Browsing articles tagged with " learning2.0"

How did Kaplan beat us to it? Or, Who’s getting rich off education?

Jan 16, 2009   //   by Ben Wilkoff   //   Uncategorized  //  2 Comments
mckinley public school
Image by Firesign via Flickr

So, I was just watching some TV with my 6 month old son while my wife catches a nap, and I saw this ad for Kaplan:

I have to say, except for the fact that Kaplan is basically saying that they have a monopoly on these ideas, I really like the ad. Unfortunately, I’m not totally sure why a for-profit university beat the public school system to the punch. I’m not totally sure why we can’t run ads like this on television or the radio. Why is it that we cannot raise money to change education and then put these ideas out there without a brand associated with them. Why is it that these proposals are being co-opted faster in ad agencies and places like Kaplan then in school districts.

I can just see people using this video in their PD sessions and saying, “We should do this.” Yet, without a support system, they are going to turn to a one-stop-shop solution like a for-profit entity. I can’t help but feeling like this is already happening.

I remember a really great moment in a Podcast not to long ago (I think it was Kevin Honeycutt’s Driving Questions, but I’m not sure) when an interviewee said that the question he is always asking himself is, “Who is getting rich on education? If it isn’t the students, the teachers, or the public, then it isn’t worth paying for.” If the learners aren’t benefiting from the forward thinking of all institutions, then we need to seriously ante up again. So, if there is anyone who has a few thousand bucks lying around, I think it would totally be worth it to invest in some advertising time. But, instead of having the Kaplan tag line at the end, let’s have a link to a network of teachers that are actively pursuing change.

I do still have to give Kaplan credit, though. This is a great ad, and it is the kind of message that most people aren’t being exposed to. I just wish we would have done it first.

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Cross-Posting Driving Questions with Kevin Honeycutt

Dec 14, 2008   //   by Ben Wilkoff   //   Uncategorized  //  No Comments
Driving Questions with Kevin Honeycutt [ 53:26 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (303)
Conversation Documentation
Image by vaXzine via Flickr

As I promised, the audio to my conversation with Kevin Honeycutt primarily about my upcoming Educon 2.1 Presentation is now in the podcast.

I basically used this conversation as a way of fleshing out some of my thoughts on Instant and Always-on Collaboration. I really like what we talked about in terms of using Tags and Feeds differently. I think that there are many more thoughts on these ideas to come, but suffice it to say, I was thinking about them all wrong.

Kevin is quite the captive audience, seeing as how he asked me to come on his podcast. However, I would love some pushback on the ideas, so if you get a chance to listen or watch his video version, please do challenge me on some stuff.

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Learning 2.0: A Colorado Conversation (2009 Edition)

Dec 13, 2008   //   by Ben Wilkoff   //   Uncategorized  //  No Comments

Well, we did it earlier this year and most folks asked us to put on a 2009 edition, so we’re doing it again.

You are invited to attend the Learning 2.0: A Colorado Conversation Conference (2009 Edition).

What is Learning 2.0: A Colorado Conversation?
Learning 2.0: A Colorado Conversation is a one day conference/meetup for teachers, administrators, students, school board members, parents and anyone who is interested in education. It will be held on Saturday, February 21st, 2009, from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm at Heritage High School in Littleon, Colorado, USA (different location than last year – here’s a map). We assume most folks will be from Colorado, but everyone is welcome to attend, and we are working on some ideas for virtual participation.

Learning is conversation.

Conversation creates change.

The future of education does not exist in the isolated world of theory and abstract conference sessions. Instead, it exists in conversations. It exists in creating a robust learning network that is ever-expanding and just-in-time. Learning 2.0 is not the beginning of this conversation. It is merely a stopping point, a time to talk about the visible difference that we all seek.

We read. We reflect. We write. We share. We learn. Come join us for a day of conversation about learning and technology.

You can learn much more about the conference on the wiki, including information about registering. Here are some highlights:

Tentative Schedule
We’re still working on the details so this will be updated before the conference. Also, this may expand if we have more folks register than we are anticipating. (To quote Bud Hunt, “This conference stuff is hard!”). We also need folks to submit proposals to faciliate conversations.

Registration
You must register so that we know how many folks to expect and so that we can have enough lunches available. (Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch?)

Cost
Free, baby. And lunch is included, thanks to the generous support of Littleton Public Schools and St. Vrain Valley Public Schools.

Wireless
BYOL (that would be Bring Your Own Laptop) – we’ll have wireless access to the Internet (filtered) – we may test our capacity to handle density of machines, but hopefully things will go swimmingly. If not, we have wired machines in various places you can access.

Questions for Students
We’re having a student panel discussion during lunch. Here’s your chance to submit some questions for them to consider.

Invite Others
We strongly encourage you to invite other folks from your school, district, neighborhood, or learning network to attend as well. It would be great if everyone could bring at least one person with them that is perhaps new to this conversation.

Call for Conversations
Hey, did you miss it above? We need folks to submit proposals to facilitate these conversations. This doesn’t happen without you.

Questions?
Feel free to leave a comment on this post or on the FAQ page on the wiki.

Promote Learning 2.0
Did we mention that you should tell others? Blog about this. Link to the wiki or this blog post. Download a flyer (pdf) and print it out.Or use this nifty image.

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