“The Fab Lab program has strong connections with the technical outreach activities of a number of partner organizations, around the emerging possibility for ordinary people to not just learn about science and engineering but actually design machines and make measurements that are relevant to improving the quality of their lives.” [MIT Center for Bits and [...]

From Silicon.com:

In this video interview, Noel Sharkey, professor of robotics and AI at the University of Sheffield, discusses developments in robotics – from the proliferation of robots in Japan’s automotive industry to the stair-climbing dexterity of Honda’s Asimo robot and beyond.

He also discusses ethical issues, and in which countries we can find the most robots [...]

The Bank of Common Knowledge (Banco Común de Conocimientos) is a pilot experience dedicated to the research of social mechanisms for the collective production of contents, mutual education, and citizen participation. It is a laboratory platform where we explore new ways of enhancing the distribution channels for practical and informal knowledge, as well as how [...]

This video has been floating around for seven months, and I somehow haven’t seen it until today. Not only does Arizona State University specifically address the growing needs for transdisciplinarity, design, relevancy, and innovation in higher education, but they seem to have a grasp on what it all means. In designing the “New American [...]

From the Chronicle of Higher Education:
Will Wright, the video-game designer responsible for some of the best-selling titles of all time, says that video games are better at inspiring students to learn than actually teaching them.

A short video with a compelling argument from TED:
Someone always asks the math teacher, “Am I going to use calculus in real life?” And for most of us, says Arthur Benjamin, the answer is no. He offers a bold proposal on how to make math education relevant in the digital age.

Wow-oh-wow, oh wow!!!! From TED earlier this month:
MIT grad student David Merrill demos Siftables — cookie-sized, computerized tiles you can stack and shuffle in your hands. These future-toys can do math, play music, and talk to their friends, too. Is this the next thing in hands-on learning?

More elsewhere:

Siftables at MIT
D. Merrill, J. Kalanithi and [...]

Thanks to Jamie Schumacher for passing along the video link:
“Imagine [...] turning on your home computer to read the day’s newspaper.”

…and, 28 years later, newspapers are shutting down because they cannot compete with the home computer.

I received feedback from several readers that Arthur Harkins’ reasoning for why we need to Leapfrog might seem a bit too Machiavellian — “us versus them.” I therefore hope everybody will enjoy the contrast of perspective in this next video.
In early November, we had an opportunity to interview Jutta Treviranus, director of the Adaptive [...]

Earlier this month, I interviewed Arthur Harkins on our approach to innovating in human capital development (Leapfrog!). Specifically, I asked:

What is Leapfrog?
What are some examples of leapfrogging?
What are the Leapfrog Institutes?
What are the global implications for Leapfrog?

Watch his responses in this video:

A little background:
Leapfroggingmeans to jump over obstacles to achieve goals. It means to get [...]