Dot Learnt

Philipp Schmidt shares nicely, that is on his blog and now with DotLearnt. Director and co-founder of Peer 2 Peer University, a socially charged open educational resource learning community, Schmidt takes on the role of education activist and social entrepreneur. This December, Philipp sat down with Bon and gave us the low down on social learning and how anyone can learn just about anything.

0-5 Seconds: Tell us anything or everything about P2PU in a Status Update.

P2PU is a lab for the future of online learning. We built a platform and fostered a community that enables learning for everyone, by everyone, about almost anything.

5-10 Seconds: What is the driving force behind P2PU’s schools—The School of Webcraft, Social Innovation, Mathematical Futures and Education?

The idea of “schools” grew out of the initiative and hard work of certain members of the P2PU community. They saw the potential for grouping courses together and partnering with external organizations to design assessments and certification.

10-20 Seconds: Where does the demand for P2PU lie?

The general answer is “everywhere”. P2PU community members come from all over the world, are at different stages in their lifelong learning, and are looking for different learning experiences. However, there is no one-size fits all solution to education, and the nice thing about Schools is that they can target different audiences and experiment with slightly different models and approaches.

20-30 Seconds: What’s the most useful tool in P2PU’s 21st century toolbox?

The innovative and generous nature of our community, and our ability to experiment. There is a lot going on in online education at the moment, and we are constantly looking ahead, and it’s great to see volunteers take initiative, make suggestions for improvements, and then get involved in the implementation of these suggestions. (more…)

300 million people in the world speak Arabic.

Arabic is the official language of over 20 countries.

Yet only 2% of the online content is in the Arabic language.

With Internet infrastructures expanding at rapid rates throughout the UAE, Egypt and Lebanon, content development lags far behind.

When schools want to get techy in the Middle East, the language gap leaves teachers with few resources that they can actually use in the classroom. But new Arabic content is being added to the web – if you know where to look. The list below will grant a taste of the Arabic you’ve been craving: (more…)

Intro to Scratch from ScratchEd on Vimeo.

This past week, the Shelter Dubai and Bon Education invited Joichi Ito, the current head of the MIT Media Lab, to present a brief lecture to a crowd of entrepreneurs in Dubai. His presentation included a whirlwind tour of the Media Lab and the 300+ projects his team of professors and students were involved with. Alongside robotic limbs and collapsible cars, Mr. Ito introduced the audience to Scratch, a hand crafted computer program that is changing the way students are interacting with their digital world.

First introduced in 2008 and now reaching a global population of users, Scratch is a free, interactive programming language that uses a highly visual interface to make computer-programming skills accessible to all learners. (more…)

Bring in the colors. Raise the playgrounds. Usher in technology. We’re about to have an Extreme Classroom Makeover: Mumbai Edition.

Whitewashed walls, out. Vibrant, self-decorated and colorful murals, in.

Natasha Mehta, principal of Euro School, Navi Mumbai emphasizes how “education is not about what is being taught, but how a particular subject is taught.” Hence, there is now a push for more smart classrooms, decked out in computers, tablets and other 21^st century tools.

School heads are also recognizing the importance of keeping students up to date on the events taking place across the world. Due to the increasingly interconnected society that we live in, libraries are also being incorporated throughout schools in the city. (more…)

Kiran Bir Sethi the founder of Riverside School in Ahmedabad, India has made moves to make cities more “child-friendly.”

In this TED talk with a focus on social responsibility, Sethi reveals how Riverside School in India has got students saying “I can” as they hit the streets. Students are now taking charge to resolve their communities’ most daunting issues.

From educating their parents to fighting child labor, tune in to find out moreabout one of the world’s foremost compassion-inducing schools.

What are you doing to get kids learning outside the textbook? How can technology be used to enhance student community engagement? Share with the Bon team in the comment section below!

