Monday, June 9, 2008

Turn Learning Upside Down

Hi folks.... catching up on some things, so a few things will hit this blog today.

Cheers!   /jeff

----------------------------

47.02 Turning Learning Right Side Up: Putting Education Back on Track by Russell Ackoff and Daniel Greenberg

Wednesday, June 04, 2008, 3:08:32 PM | Change ThisClick here  to visit the site.
Click
here  to download the PDF.

"Education should be a lifelong enterprise, a process enhanced by an environment that supports to the greatest extent possible the attempt of people to 'find themselves' throughout their lives.

For too long, we have educated people for a world that no longer exists, extinguishing their creativity and instilling values antithetical to those of a free, 21st century democracy. The principal objective of education as currently provided is to ensure the maintenance and preservation of the status quo--to produce members of society who will not want to challenge any fundamental aspects of the way things are. Traditional education focuses on teaching, not learning. It incorrectly assumes that for every ounce of teaching, there is an ounce of learning by those who are taught. Being taught is, to a very large extent, boring and much of its content is seen as irrelevant. It is the teacher, not the student, who learns most in a traditional classroom."

 

Open Source Education

Hi all:

this is worth a few minutes of your time (IMO). Interesting video.


jeff
----------

Rice University professor Richard Baraniuk has a giant vision: to create a free global online education system that puts the power of creation and collaboration in the hands of teachers worldwide. He's realizing that vision with Connexions , a website that allows teachers to quickly "create, rip, mix and burn" coursework -- without fear of copyright violations. Think of it as Napster for education.

Connexions' open-source system cuts out the textbook, allowing teachers to share course materials, modify existing work and disseminate it to their students -- all for free, thanks to Creative Commons licensing. Baraniuk envisions Connexions as a repository where the most up-to-date material can be shared and reviewed (it's far more efficient than waiting for a textbook to be printed); it could become a powerful force in leveling the education playing field. Currently encompassing hundreds of online courses and used by a million people worldwide, Baraniuk's virtual educational system is revolutionizing the way people teach and learn.

"[Connexions] is trying to reshape the way academe uses both peer review and publishing. The project also has hopes of becoming a major curricular tool at community colleges."

Inside Higher Ed

-----------------------------------


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jeff Miller, Ph.D.
Innovative Leadership Solutions, Inc.

- Vist the "ShareAndLearn" blog at:
http://jeffsshareandlearn.blogspot.com
- See the ShareAndLearn e-archive at:
http://lists.topica.com/lists/shareandlearn/read


"Change happens from the outside in but transformation happens from the inside out.” - Dan Burrus

.