Women's Network. It will also appear on WMET 1160 AM in Washington, DC. Later today (Friday morning), I will be in Indianapolis presenting to the Central Indiana chapter of ASTD. This will be a three hour talk. Saturday I travel to Vancouver for a week for the International E-Learn conference. I am heading the executive advisory board so I need to go. Besides, many great friends will be there. I think that there are five other similar conferences happening that same week. Oh my!
With this in mind, I had an informal learning article come out this week in an e-newsletter from the UK. I explore teaching and learning from the sea, land, and ice. I think this will be my new research area. Here is a link to that article.
Bonk, C. J. (2009, October 19). The Wide Open Learning World: Sea, Land, and Ice Views. Association for Learning Technology Online Newsletter, Issue 17, Available: http://newsletter.alt.ac.uk/g57hhv01ses15pbvrjm4bf
Hope you enjoy it.
Lots happening. Earlier today (Thursday) I was interviewed for the Kathryn Zox radio show (tape delay--to come out later). She does radio shows for the VoiceAmerica Women's Network. It will also appear on WMET 1160 AM in Washington, DC. Later today (Friday morning), I will be in Indianapolis presenting to the Central Indiana chapter of ASTD. This will be a three hour talk. Saturday I travel to Vancouver for a week for the International E-Learn conference. I am heading the executive advisory board so I need to go. Besides, many great friends will be there. I think that there are five other similar conferences happening that same week. Oh my!
Tuesday 13 October 2009
The October Road Show..Bonk to it!
Time to Hit the Road:
I will be on the road the next few days with four radio shows on Thursday the 15th of October in Chicago, Racine (Wisconsin), Mequon (Wisconsin--a suburb of Milwaukee) and downtown Milwaukee. The Chicago Public Radio one is at 9 am on Thursday. You can listen in since it is being streamed. It will also be archived. I have never done 4 radio shows in four different cities in a day so this will be fun and a tad challenging. Fortunately, I grew up in the Milwaukee westside burbs. I get to stay one night in Chicago (across from Navy Pier) and a couple of nights with my mom in Milwuakee with a night in Madison sandwiched in between. This will be a fun trip!
On Friday October 16th, I will do two Webinars for Magna Publications in Madison, Wisconsin. The first one is from 10:30 to 12 noon. It is titled: The Flat World Swung Open: Now WE-ALL-LEARN with Web Technology. The second one is from 1:00 to 2:30. It is titled: Creatively Engaging Online Students: Models & Activities. Perhaps your college, university, or organization has signed up for it and you can sit in. Hope to see some of you asking me questions at the end.
On October 20th at noon EST, Robin Good from Rome, Italy will be interviewing me about my World is Open book. Robin is simply an amazing person with a wealth of resources in the world is media. I will be in my home office for this one.
Friday, October 23rd, I will present to the Central Indiana ASTD (CIASTD) chapter in Indianapolis at the pyramid buildings. The talk is titled: The Flat World Has Swung Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Training and Education. For those in the Indianapolis area, this will be at the Holiday Inn near the pyramid buildings on the north side. This will be more of a corporate training audience.
The E-Learn 2009 Conference is in Vancouver in a couple of weeks. The preface is up. As executive board chair, I will be there the entire week from October 24-31st. I also have a 1:30 pm session on Tuesday in the Grand Ballroom B: The World is Open: Introducing the Heroes, Gurus, and
Revolutionaries of the Shared Internet. This links to my World is Open book. It will be a unique talk with pictures of people who have changed the world of education (the people who created the 10 openers mentioned in the book). I will let the audience pick the opener and, hence, the stories that I will tell. Ironically, four years ago I keynoted this conference when it was last in Vancouver. It was my very first talk that I gave on the open learning world. Now it is a book (or 2 with the free e-book extension to come) and my life. Well, not my entire life. I do other things like YouTube and Wiki-related research. By the way, Grace Lin from the University of Hawaii, and Georgette Michko from the University of Houston, and I also have a talk in Vancouver on our YouTube research. I will just watch that one and let Grace and Georgette perform. Grace helped in my keynote in Vancouver 4 years ago.