Keep Calm and Learn On,

Nora

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I’d like to call him the arbiter of cool. During a brief interview with Sina Mossayeb, a Systems Designer at the innovation and design firm IDEO, Mr. Mosayeb gave us insight on how to make the ordinary extraordinary in terms of education, technology and this wide world of untapped innovation.

0-10 Seconds: I’m sure our readers are eager to find out more about what it means to work for an innovation firm. Could you start off by telling us more about your role with IDEO?

IDEO is a global innovation and design firm that takes a human-centered, design-based approach to helping organizations in the public and private sectors innovate and grow. We help organizations build creative culture and the internal systems required to sustain innovation and launch new ventures.

As a Systems Designer, I look at the bigger picture of things, and cast smaller frames to see where new processes or things can be introduced to serve an organization’s objectives.

10-20 Seconds: You’ve noted an interest in “anything centered around learning.” That’s a fairly broad interest – how would you describe the ideal learning process in the 21^st century?

Education or learning is everywhere. We have to wonder, and ask how to frame specific moments as learning opportunities. We can do this by experimenting regularly, on iterating outcomes, and additionally assess objectives as learning opportunities.

The ideal process would revolve around teaching people less about content and focusing more energy on how to learn.

20-30 Seconds: In terms of tools of support, which digital tools do you find to be most stimulating when looking to invigorate the learning process?

Initially, everyone was crazy about social media. Anything connective. Yes, these tools are really great because they stimulate contextual learning, but I think we are moving past that now.

Engagement happens more when technology becomes invisible. iPhone Siri for example is a masterpiece, due to its ability to foster natural interaction.

I think the exciting avenues that we need to explore will be tools that facilitate learning without it being visible.

30-40 Seconds: In your opinion, what has been the biggest contribution to the realm of learning and education in the past 10 years? And if nothing seems to stand out, what would you like to see be contributed to the realm of education within the next 5 years?

I think the more we can get outside the classroom the better off we are. Students need to engage with the world around them. If you are learning about the environment, go out into the environment. If you are learning about technology, go out and use technology.

Whether its virtual or you actually move out of the classroom physically, I think that is what I would like to see more of in the future. It is all about learning in action.

(more…)

Edtechistas and Edtechers – back again for your global education technology fix. Dig in for this month’s most talked about topics unearthing across the globe:

Too Cool for School

These days it is all about mobility. School in a Box brings the very concept of portability and convenience to the notion of schooling. The new non-profit initiative providesaccess to education ICTs in rural populations throughout India and sub-Saharan Africa. Weighing in at 11 KG, the $1600 boxes will set up teched out schools. Each box contains an iPad, solar panel, projector and speakers. Looks like officials in Zimbabwe are liking what they see…

Samsung Africa is shedding some light on education. The new Solar Powered Internet School in Boksburg, South Africa is one of the first of its kind. The Internet accessbile and solar-powered school grants students more accessibility to education, especially throughout areas that lack connectivity.  Shine on Africa!

Spreading that Tech Love

Looking for free Wi-Fi can be tough, but when it comes to emerging markets, finding any Wi-Fi can be a challenge. Last month, the Global Education Challenge, a competition to find original ideas that can improve student outcomes across the globe, announced their annual winners. Prizewinner Neil Dsouza introduced Education Hotspots, a program that provides mobile hotspots and free educational courseware to emerging communities lacking Internet connection. Neil’s in good company – check out the other GEC winners, here. (more…)

• Best individual Blog: Good.is/category/education
  • Liz Dwyer, GOOD’s education editor, continually inspires me. Her posts explore the hottest and freshest topics, and have a unique way of appealing to individuals across sectors.

• Best group blog: http://blogs.worldbank.org/education/blog
  • In an effort to explore global education policy, the World Bank writers delve into the most crucial issues unfolding across emerging markets in terms of education. Their lucid global perspective helps link the development process across the globe.

• Best ed tech blog: http://mobileactive.org/blog
  • This blog taps into the mobile tech developments unearthing in the global community. By doing so, readers instantly begin to understand the true ability of technology to both enhance and reinvent the learning process. (more…)