Wired for Community and Learning?

Okay, when I saw this... it started to make me understand why I've been so captivated by my use of online games and the increasing popularity of social networking sites. The internet, online games (MMOs) and many of the Web tools of today employ techniques that make many of our invisible concepts visible, allow us to actively participate in a solution or event and become engaged in a community that is sustainable and meaningful in our lives. Reflecting on my years as an active gamer and my current participation on Facebook, Twitter and Google Apps (The Trinity of Community), it's all starting to make sense. We are drawn to particular sites and activities because they appeal to our internal wiring, which requires that we make ideas clear, interactive and persistent. So I started to think:

• What if we can make learning this way?
  
• Would this knowledge and application of research make kids better learners?
  
• If Albert Einstein were engaged in the classroom because of this technology, would he have come up with his insights any faster?
  
• Or is it an example of how we are creating tools for our kids that are reducing them to Pre-Gutenberg monks chanting in a circle while other look on? (Which is a great Stager-ism)
  

Let me know what you think.

The invisible shift to learning.

Check out this video. Regardless of discipline, there are some very striking numbers about how students learn. The implications to the information are startling and highlights the importance of innovators in the field of education. How can we meet this invisible shift in learning?

Tools for the future

Another really great video from TED of tools (like cell phones and Web 2.0) that are available now. Since it was filmed in 2006, it makes no mention of some of today's more pressing issues... but the concepts and ideas are still valid. An interesting watch, listed below are some of the sites mentioned in the video...

http://worldchanging.com/
http://www.plos.org/
http://witness.org/