"Well," said the President, considering, "it's an interesting parlor game, but what is the use of it?" "What is the use of a newborn baby, Mr. President? At the moment there is not use, but don't you see that this points the way toward liberation from the machine? Consider, Mr. President," the congressman rose and his deep voice automatically took on some of the cadences he used in public debate, "that the Denebian war is a war of computer against computer. Their computers forge an impenetrable shield of counter-missiles against our missiles, and ours forge one against theirs. If we advance the efficiency of our computers, so do they theirs, and for five years a precarious balance has existed.

"Yes. Well, Dr. Shuman tells me that in theory there is nothing the computer can do that the human mind cannot do. The computer merely takes a finite amount of data and performs a finite number of operations upon them. Then human mind can duplicate the process."

"Well, Mr. President, I asked the same question. It seems that at one time computers were designed directly by human beings. Those were simple computers, of course, this being before the time of the rational use of computers to design more advanced computers had been established.

The European Union declared 2009 as the Year of Creativity, and Chinese faculty actually laughed when they found out the U.S. education trends were in "standardized curriculum, rote memorization, and nationalized testing."

here are approximately 170 occupational classifications that make up "New Work," which can be grouped into five major categories based on the types of knowledge, skills, and aptitudes needed. They are Creative, Education, Social, Technical, and Strategic

Ideal job candidates at these companies must now show they can "think with their hands" by having expertise or a second major in a musical instrument, auto repair, or sculpture

But why do I need a computer for that?

most educational games deal a lot in the “Who?, What?, When?, and Where?” while the questions I hear from young kids are more of the “How?” and “Why?” variety

The fundamental problem is not that learning isn’t fun, it’s that we’re answering questions that kids aren’t asking (Who?, What?, When?, Where?) instead of giving them tools to experiment, build on, and share their own ideas

There are certain jobs where almost nothing you can learn about candidates before they start predicts how they’ll do once they’re hired. So how do we know whom to choose in cases like that? In recent years, a number of fields have begun to wrestle with this problem, but none with such profound social consequences as the profession of teaching.

If you were to walk around our classes, you’d see students using Google Docs to share documents, to peer edit their papers. You’d walk into a science classroom and they may be using a Wiki space so that they can their data that they’re getting from an experiment

Now we’ve had students that have been collaborating on projects with students in Taiwan, China, and we have an Italian class that holds class very early in the morning every Friday morning with a school in Italy

Basically, in every class, we’re using laptops to take notes on Microsoft Word

February 2011 | Volume 53 | Number 2 Make Parents Your Partners    Can Mobile Devices Transform Education? Rick Allen The popularity of smartphones, including Droids, iPhones, and BlackBerries, that now have GPS, texting, voice, and multimedia capabilities has prompted industry and education reformers to shine the light on these mobile devices as vehicles suitable for transforming K–12 learning for the 21st century. Although they present challenges as well as potential benefits, education experts reason that these powerful small computers motivate students; provide constant access to the wealth of knowledge, tools, and experts on the web; and are cheaper and more plentiful than laptops or desktop workstations. "A big c

"cognitive audit trail"

Students also said they used their wireless devices to look up information on the Internet and consult with other students to share tips for solving problems or clarify their understanding of concepts with the teacher.

Go up to any adult with a good life, no matter what his or her station, and ask if a teacher made a difference, and you’ll always see a face light up. The human element, a magical connection, is at the heart of successful education, and you can’t bottle it.

My father would have been spat out by today’s test-driven educational regime.

Probe one of those illuminated faces further, and you can also usually elicit memories of a particularly bad teacher.

What employees valued most were even-keeled bosses who made time for one-on-one meetings, who helped people puzzle through problems by asking questions, not dictating answers, and who took an interest in employees’ lives and careers.

A serious question. How much of an accomplishment is it to be a part of these programs? How much better was I than the next biology teacher just because I wrote a more creative lesson plan? They didn’t see me teach. They didn’t ask my kids about me. They didn’t look at a portfolio of accumulated work over many years, they looked at a single lesson plan. Yet I was an Access Excellence Fellow-something to be proud of, but something to examine critically, and take it for what it was worth.

Ultimately, a career, and a lifetime in the service of others will not be measured by an accumulation of badges, but by those that you have served over those years, and their accomplishments.