Hope to see you in Vancouver. I love Vancouver! That is enough traveling for a while.
I will be on the road the next few days with four radio shows on Thursday the 15th of October in Chicago, Racine (Wisconsin), Mequon (Wisconsin--a suburb of Milwaukee) and downtown Milwaukee. The Chicago Public Radio one is at 9 am on Thursday. You can listen in since it is being streamed. It will also be archived. I have never done 4 radio shows in four different cities in a day so this will be fun and a tad challenging. Fortunately, I grew up in the Milwaukee westside burbs. I get to stay one night in Chicago (across from Navy Pier) and a couple of nights with my mom in Milwuakee with a night in Madison sandwiched in between. This will be a fun trip!
On Friday October 16th, I will do two Webinars for Magna Publications in Madison, Wisconsin. The first one is from 10:30 to 12 noon. It is titled: The Flat World Swung Open: Now WE-ALL-LEARN with Web Technology. The second one is from 1:00 to 2:30. It is titled: Creatively Engaging Online Students: Models & Activities. Perhaps your college, university, or organization has signed up for it and you can sit in. Hope to see some of you asking me questions at the end.
On October 20th at noon EST, Robin Good from Rome, Italy will be interviewing me about my World is Open book. Robin is simply an amazing person with a wealth of resources in the world is media. I will be in my home office for this one.
Friday, October 23rd, I will present to the Central Indiana ASTD (CIASTD) chapter in Indianapolis at the pyramid buildings. The talk is titled: The Flat World Has Swung Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Training and Education. For those in the Indianapolis area, this will be at the Holiday Inn near the pyramid buildings on the north side. This will be more of a corporate training audience.
The E-Learn 2009 Conference is in Vancouver in a couple of weeks. The preface is up. As executive board chair, I will be there the entire week from October 24-31st. I also have a 1:30 pm session on Tuesday in the Grand Ballroom B: The World is Open: Introducing the Heroes, Gurus, and
Revolutionaries of the Shared Internet. This links to my World is Open book. It will be a unique talk with pictures of people who have changed the world of education (the people who created the 10 openers mentioned in the book). I will let the audience pick the opener and, hence, the stories that I will tell. Ironically, four years ago I keynoted this conference when it was last in Vancouver. It was my very first talk that I gave on the open learning world. Now it is a book (or 2 with the free e-book extension to come) and my life. Well, not my entire life. I do other things like YouTube and Wiki-related research. By the way, Grace Lin from the University of Hawaii, and Georgette Michko from the University of Houston, and I also have a talk in Vancouver on our YouTube research. I will just watch that one and let Grace and Georgette perform. Grace helped in my keynote in Vancouver 4 years ago.
Hope to see you in Vancouver. I love Vancouver! That is enough traveling for a while.
World's Youngest Headmaster, Open Courses, and Other News this Week
Ok, I posted a three-part interview with the World's Youngest Teacher. Now the BBC has an article and associated video with the World's Youngest Headmaster. It came out yesterday. Imagine a 16-year-old named Babar Ali who is a schoolboy in India and decides at age 9 to create his own school for children from his village who are left out of education. He is helping educate hundreds of other children. Barbar Ali's specialty is history so he is the history teacher. You can watch a video from a young girl who are impacted as well as a question and answer session with children from the UK. This is quite a story. What would all the credentialing and accreditation people in North America say about this?
I see quite a caring individual who has gone out of his way to provide education for others. What happens when the world is filled with thousands of Babar Ali's? Could it? Do we have thousands or even dozens of such people? Let's hope. And when you can peer in with videoconferencing or even letter writing back and forth, you can expose those in the West to what is happening. Perhaps mobile learning can add to his efforts someday. I know my friend, Dr. Paul Kim, a mobile expert from Stanford was just there in the slums of India.
