I recently read an interesting article from Fast Company about barriers to achievement. Although the article focuses on the workplace, there are many parallels to schools and the classroom. The author, Marcia Conner, argues that fear of learning is what frequently holds people back from excelling. While I am not convinced by the overall argument presented in the piece, it did leave...

According to published reports, Anheuser-Busch will launch Bud.TV the day after the Super Bowl. The move will push Anheuser-Busch into the program content business. Apparently, the ongoing channel is intended to bypass traditional TV outlets to deliver content to consumers at much lower costs. Most of the content for the programs will come from outside agencies like: 1) the Omnicom Group, 2) LivePlanet, 3) TriggerStreet.com, 4) Wild West Picture Show Productions, and 5) Omelet and Seed. It will be interesting to track the success/effectiveness of the move...

While I was working on the Teaching the Levees Project, I came across this teacher professional development resource from PBS. Some of the online classes seem like a good alternative to expensive graduate school courses. For instance, you can take "Curriculum Mapping by Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacob" (a TC Alumni and Adjunct Professor) at PBS TeacherLine for $195.00. If you want graduate credits for the sa...

Oprah Winfrey officially joined the education business by opening the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg, South Africa. The school, which provides a free education to 152 girls, cost 40-million-dollar and was funded entirely by Oprah. Here are some other "features" of the school: - It is spread over 21 hectares and is composed of 28 b...

Lin Lin, assistant professor of education foundations and special services at Kent State University (and former EdLab manager), recently discussed the benefits of video games/online environments in education curriculum in Stater Online. Click here to read the article.

Check out this article by Professor Gary Pollice on the software development process. He argues that "there are two main factors that influence the number of processes that might apply to a particular situation: 1) the size of the team and 2) the scope of the process in the larger community context." It provides a nice context for analyzing our own processes in developing products such as PocketKnowledge.

Infosys Systems is dealing with the shortage of programming skills in India with a 16-week training program. According to Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidamabram, "In 16 weeks they will teach you a skill that is equal to the skill of any young man or woman anywhere in the world."

Check out this website called BookMooch. The site promises two things: 1) free books for life, and 2) new life for "old" books. This article provides a nice overview of the service.

Check out this article about a ringtone that is audible to only people under 20. It’s pretty clever how youth are using a technology intended to discourage social gathering to stay in touch with one another in the classroom. I wish I could describe what it sounded like but…