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A blog from MIT after their Scratch@MIT conference this year (only happens once every two years). It suggests that the use of Scratch encourages 4 different types of connections that the user can benefit from during his/her learning of creativity.

MIT just appointed a new Director of Digital Learning. I guess edX and the impact of educational technology at MIT has become official and institutionalized--and probably not just a fad.

Hats off to MIT. I think they will reap huge benefits from putting an accomplished leader in charge of this endeavor. Not only does this appointment communicate how much value they place on digital learning, but it will likely lead to the development of a coherent vision, comprehensive strategy, and stream-lined effort to push MIT forward in the edtech scene. I haven't seen this same kind of commitment to edtech from Harvard. As HBS professor and author Clay Christensen so eloquently wrote, "you can talk all you want about having a strategy...but ultimately, this means nothing if you do not align those [strategies] with where you actually expend your time, money, and energy. In other words, how you allocate your resources is where the rubber meets the road."

September 26, 2013: 6:00pm - 8:00pm A Fireside Chat with MIT and edX leaders, Sanjay Sarma, Director, Office of Digital Learning, MIT and Kathy Pugh, Vice President of Academics, edX Registration and refreshments: 6:00-6:30pm Program 6:30-8:00pm Moderated by Nish Sonwalkar, Editor-in-Chief, MOOC FORUM Journal The Educational Technology field is exploding with innovation, and in response the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge brings you a look at this field with two experts from MIT.

more free online courses from MIT. purchasable certificate for satisfactory completion. grading by fellow students, or computers? will this allow creative, open-ended work to be done for grading?

the access to online courses is great for those seeking affordable education options. My guess, however, is that design of these courses is going to vary -- the design needs to be held up to high standards for course content to be usable.

Check out nb a very cool, collaborative note taking tool developed by MIT's Haystack Group. Last night I got into a discussion with Sanjoy Mahajan, an Olin College professor who got his Phd at MIT.  We were talking about Eriz Mazur's Peer Instruction technique when he began describing how in his flipped-classroom courses he uses the MIT Haystack Group's "nb" software to enable his student's to collaboratively discuss the course readings (online in pdf form) through shared, online annotations & notes.   Sanjoy's students are required to participate in the online annotation discussion, making their own annotations and responding to others, the night before his class.  He then reviews the annotations to prepare the next day's discussion and peer-instruction lesson plan.

Gates-funded MIT massive game

My colleagues at the Ed Arcade are designing this game - if anyone's interested, I can get you supplemental information.

In line with this past week's lecture on AI and computers attempting to capture human-like learning. This work my MIT researchers is trying to replicate 'plasticity' in our learning - how our brain neurons adapt to new info, creating new connections.

MIT considering its future vis-a-vis edX: "An education from MIT may soon involve a freshman year spent completing online courses, two years on campus and a fourth "year" of continuous education. While students pursue their careers, they could access a growing library of online courses to refresh their knowledge."access a growing library of online courses to refresh their knowledge."

Boston area Landmark High School received a Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam grant, which seeks to foster innovation and focus on STEM fields. These students will work on creating a water desalination system for countries with low rainfall. This type of project has a lot of potential to develop 21st century skills and teach complex problem solving skills.

As edX emerges, MIT's new president reflects on the continued and evolving value of on-campus education.

The SPINNER project from the Responsive Environments Group at MIT Media Lab is the first research platform designed to investigate the world of ubiquitous video devices. The Spinner can automatically edit video to fit a narrative structure. It uses video from cameras installed at the Media Lab and sensor data from people generated by wearable smart badges to track their activity and location. The system then creates a video using the characteristics detected from the sensor data with the video captured by the cameras.

Since this is 2004, I don't know if it counts as emerging. However I like the discussion of factors with make it easier for children to anthropomorphize, and therefore relate better with, artificial intelligence

Scott Young, a recent university graduate, writer, programmer, traveler and avid reader of interesting things, decided to finish MIT's entire 4-year computer science program within 12 months with MIT OpenCourseWare.

The MIT Technology Review just interviewed Khan and talked about his vision for the future, sustainability, and business models.

Using technology developed at MIT to measure emotion and stress in children with Autism and in the general population.

LuminAR is another project out of the Fluid Interfaces Group at the MIT Media Lab that combines a camera, projector, and computer into the currently available infrastructure of lamps and sockets to augment reality with additional information.

There was a great forum on the future of technology in the classroom at the MIT Media Lab today. For those who couldn't make it, the video should be posted on this site soon and will also air on NBC on Sunday, September 23. I found it to be a nice blend of policy and practice-focused discussion, and despite weak moderation, I think it's worth the time to watch!

http://www.ted.com 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.

Hi there Hongge, thanks for sharing this amazing video. He's managed to bridge certain key technologies and made them more intuitive for the daily user. It's great that he's made it open-source too! Maybe we could pay a visit to MIT to check it out? I wonder though, whether such a device would in the future not only project thoughts and programs but also capture user data and begin to 'suggest' or advertise certain things to you. Scary but the potential is enormous. Again, thanks!

Thanks, Matthew. That video was actually filmed three years ago (yes, even before iPhone 4) and I wonder if Pranav is still at MIT Media Lab. Maybe Karen knows more about him and could make an introduction for us? Machine learning and personalizing content for us is already happening. Personally, I like the idea of personalized content simply because nowadays we can be so easily info-overloaded. It is quite normal for CEOs and political leaders to digest pre-screened/selected info by their secretaries and/or advisers, right? And Google has been doing this for advertising to consumers. I don't mind the right ads appear at the right time when I need the product or service. What really strikes me about Pranav's idea is that it reminds me about the movie Inception, where you can transplant an idea into someone's mind and the distinction between reality and the virtual world is so blurry.

UC Berkeley joins Harvard and MIT edX.