Lots of other interesting news stories lately. I was quoted in one article for Education.com on Technology and Higher Education by Anna Weinstein. My friends Ron Owston at York University in Toronto and Randy Garrison at the University of Calgary were both also quoted. The Education.com site is for K-12 education and makes resources available for parents, teachers, and K-12 educators.
There is also an interesting article in the Chronicle of Higher Education this week: "Open Courses: Free, but Oh, So Costly Online students want credit. Colleges want a working business model." The article is by Marc Parry of the Chronicle of Higher Education, October 11, 2009. In it people like David Wiley caution about the business models of open education and open courseware. He says that OCW could be dead by 2012. In the article, David argues that "Every OCW initiative at a university that does not offer distance courses for credit," he has blogged, "will be dead by the end of calendar 2012." Marc Parry, the author of the article says, "In other words: Nice knowing you, MIT OpenCourseWare. So long, Open Yale Courses." More from David: "I think the economics of open courseware the way we've been doing it for the last almost decade have been sort of wrong,"
David is right that we need better business models. Marc Parry even likened David to Nostradamus and education's "Everywhere Man." We need people like David to push our thinking as well as our planning. David is the type of leader who gets the field the attention it deserves. However, in terms of the future of OCW, I think it may have a huge role outside of traditional university structures. I like what Catherine Casserly, Senior Partner, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, had to say in this article. In the article she says, "I find it like a disruption," says Catherine M. Casserly, the Hewlett foundation's former director of open educational resources, speaking in general about the movement for openness. "It doesn't shift what's happening in some of the very stable traditional institutions of higher education. But there are huge numbers of others who aren't being served. And it's with those that I think we'll begin to see new forms."
Yes! OCW and open educational resources help those who are not normally served by traditional schools, colleges, universities, and training centers. And that is billions of people. Read the opening story about Steven T. Ziegler who works at a restaurant-equipment company in Pennsylvania and is about to lose his job. He has been learning from courses at Yale and MIT using OCW and he loves it. There is a video interview of him at the top. I recommend you watch it. Fascinating how a hang gliding experiment left him with not much to do for a while and so he decided to start learning from the free and open courses that he found.
There is also an intereesting and quite long article in the Chronicle this week (October 11, 2009) By Eric Hoover. "The Millennial Muddle: How stereotyping students became a thriving industry and a bundle of contradictions." Eric Hoover gets different opinions about the books, papers, and propoganda related to different generations in the workplace. Are Millennials (those born between 1982 and 2004 like my son, Alex, and daughter, Nicki) any different from previouos ones?
Do they really multitask? One thing that they do engage in more than most is text messaging. It is kinda hard to refute that when you see the summary counts on our phone bill. You can read about young kids who text too much and some concerns parents and others have in an October 12th New York Times article by Perri Klass, "Texting, Surfing, Studying?"
Finally, there is an interesting article and video from Business Week (October 9th) about this generation and those slightly older who cannot find jobs. They are the so-called "Lost Generation." The writer is thios article, Peter Coy, says that "The continuing job crisis is hitting young people especially hard—damaging both their future and the economy." The recent recession really made things a lot worse for those without many skills or relevant experiences. I sent this article to my brothers and sisters and their kids. I worry a bit for my millennial kids. But maybe they can learn more stuff from open educational resources and OCW. Maybe they can be like Babar Ali and start their own schools for those without jobs.
I see quite a caring individual who has gone out of his way to provide education for others. What happens when the world is filled with thousands of Babar Ali's? Could it? Do we have thousands or even dozens of such people? Let's hope. And when you can peer in with videoconferencing or even letter writing back and forth, you can expose those in the West to what is happening. Perhaps mobile learning can add to his efforts someday. I know my friend, Dr. Paul Kim, a mobile expert from Stanford was just there in the slums of India.
