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Refit or Revolution? Considering the Freshman Year core curriculum, is 'on-line' simply for purposes of data collection or is it promoting learning?

Refit or Revolution? Considering the Freshman Year core curriculum, is 'on-line' simply for purposes of data collection or is it promoting learning?

An article from The Economist about the impending technological revolution in education.

This article is interesting in light of Haste's article for class. Gladwell dismisses the "Twitter revolution" in Moldova and explains that real activism--real civic participation--is not seen in low-risk online networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. Perhaps new technology cannot empower individuals enough for real-life civic engagement?

I am not sure that online networks only form weak ties. I am somewhat surprised there was no mention of http://www.meetup.com/ and the soon to be released http://www.jumo.com/ as they both appear to consider themselves to be a means for social change. There is another point raised that we seem to have forgotten activism. This point, if true, may be a good explination as to why social media is not commonly used for social change.

Thanks for posting this Jessica! I've been thinking about this for sometime now and I don't think Gladwell is right in saying that Twitter and FB form weak ties just as the SM folklore claiming that twitter or FB is in the middle of real activism. Social media is a tool for organizing civic participation. Civic engagement is defined by how many participate and only later by the platform/tool they use. Couple of reactions to Gladwell's piece: http://rburnett.ecuad.ca/main/2010/10/1/the-anti-gladwell-small-change-indeed.html http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/tipping_point_author_malcolm_gladwell_says_facebook_twitter_cant_change_world.php

The author believe startups led by young students themselves rather than old brick-and-mortar colleges and universities that will be responsible for changing the way students learn.

A true next American revolution in education will not be a simple linear extension of our current system. It will involve a combination of lifelong learning and certification, a commitment to teaching students how to learn continually, an equally deep commitment to contextual training

I have found Zaid's blog postings to be very appealing visually (with good use of colors) and to the point (with higher signal to noise ratio). Here is an example of a "1, 2, 3" style posting on the important topic of Autism with Dr. Martha Hebert (a prominent Harvard Medical School researcher and clinician).

Berklee College of Music, often ahead of the curve in utilizing technology in music education is on board to offer four MOOC's through Coursera.

One of two articles in the NYTimes they just posted about MOOCs. This one talks about the revolution!

Notes the lighter weight, cheaper price and mathematical typesetting for Apple iBooks will provide an edge in K-12 Ed market

A TV/Web report on the digital revolution and how it's changing our lives, with video stories, interviews, and user-generated video on relationships, information overload, education, the military, parenting, brain development, and more.

experts forecast the future of ed tech

Great Schools Revolution

A timely article. Technology and internet made real difference in educating children.

A timely article in the Economist. It states that technology and internet made a difference in educating children.

An article on how current developments in giant search engines are revolutionizing the way we search the web?

"As technology speeds up and our children are raised more and more on video (like YouTube) and video games, they won't have the time or patience for reading, even on a fancy digital device. And they won't want to listen to others reading to them, either (see Audible). We're on a one way street to animation replacing text books."

"The world is ripe for another revolution - this time in education. Technology has advanced so much over the last two decades that we can virtually change the way we educate." - Vivek Wadwa, senior research associate at Harvard Law School and director of research at Duke University's Center for Entrepreneurship.

A new idea for text books: "Books are one of the defining inventions of the civilisation-and today they are poised for a revolution. Our aim is to create a new kind of book that makes use of emerging technology to redefine the book, reinvent publishing, and forever transform the act of reading."

"The personal essays, which first appeared in the Voices from the Learning Revolution group blog, include images, clickable links and videos - plus selected comments by readers of the original posts." You may have heard of Will Richardson or seen a TED talk of his. He is the co-founder of Powerful Learning Practice, an organization which does online and blended teacher development. As they launch Powerful Learning Press, they are giving away their first e-book.

"The revolution in education is not something that's going to happen tomorrow. It's starting to happen quite a while ago, when in Nigeria and Kenya kids in schools would use their mobile phones to subscribe to information," says Alina Vandenberghe, head of mobile and gaming at Pearson.

Programs and organizations like "UnCollege" and the "Thiel Fellowship" provide low-cost, low accreditation practical alternatives to college. Part of the changing landscape of higher education, perhaps one that reinforces the MOOC revolution. New York Times, "Saying No to College".