Lifelong Learning 2.0

Live conversations about the impact of the Internet on society and culture can be found at Conversations.net, brainchild of Steve Hargadon.  It amazes me how many great ideas can be brought to life by just one person. If you’re not familiar with just how much he has accomplished so far, check out Steve’s bio.

Somehow, I missed the opening of Conversations.net, which was created on July 13th, then kicked off the next day with the first interview.  I wondered, “How I could have missed this?”  Answer: 1. Life has been crazy since returning from NECC. 2. I was at the Coldplay concert that day. 3. I have been avoiding my Google Reader out of guilt of not being able to catch up. (More of this in a separate post.)

I’m letting you know about Conversations.net in case you missed it too.  I’ve listened to several interviews on Elluminate.  Using the Elluminate platform allows people to participate in the discussion, dialogue with other participants in chat window, ask questions by taking the microphone, view presentations, take polls, and meet great people.  It is a wonderful way to nurture lifelong learning and add to your PLN.

The first conversation was an interview with Douglas Rushkoff, author of Life, Inc. How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take it Back. As taken from Steve’s blog,

“Winner of the first Neil Postman award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity, Douglas Rushkoff is an author, teacher, and documentarian who focuses on the ways people, cultures, and institutions create, share, and influence each other’s values. He teaches media studies at the New School University, serves as technology columnist for The Daily Beast, and lectures around the world.”

Rushkoff was on the Colbert show the day after being interviewed on Conversations.net.  You can read more about him on:

Douglas Rushkoff’s website

Steve Hargadon’s blog

Conversations.net

Next in the interview series will be a conversation with Clay Shirky. I’m looking forward to catching that interview!  Keep track of future conversations from the Conversations.net site and the Google Calendar posted at the top of the ning.  Did I mention that it is a Ning? Join the free network to participate in extended conversations.  More Interviews can be found on one of Steve’s other nings, The Future of Education.  You can also follow these on Twitter: futureofed and convnet.

I know it is Tuesday.  But this couldn’t wait. I wanted to tell you about two great online events coming up on Wednesday, June 17th. If you aren’t able to make it, check out the recordings.

I just have a few minutes to post, so I will copy the details directly from Steve Hargadon’s email:

At 8am Pacific / 11am Eastern I’ll be interviewing Rachel Dretzin, the producer and director of PBS FRONTINE’s “Digital Nation” project, who will give us a tour of the project and talk specifically about what the educational community can do to be a part of it. Among other projects, Rachel was also the producer of “Growing Up Online,” a Frontline show that became a touchstone for many of us. Rachel has asked for *lots* of audience participation and feedback in this event, so please join us if your schedule allows! Event link: http://www.futureofeducation.com/forum/topics/frontlines-digital-nation

Then, at 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern, I’m hosting an amazing panel on the future of books and reading, prompted by recent stories in the Wall Street Journal and Wired Magazine. Join us as we talk about the changing roles of author and reader in a social media world, and where everyone can “contribute to the conversation.” Panelists: Will Richardson, Bob Burg, Travis Alber, Aaron Miller, and Maggie Tsai. Event link: http://www.futureofeducation.com/forum/topics/panel-discussion-on-the-future

Click on the above links for more information. The Elluminate room (http://tinyurl.com/futureofed) for each session will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support.

Click here and here for more information from Steve.

Happy summer, everyone!

Another great interview from last week!

Thursday, May 7th, at 5:00pm Pacific / 8:00pm Eastern / 12am GMT: Michael Horn, co-author of Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns, and the co-founder and Executive Director (Education) of Innosight Institute, a non-profit think tank devoted to applying the theories of disruptive innovation to problems in the social sector. We’ll discuss his book, Web 2.0, and more.

Michael B. Horn is the co-founder and Executive Director, Education of Innosight Institute, a non-profit think tank devoted to applying the theories of disruptive innovation to problems in the social sector. He is the coauthor of Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns (McGraw-Hill: June 2008) with Harvard Business School Professor and bestselling author Clayton M. Christensen and Curtis W. Johnson, president of the Citistates Group. Strategy + Business named the book the best human capital book of 2008.

Disrupting Class uses the theories of disruptive innovation to identify the root causes of schools’ struggles and suggests a path forward to customize an education for every child in the way she learns. Horn has been featured as a speaker at many education conferences, including the National Evaluation Systems’ conference and the Grantmakers for Education conference.

Prior to this, Horn worked at America Online during its aol.com re-launch, and before that he served as David Gergen’s research assistant, where he tracked and wrote about politics and public policy. Horn has written articles for numerous publications, including Education Week, Forbes, the Boston Globe, and U.S. News & World Report. In addition, he has contributed research for Charles Ellis’ book, Joe Wilson and the Creation of Xerox (Wiley, 2006) and Barbara Kellerman’s Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters (Harvard Business School Press, 2004).  Horn earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and an AB from Yale University, where he graduated with distinction in History.  Taken from Steve at Future of Education.

Date: Thursday, May 7th, 2009

Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern

CHECK OUT THE RECORDED SESSION BELOW:

RECORDINGS:
Full Elluminate Recording: https://sas.elluminate.com/p.jnlp?psid=2009-05-07.1705.M.09DE040BCD…
Audio (.mp3): http://audio.edtechlive.com/foe/michaelhorn5-7-09.mp3
Chat (.rtf): http://audio.edtechlive.com/foe/michaelhorn5-7-09.rtf (Open in word processing program.)

Event Description:
Don Tapscott, the author or co-author of 13 widely read books, including Wikinomics, discusses with Steve, the future of education, Grown Up Digital (his latest book), and the Net Gen Education Project. Log-in and other details at http://www.futureofeducation.com/forum/topics/don-tapscott-talks-about

Date: Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am GMT (next day) (international times here)
Organized By: Steve Hargadon
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?sid=2008350&password=M.B00667
The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early.

If you missed the interview, here are the recordings:

RECORDINGS:
Full Elluminate Recording:
Audio (.mp3): http://audio.edtechlive.com/foe/tapscott5-6-09.mp3
Chat (.rft): http://audio.edtechlive.com/foe/tapscott5-6-09.rtf (open in word processor)
Portable Video: http://audio.edtechlive.com/foe/tapscott5-6-09.mp4