Lots of other interesting news stories lately. I was quoted in one article for Education.com on Technology and Higher Education by Anna Weinstein. My friends Ron Owston at York University in Toronto and Randy Garrison at the University of Calgary were both also quoted. The Education.com site is for K-12 education and makes resources available for parents, teachers, and K-12 educators.
There is also an interesting article in the Chronicle of Higher Education this week: "Open Courses: Free, but Oh, So Costly Online students want credit. Colleges want a working business model." The article is by Marc Parry of the Chronicle of Higher Education, October 11, 2009. In it people like David Wiley caution about the business models of open education and open courseware. He says that OCW could be dead by 2012. In the article, David argues that "Every OCW initiative at a university that does not offer distance courses for credit," he has blogged, "will be dead by the end of calendar 2012." Marc Parry, the author of the article says, "In other words: Nice knowing you, MIT OpenCourseWare. So long, Open Yale Courses." More from David: "I think the economics of open courseware the way we've been doing it for the last almost decade have been sort of wrong,"
David is right that we need better business models. Marc Parry even likened David to Nostradamus and education's "Everywhere Man." We need people like David to push our thinking as well as our planning. David is the type of leader who gets the field the attention it deserves. However, in terms of the future of OCW, I think it may have a huge role outside of traditional university structures. I like what Catherine Casserly, Senior Partner, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, had to say in this article. In the article she says, "I find it like a disruption," says Catherine M. Casserly, the Hewlett foundation's former director of open educational resources, speaking in general about the movement for openness. "It doesn't shift what's happening in some of the very stable traditional institutions of higher education. But there are huge numbers of others who aren't being served. And it's with those that I think we'll begin to see new forms."
Yes! OCW and open educational resources help those who are not normally served by traditional schools, colleges, universities, and training centers. And that is billions of people. Read the opening story about Steven T. Ziegler who works at a restaurant-equipment company in Pennsylvania and is about to lose his job. He has been learning from courses at Yale and MIT using OCW and he loves it. There is a video interview of him at the top. I recommend you watch it. Fascinating how a hang gliding experiment left him with not much to do for a while and so he decided to start learning from the free and open courses that he found.
There is also an intereesting and quite long article in the Chronicle this week (October 11, 2009) By Eric Hoover. "The Millennial Muddle: How stereotyping students became a thriving industry and a bundle of contradictions." Eric Hoover gets different opinions about the books, papers, and propoganda related to different generations in the workplace. Are Millennials (those born between 1982 and 2004 like my son, Alex, and daughter, Nicki) any different from previouos ones?
Do they really multitask? One thing that they do engage in more than most is text messaging. It is kinda hard to refute that when you see the summary counts on our phone bill. You can read about young kids who text too much and some concerns parents and others have in an October 12th New York Times article by Perri Klass, "Texting, Surfing, Studying?"
Finally, there is an interesting article and video from Business Week (October 9th) about this generation and those slightly older who cannot find jobs. They are the so-called "Lost Generation." The writer is thios article, Peter Coy, says that "The continuing job crisis is hitting young people especially hard—damaging both their future and the economy." The recent recession really made things a lot worse for those without many skills or relevant experiences. I sent this article to my brothers and sisters and their kids. I worry a bit for my millennial kids. But maybe they can learn more stuff from open educational resources and OCW. Maybe they can be like Babar Ali and start their own schools for those without jobs.
Friday 9 October 2009
Part 3 of 3: How Does “The World’s Youngest Teacher” Use Web Technology? An Interview with Adora Svitak
Below is the third and final part of my interview with Adora Svitak. If you want to watch one video that summarizes Adora and her influence, you might check out the one appearing in the center of her YouTube Channel at the present time. Enjoy....
=====================
How Does “The World’s Youngest Teacher” Use Web Technology?
An Interview with Adora Svitak
by Curtis J. Bonk, Professor, Indiana University, USA
20. CJB: Which place (or places) that you have traveled to impressed you the most about their use of technology to teach and learn? Please explain why.
