Category: Uncategorized

  • a tale of two vessels

    a tale of two vessels

    VESSEL ONE Five people paid $250,000 apiece to die next to the Titanic. James Cameron (blockbuster film director, est. net worth >$700M) explained the “catastrophic implosion” of the OceanGate submersible to Anderson Cooper (Vanderbilt heir, est. net worth >$100M) on CNN: “The only scenario that I could come up with in my mind that could…

  • welcome aboard the digital kon-tiki

    welcome aboard the digital kon-tiki

    Everyone who participates in Open-Source Learning proves that it works. Sometimes the results are observably extraordinary, like when a high school student learns to fly a plane or leads an entire learning community for a long weekend of interdisciplinary wonder in Yosemite. Often, Open-Source Learning creates more subtle results. We shift our thinking in ways…

  • Summer reading: the 7 elements of open-source learning

    Summer reading: the 7 elements of open-source learning

     This is the first in a series of summer reading articles about how we can reimagine learning for next year and beyond. To get the next article delivered automatically to your inbox, click HERE. ____________ You made it through another school year. It’s time for your summer reading pleasure. Cue Alice Cooper. It’s time to…

  • How to be a better person than A.I.

    I hear it all the time: “AI is going to take our jobs!” “AI is going to make schoolwork obsolete!” Oh please. AI is not taking anything from us that we aren’t already trying desperately to avoid and give away. In fact, AI is literally nothing without us. It can’t build itself, train itself, or…

  • the wisdom of weeds

    the wisdom of weeds

    Looking closely was both the problem and the solution. I walk through my front yard at least a couple times a day but I don’t really see it. When I get the newspaper in the morning, or pull the car in and lock the gate at night, I notice the cactus and the ocotillo, framed…

  • the unbearable lightness of innovation

    the unbearable lightness of innovation

    The most beautiful, compelling aspect of learning is its predictable unpredictability. Sure, we have schematic neural architecture that enables us to organize and make sense of large data sets like language. And that facial expression our significant other is making as we type this. But unlike the artificial neural networks that power machine learning and…

  • shaken to the core

    My daughter is nearly 14 years old. I am transfixed by the image of Mesut Hancer holding his 15-year-old daughter’s hand after this week’s earthquake. My heart goes out to everyone who was affected by this disaster. The people in the region are some of the most vulnerable in the world. Here is a list…

  • school ain’t your business

    school ain’t your business

    Comparing school with business is bad business. There are huge differences between school and business: Learning is personal Learning is messy Learning is abstract   Learning Is Personal One of the most chilling moments in The Godfather is when Michael reveals his talent for strategy and his cold objectivity when it comes to the political…

  • trigger warning (redacted)

    trigger warning (redacted)

    I wrote a 1500+ word post for this week that was motivated by the news of the six-year-old who shot his teacher. It’s a good piece and I think you’ll like it. But it’s also edgy. My family depends on the consulting income I earn from schools and I can’t afford to get canceled this…

  • I deserve an A

    I deserve an A

    I was clearing out my Zoom cloud when I ran across this conversation from April 2021. We teach and learn a lot in school that has nothing to do with the course content.