The Integrated Learning Manifesto

The Integrated Learning Manifesto
By Chris Frederick Willis, CEO, Media 1
http://trainingmag.com/article/integrated-learning-manifesto

Five heart-stirring, butt-kicking nuggets from Seth Godi

From a Dan Pink post 3/1/2011. 

Over the weekend, I had a chance to read Seth Godin's new book, Poke the Box. It's really good. If you haven't gotten your copy yet (the book comes out today), here are 5 of the most thought-provoking, action-inducting quotations from it:

1. "Imagine that the world had no middlemen, no publishers, no bosses, no HR folks, no one telling you what you could do. If you lived in that world, what would you do? Go. Do that."

2. "The relentless brainwashing of our fading industrial economy has created an expensive misunderstanding.  Creative people or those with something to say believe they have to wait to be chosen . . . Reject the tyranny of picked.  Pick yourself."

3. "Why isn't every restaurant meal a fabulous buy for the money? Why isn't every tax dollar spent with the intensity and focus it could be spent with? It seems as though we're willing to accept mediocre as long as the product, the service, or the organization isn't totally broken."

4. "Please stop waiting for a map. We reward those who draw maps, not those who follow them."

5. "The market is obsessed with novelty. So go make some. We're tired of your old stuff."

More info: http://www.sethgodin.com

The Magic of 150

How to keep a social network, work group or project personal, horizontal and efficient, think 150 people.  See Dunbar R.I.M Dunbar, "Neocortex size as a constraint on group size in primates," Journal of Human Evolution (1992), vol. 20, pp. 469-49. http://www.commonsenseadvice.com/human_cortex_dunbar.html

In Florida, Virtual Classrooms With No Teachers

In a January 17, 2011 New York Times article In Florida, Virtual Classrooms With No Teachers  by Laura Herrera a work colleague after reading the article said "there is always the wrong way to implement change- fast and cheap."

What will drive online education?

This particular article points to how social/state policy "class-reduction amendment, high school classrooms cannot surpass a 25-student limit in core subjects" drives "e-learning lab with 35 to 40 other students" because these virtual labs did not fall under the state classroom student number limits. In essence, online education, in this snapshot, is driven by social policy, economic and to cover failure in the face-to-face classroom and is not necessarily driven by "quality" educational aspirations, objectives or standards. Of course any educational system must negotiate with a variety of social pressures that may or may not be aligned to the educational mission of a particular teacher, institution or governing standard.

It seems the current state of un-clarity or existent (or unrealistic) projections about what online education can be used to accomplish allows for poor online instructional design. One operative myth is how technology (the tool itself) can solve the educational problem vs. the instructor who welds the tool and the thinking/adoptive instructional design decisions that are paramount. There is still little K-12 research. See U.S. Department of Education Study Finds that Good Teaching can be Enhanced with New Technology which  emphasized "good teaching" with the incorporation of technology: "At the same time, good teachers can utilize new technology to accelerate learning and provide extended learning opportunities for students.” It is precisely this relationship between teaching and technology that is in need of further exploration.  

In many instances around the county and world, online education appears to be driven more from reactive conditions (and less proactive ones) to try and plug holes in a sinking ship vs. building a sleek catamaran that can reach this century's horizons.  I suppose one can argue reactive educational policy does not discriminate between face-to-face and online education.

Ken Robinson - Changing Education Paradigms

Ken Robinson on changing education paradigms with animation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U&feature=player_embedded


This RSA Animate taken from a speech given at the RSA Ken Robinson: http://www.thersa.org/events/vision/archive/sir-ken-robinson

Dan Pink on Motivation with Visual Animation

Dan Pink on motivation with a visual synthesis: http://www.cognitivemedia.co.uk/wp/?m=201007
Sponsored by RSAnimate / the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts (RSA) http://www.thersa.org/

Who's the Happiest?

SuperScholar.org in a feature titled The 10 Happiest and 10 Unhappiest Professions came to the conclusion: "So from what we have seen, it is not money or promotion that create happiness in the workplace, but rather control over one’s own workspace and recognition of the nature and value of one’s work." This outcome has important ramifications across a spectrum of fields, from how education is structured to management approaches in the workplace.  How to empower another person in having control over their learning or job responsibilities and receiving natural value from the work accomplished?