Back Channel for Social Media and PLN Workshop

Future Issues in Education and Information Technology - Part I

Keynote speaker on Wednesday afternoon, Dr. George Strawn, Chief Information Office for the Naitonal Science Foundation (formerly Iowa State University faculty) focused on issues related to education and information technology .

Recommended Books suggested by Strawn that have shaped his presentation today:
The Singularity is Near
Robot
Disrupting Class
Second Nature
Phantoms in the Brian

Core concept for his talk today is taken from Disrupting Class by Christansen who also authored Innovator's Dilemma

Notes that technology has had more change in the last 200 years than in comparison to the last 5000 years. 1800 - agricultural age -- horse, water/wind critical technology resources for farming, community life was very localized and communication with the rest of the world took place via postal service mail. 1900 - industrial age -- train, steamships, shift from horses to tractors, community life extended beyond a localized area -- regional/national, telegraph and telephone were main communication technologies at the beginning of the 1900s. 2000-post-industrial age, cars and planes provide transportation, live in a global village, communication media include tv, cell phones, computers and internet. Moreover, think how much things have changed since the microcomputers and internet come into the late 20th century !