AS: A few years ago, I went with my family to England, where I taught at the Burley School. I was very impressed by the fact that each student had a laptop, and was able to use it for school projects. I was able to conduct writing sessions very effectively when students were able to get their thoughts out onto a word processing document. I know that many children have difficultly writing quickly, and I think that giving students laptops is a very time-effective measure. Also, it prepares students for a future of which technology will be increasingly a part of.
21. CJB: I know you often read 2-3 books per day. But likely not ones like my book, The World is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education? What were 1-2 ideas that caught your attention when you were reading it?
AS: One idea in the World is Open that really caught my attention was the idea of alternate reality learning. We have all heard so much about technologies, such as Second Life, that offer alternate realities, but “education” is not the first word that comes to mind when I hear “alternate reality.” So this really opened up my mind to that possibility, as well as to the fact that some of the things we don’t automatically associate with education may be, in fact, very valuable in learning. Another idea I liked was the use, and the availability, of open-source software. I am used to using technologies that you have to pay for—Microsoft Office and Encarta Encyclopedia, for example—but as open-source software is becoming more common, schools have the choice to use open-source technologies like Google Docs, OpenOffice, Reference.com, or Wikipedia to address their schools’ needs.
22. CJB: How has the world become more open for learning during the years you have been a teacher? How is it different since you were 7 or 8?
AS: I think that definitely open-source technology has become more of a presence—companies like Google are churning out free software ripe for the taking. As a teacher, reaching out to the world has become easier to me through distance learning. When I was 7 or 8, physically traveling to schools to deliver workshops was the norm for me. Now, I use new technology to deliver my message. Students are connecting with classrooms through the internet, schools across the world are connecting with each other—the world has opened considerably since my “younger days.”
23. CJB: Do you think that the world of education is ready to be more open and online? What needs to happen to make parents, kids, teachers, politicians more aware of the benefits of learning online?
AS: We live and work in the 21st Century; it is time to learn in the 21st Century. Ample resources are available to create supportive learning environments. It is essential that leaders in education and government, parents, and families become aware of the need to use these resources. Leaders need to realize that schools must use technology to help students today become the leaders of a new and open world.
24. CJB: What do you think teaching with technology will be like in 5, 10 or 20 years or more?
AS: Considering the rapid speed at which technology has grown since I was 7 or 8, it is really difficult to predict what teaching with technology will become. I think that less influence will be placed on physical presence in the classroom and more influence on online learning. Also, I think that students learning at their own pace with the aid of technology will become the norm. Teachers may teach students who are more geographically diverse in their locations.
25. CJB: What has been your top or peak teaching experience in your life so far?
AS: Recently, I delivered a professional development session through Elluminate, an online conferencing tool, to hundreds of teachers and administrators around the world, from places as diverse as Brazil to the U.S., England, France, and Australia. This event showed me the great power technology puts in the hands of teachers as well as students—allowing the teacher to reach people across the globe, and allowing the student to connect with others outside of their own community to share learning practices and realize similar experiences.
26. CJB: Where can people go to watch some of your teaching episodes or read some of your work?
AS: People can go to my YouTube channel. You can also visit my TeacherTube channel; search Adora Svitak at www.teachertube.com. Also visit my website, www.adorasvitak.com.
27. CJB: What is it like being an author at such a young age? Are your books offered online? How might people find them?
AS: It is an incredible experience to have published books at a young age. It gives me another perspective that most of my peers do not have. My books are currently only in print form, but I am considering offering them as eBooks. They are available at my website, adorasvitak.com.
28. CJB: What are you currently working on in terms of books, projects, etc.?
AS: I have just released my third book, Yang in Disguise, a satirical coming-of-age fantasy adventure story, and I am working on composing and compiling poems for a second book of poetry.
29. CJB: When might you attend college? At what age? Will you go physically or attend virtually online or both? What might you major in?
AS: I am thinking that I will attend college in three to four years. Although my language arts and history skills are advanced, my science and math skills are still at or slightly above grade level. So it will take me perhaps a little longer than some would expect. I think that I would attend both physically and online. I would hope to double-major in literature and education.
