A professor of logic and metaphysics suggests that IPods, BlackBerrys, and laptops can be seen as extensions of our minds -- "bio-external elements in an extended cognitive process."

Concord Consortium is mentioned in #1, 4 and 5: 1. Better Simulations and Models 2. Global Learning 3. Virtual Manipulatives 4. Probes and Sensors 5. More Efficient Assessment 6. Storytelling and Multimedia 7. E-books 8. Epistemic Games

Timely article about ideas of ownership and authorship and collaboration on wikipedia. Mentions that you can type "WP: OWN" into Wikipedia to read its policy about "ownership" of articles. "The page is fascinating for anyone who has ever been part of a collaborative effort to create anything."

An animated presentation of Sir Ken Robinson's views on education, esp. its effects on creativity and innovation. It's 11+ minutes, but I found it went quickly.

A mostly negative take on the growth of online learning in higher ed.

Another fun RSA Animate video -- this one about Steven Johnson's "Where Good Idea From." Possible relevance for thinking not only about tech's role for students, but also how collaboration enabled by technology can yield big -- possibly disruptive? -- ideas among innovators in education.

This relates to today's class discussion about search: a model based not on popularity or paid placement, but on Wikipedia-style editing by users.

A look at the way games deal with motivation, and lessons for business, education and government. I'd be curious to know how many non-game enthusiasts would be convinced.

Article in Neuron on counterintuitive outcomes of studies on technology and childhood development (referenced by Johan Lehrer)

Jonah Lehrer on surprising effects of tech on cognition

Three out of five of the winners of Google's "10 to the 100" contest ($2 million each) are education-oriented.

Why is overhearing a "half-alogue" more annoying than overhearing a dialog? Study shows that it's not a question of volume: hearing a half-alogue causes the brain to work harder to make sense of it, hurting our performance other cognitive tasks. Could this phenomenon be exploited in a positive way in a learning environment? (e.g. make use of the brain's natural tendency to work on filling gaps?)

About 16 mins in to this mostly political conversation about economic pressures and the political changes expected this fall, Matt Miller calls out higher education as a place likely to see major disruption in coming years, saying that like the medical establishment, it's a sector "where the costs of delivering services are much higher in the US than anywhere else in the world, [which has] been able...essentially through interest group politics...to keep the income flowing to their sector at the expense of the average consumer... You've got all these new...small firms...that will deliver, like, freshman year for a thousand dollars...and they're being blocked by the...status quo establishment that likes to keep the cost of higher education at 15, 20, 35 thousand dollars a year. If you've got this kind of economic pressure across the board, I think it's only a matter of time before the boom really falls on these sectors."

A mother from New York who raised young children in China argues that the high-pressure testing that made them "feel bad" about themselves at the time was a good thing in the long run.

"Motivation is weak because more students don't like school, don't work hard and don't do well." Also see Tom Friedman in the NYTimes referring to this article and concluding that "right now the Hindus and Confucians have more Protestant ethics than we do, and as long as that is the case we'll be No. 11!"

Milton Chen and Tina Barseghian interviewed on KQED's Forum (San Francisco public radio) about using technology and media in the classroom.

Summary: In a shift, professors from prominent colleges (including Harvard) are actually *encouraging* students to use Wikipedia.

$330 million given to 44 states to design new computer-based assessments that will "measure higher-order skills...including students' ability to read complex texts, synthesize information and do research projects."