I need my teacher to learn. Teaching 3.0

A few months ago I posted a little graph depicting smartphone usage by students and was shocked to see that almost 20% of K - 2nd grade students owned a smartphone and smartphones in the upper grades are almost ubiquitous. Students are more connected than ever and have become so accustomed to using technology in their daily lives to stay connected and to get things done that it is placing a lot of pressure on educators to reevaluate their teaching methods. Smartphones also blur the distinction between a traditional cellphone - the use of which is prohibited in many schools - and an internet device - the use of which is often allowed in class. This short music video eloquently and entertainingly engages that issue. Enjoy...

Bill Gates' Project Tuva and Richard Feynman

There is no one I admire more or have studied more thoroughly than the late Richard Feynman. His Lectures on Physics and The Pleasure of Finding Things Out sit prominently on my office bookshelf.

It has only been recently that I have discovered Bill Gates' passion for the man and his work. Feynman, known for a quirky sense of humor and eccentric and wide ranging interests had a way of making science both practical and understandable (usually!). His lectures are engaging, fascinating and downright fun!

"You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird. So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing - that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something."

Thanks to Microsoft Research and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, Feynman's acclaimed "Messenger" lectures given at Cornell University in 1964 are available using Microsoft's Silverlight technology and feature complete transcripts, commentary and interactive annotation.

Feynman was that professor you remember from school that changed your life. Do yourself a solid; install Silverlight (if you haven't - and yes it is available for Macs) and go take a look.

2tor lands $10 million in VC to increase university market

Launched earlier this year, 2tor partners with universities to build, administer, and market online degree programs. Having just closed $10 million in Series A financing from Redpoint Ventures, Novak Biddle Venture Partners and City Light Capital, the company says it will use the funding to increase resources dedicated to student recruitment efforts and marketing. Currently, 2tor has partnered with the University of Southern California’s School of Education to launch MAT@USC, a graduate teaching program delivered online.

Who is watching your space?

This video is taken from an OCLC conference looking at the impact of the digital, the public and the private, and the way that information is organised online. It insists that libraries make a stand, and take the lead in this era of new paradigms for information discovery and retrieval.