30. CJB: Is there anything else I left out that an audience interested in the topic of online learning might want to learn from an 11 year old teacher? Or any final commends you would like to mention?
AS: I would say not to be afraid of the changing world of education and to wholeheartedly explore new, online solutions for learning. I think that it is also important that we keep in mind tried-and-true best practices from the “olden days.” Ultimately, educators must help the students of today learn so that they can become the leaders of tomorrow.
CJB: Thanks, Adora, for the chance to interview you in the midst of your hectic schedule. Your comments should be helpful for online educators interested in the perspective of young learners as well as young teachers related to technology integration in education.
References
Bonk, C. J. 2009. The World is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Corr, K. 2009. Is Adora Svitak the cleverest child in the world? UK telegraph, January 14. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/primaryeducation/4241402/Is-Adora-Svitak-the-cleverest-child-in-the-world.html (accessed August 29, 2009).
Sadovi, C. 2009. 11-year-old prodigy wows high-schoolers: Girl has had 2 books published and gives seminars around the world. Chicago Tribune, February 4, http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/feb/04/business/chi-prodigy-04feb04 or http://tinyurl.com/dlr3yp (accessed August 29, 2009).
Sivtak, A. 2009. The school principal just friended me? Social networking in education. The Educators’ Royal Treatment. August 4, http://www.educatorsroyaltreatment.com/2009/08/power-to-the-student.html (accessed August 30, 2009).
Curtis J. Bonk is Professor of Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University. He has a popular blog called TravelinEdMan and is the author of The World Is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education, Empowering Online Learning: 100+ Ideas, for Reading, Reflecting, Displaying, and Doing, and The Handbook of Blended Learning: Global Perspectives, Local Designs.
=====================
How Does “The World’s Youngest Teacher” Use Web Technology?
An Interview with Adora Svitak
by Curtis J. Bonk, Professor, Indiana University, USA
20. CJB: Which place (or places) that you have traveled to impressed you the most about their use of technology to teach and learn? Please explain why.
AS: A few years ago, I went with my family to England, where I taught at the Burley School. I was very impressed by the fact that each student had a laptop, and was able to use it for school projects. I was able to conduct writing sessions very effectively when students were able to get their thoughts out onto a word processing document. I know that many children have difficultly writing quickly, and I think that giving students laptops is a very time-effective measure. Also, it prepares students for a future of which technology will be increasingly a part of.
21. CJB: I know you often read 2-3 books per day. But likely not ones like my book, The World is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education? What were 1-2 ideas that caught your attention when you were reading it?
AS: One idea in the World is Open that really caught my attention was the idea of alternate reality learning. We have all heard so much about technologies, such as Second Life, that offer alternate realities, but “education” is not the first word that comes to mind when I hear “alternate reality.” So this really opened up my mind to that possibility, as well as to the fact that some of the things we don’t automatically associate with education may be, in fact, very valuable in learning. Another idea I liked was the use, and the availability, of open-source software. I am used to using technologies that you have to pay for—Microsoft Office and Encarta Encyclopedia, for example—but as open-source software is becoming more common, schools have the choice to use open-source technologies like Google Docs, OpenOffice, Reference.com, or Wikipedia to address their schools’ needs.
22. CJB: How has the world become more open for learning during the years you have been a teacher? How is it different since you were 7 or 8?
AS: I think that definitely open-source technology has become more of a presence—companies like Google are churning out free software ripe for the taking. As a teacher, reaching out to the world has become easier to me through distance learning. When I was 7 or 8, physically traveling to schools to deliver workshops was the norm for me. Now, I use new technology to deliver my message. Students are connecting with classrooms through the internet, schools across the world are connecting with each other—the world has opened considerably since my “younger days.”
23. CJB: Do you think that the world of education is ready to be more open and online? What needs to happen to make parents, kids, teachers, politicians more aware of the benefits of learning online?
