Well I am sure there are others out there but this looks like the beginning of the digital textbook age and one that is open source. Just think of the days of wiki-textbooks. Where students and historians alike will be able to keep our textbooks upto date. Hmmm..the possibilities.
Chris Lehmann talks at Ignite Philly 2 about the need for schools to change to embrace technology, and encourage learning.
“Teachers need to be PEDAGOGICAL EXPERTS much more than they need to be content experts today. Teachers need to be coaches, facilitators, and cheerleaders for students who engage in REAL work as they learn and create knowledge work “deliverables” for prescribed deadlines.” -Wesley Fryer
http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2007/04/05/good-teaching-with-technology-does-make-a-difference/
If you have not already done so, take a look at the latest video by Thomas Friedman found on iTunes. Go to the iTunes store do a search for MIT, it will be the first video in the list. In his speech he talks a lot about how imagination and creative thinking will be the keys to our economic survival in the 21st century. Sir Ken Robinson in this video entitled “Do schools kill creativity?” makes the case that our school are not helping but hurting the educational process of the 21st Century Student.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
From TED
Eva Vertes — only 19 when she gave this talk — discusses her journey toward studying medicine and her drive to understand the roots of cancer and Alzheimer’s.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/eva_vertes_looks_to_the_future_of_medicine.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-cows26-2008aug26,0,3764260.story
Cows that are grazing or resting tend to orient themselves in a North – South direction. Scholars at the University of Duisburg Essen spent time studying Google Earth and noticed that two out of every three animals standing in fields were pointing towards magnetic north.
“don’t focus on the tools and the direct application of the tools. Focus on what the tools allow us to do better and then find a way to implement that functionality in an organization. Should all grade 3 students have a blog on blogspot? Or videos on youtube? No. But all students in grade 3 should be communicating with others (preferably from around the world), expressing themselves in creative ways, co-creating with peers, and interacting with media and technology. Don’t let the tools be used as a scapegoat for inertia.” – George Siemens
Wow, i find this really exciting.
“George Orwell’s diaries as a blog. From 9th August 2008, Orwell’s domestic and political diaries (from 9th August 1938 until October 1942) will be posted in real-time, exactly 70 years after the entries were written.
Orwell’s ‘domestic’ diaries begin on 9th August 1938/2008; his ‘political’ diaries (which are further categorised as ‘Morocco’, ‘Pre-war’ and ‘Wartime’) begin on 7th September 1938/2008.”
http://orwelldiaries.wordpress.com/
Talk about engaging students.
