HGSET561

An interesting article on how resistant to change different types of organizations are. Educational institutions rank pretty highly resistant. Though it is interesting to note that businesses rank the most adaptive (non resistant)--so the education technology and startup trend may be a good sign!

Interesting. from where I am from (=Japan), business organizations with long history with the majority of employees committed until retirement age of 60 (slowly this is changing though), maybe NPO and even government (with so much shuffling going on) would rank higher...

The author makes a good point that heightened market competition seems to contribute to reduced resistance. I noticed that the more-resistant organizations operate in more highly regulated markets, which would seem to create internal cultures more oriented to compliance and, thus, resistance.

An infographic of common elements of a digital classroom: including eBooks, Book rental via Kindle, iPads, Open Source software, iTunesU, Digital cameras, projectors, and headphones.

Excellent talks

What 100 Experts Think About The Future Of Learning

relates to my T545 course this spring

Tapping into the Internet and using several iPads as video cameras, Sandel, the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government, connected his Harvard students in Sanders Theatre on Friday with students in Japan, China, Brazil, and India for a wide-ranging discussion that explored the complicated question of the ethics of solidarity and the dilemmas associated with patriotism, membership, and collective responsibility.

Although we read and hear a lot about smartphones and tablet PC lately, the majority of the cell phone users still have simpler phones (especially in emerging countries). Even those have SMS function. So..learning activities with these SMS still an interesting topic to me.

It seems to me that K12 Inc. is pretty shady. If you're interested in the darker side of for-profit online schools, check out this article published in the New York Times last year: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/education/online-schools-score-better-on-wall-street-than-in-classrooms.html?pagewanted=all

For the business-type folks in the class, McGraw-Hill just sold its Education division to a private equity company. They think that education will continue to be a good investment.

Yeah, I thought it was weird. I looked into that--I think the sale is to a different "Apollo" group. UPhoenix is something like "Apollo Group" whereas McGraw Hill sold their division to "Apollo Global Management". I think they are different entities, but it is hard to tell. If they are the same organization, it is definitely a weird sign of shifting investments.

Cole, you're absolutely right, I missed that Apollo Global Mgmt is a VC firm.

Webinar about out of school learning. Will also be archived by DML.

Article illustrates how adept kids are with technology and what they can take away from it even when informally introduced. The article discusses a mobile tech experiment in Ethiopia. Really interesting outcome!!!

Great article originally posted by Lindsey Dunn on the discussion boar, about what children can do with technology. Is this the major difference that needs to be made in OLPC in order for it to be successful?

This is mind-blowing, Jeff. It certainly speaks to the natural curiosity of children and the human capacity to learn, given resources and opportunities. Although I agree with the NETP about developing a strategic approach to tech implementation, I guess we should keep an open mind to the possibility that the technology can precede the strategy (and definitive research data) and still add value to a learning environment. After all, some inventions go on to serve unintended purposes that sometimes prove more useful than its original intended purpose. Who would have thought Ethiopian children could figure out how to hack tablets? Major props to them because I still have yet to figure it out. Thanks for sharing the article, Jeff.

Sugata Mitra would be proud!

All 8 courses are offered through Coursera

Today's reading about the OLPC project reminded me of Innovations in Poverty Action, a research organization dedicated to finding new, research-based methods for improving outcomes and equity. A very interesting approach.