AS: We live and work in the 21st Century; it is time to learn in the 21st Century. Ample resources are available to create supportive learning environments. It is essential that leaders in education and government, parents, and families become aware of the need to use these resources. Leaders need to realize that schools must use technology to help students today become the leaders of a new and open world.
24. CJB: What do you think teaching with technology will be like in 5, 10 or 20 years or more?
AS: Considering the rapid speed at which technology has grown since I was 7 or 8, it is really difficult to predict what teaching with technology will become. I think that less influence will be placed on physical presence in the classroom and more influence on online learning. Also, I think that students learning at their own pace with the aid of technology will become the norm. Teachers may teach students who are more geographically diverse in their locations.
25. CJB: What has been your top or peak teaching experience in your life so far?
AS: Recently, I delivered a professional development session through Elluminate, an online conferencing tool, to hundreds of teachers and administrators around the world, from places as diverse as Brazil to the U.S., England, France, and Australia. This event showed me the great power technology puts in the hands of teachers as well as students—allowing the teacher to reach people across the globe, and allowing the student to connect with others outside of their own community to share learning practices and realize similar experiences.
26. CJB: Where can people go to watch some of your teaching episodes or read some of your work?
AS: People can go to my YouTube channel. You can also visit my TeacherTube channel; search Adora Svitak at www.teachertube.com. Also visit my website, www.adorasvitak.com.
27. CJB: What is it like being an author at such a young age? Are your books offered online? How might people find them?
AS: It is an incredible experience to have published books at a young age. It gives me another perspective that most of my peers do not have. My books are currently only in print form, but I am considering offering them as eBooks. They are available at my website, adorasvitak.com.
28. CJB: What are you currently working on in terms of books, projects, etc.?
AS: I have just released my third book, Yang in Disguise, a satirical coming-of-age fantasy adventure story, and I am working on composing and compiling poems for a second book of poetry.
29. CJB: When might you attend college? At what age? Will you go physically or attend virtually online or both? What might you major in?
AS: I am thinking that I will attend college in three to four years. Although my language arts and history skills are advanced, my science and math skills are still at or slightly above grade level. So it will take me perhaps a little longer than some would expect. I think that I would attend both physically and online. I would hope to double-major in literature and education.
30. CJB: Is there anything else I left out that an audience interested in the topic of online learning might want to learn from an 11 year old teacher? Or any final commends you would like to mention?
AS: I would say not to be afraid of the changing world of education and to wholeheartedly explore new, online solutions for learning. I think that it is also important that we keep in mind tried-and-true best practices from the “olden days.” Ultimately, educators must help the students of today learn so that they can become the leaders of tomorrow.
CJB: Thanks, Adora, for the chance to interview you in the midst of your hectic schedule. Your comments should be helpful for online educators interested in the perspective of young learners as well as young teachers related to technology integration in education.
References
Bonk, C. J. 2009. The World is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Corr, K. 2009. Is Adora Svitak the cleverest child in the world? UK telegraph, January 14. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/primaryeducation/4241402/Is-Adora-Svitak-the-cleverest-child-in-the-world.html (accessed August 29, 2009).
Sadovi, C. 2009. 11-year-old prodigy wows high-schoolers: Girl has had 2 books published and gives seminars around the world. Chicago Tribune, February 4, http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/feb/04/business/chi-prodigy-04feb04 or http://tinyurl.com/dlr3yp (accessed August 29, 2009).
Sivtak, A. 2009. The school principal just friended me? Social networking in education. The Educators’ Royal Treatment. August 4, http://www.educatorsroyaltreatment.com/2009/08/power-to-the-student.html (accessed August 30, 2009).
Curtis J. Bonk is Professor of Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University. He has a popular blog called TravelinEdMan and is the author of The World Is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education, Empowering Online Learning: 100+ Ideas, for Reading, Reflecting, Displaying, and Doing, and The Handbook of Blended Learning: Global Perspectives, Local Designs.
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