Blurts

Showtime has a new series focused on climate change – Years of Living Dangerously. Despite the position of the anti-science nay-sayers, this is an important issues. Like misrepresenting the Affordable Care Act as Obamacare, climate change has sometimes been called global warming allowing simplistic talking heads to mislead uninformed listeners whenever a blizzard sweeps through. The series web site (see link) offers teachers suggestions for classroom use.

There seem to be a growing number of literacies. I guess it depends on how specifically you think the label should be applied. This site developed by Mozilla offers tutorials intended to develop your understanding of web site development. Clearly, anyone can now generate content available online without knowing much about html, css, etc. However, perhaps if you are an advocate of the Program or be Programmed perspective, you could use these resources to develop a very thorough understanding of what goes on to get content to you. I do not intend to make light of this knowledge – there is something quite satisfying in creating from scratch.

This Education Dive article identifies the 10 billionaires putting the most money into education and some comments on where it is going. What you will likely conclude is that most mix goals you support and others you oppose. Such is the challenge of gift horses.

Evidently some feel that there is an opportunity to “disrupt” the educational content industry (formerly known as textbook publishing). Books cost a lot and some students find reading books a struggle. Various entrepreneurs recognize this as an opportunity, but now feel frustrated that their brilliance has allowed them to make little head way. Perhaps educational institutions fail to grasp the advances they offer and the institutions must be circumvented if “progress” is to be made. [my quick summary of what companies attempt to disrupt education have concluded based on Matt Greenfield post in Disrupt Education).

One thing that I fail to grasp (me talking now) in the outsider view of educational activity is just how those who are frustrated understand learning to happen. There seems to be an assumption that the “things” that offer information or the “processes” that encourage interaction with these things are somehow flawed. Perhaps so, but a clear description of just where things break down is lacking. If the solution was simple educational researchers would have offered solutions long ago. Why would those with a motive to start a business have insights that those who spend their careers analyzing teaching and learning do not?

Perhaps a more productive model would require evidence before expecting sales.