Alan November

Alan November is a great speaker. I saw him once a number of years ago and remember now why I liked him so much. His theory is that the World is Flat, but U.S. Kids no longer an integral part of society. We need to make them important again. He laid out some possible jobs for students.

1. Tutorial design team - Screencasting - students create porportion problems that other students can access. Who benefits the most? The first student. But others want to do it too.

2. Curriculum review team - they do a podcast reviewing last weeks academic highlights.

3.Daily Researcher - This student sits at the computer and looks up all fact related questions.

4. Global communication team - Students get a global perspective, set up debates, etc.

5. Official Scribe - This student meets with the teacher each day to discuss the lesson and review and improve the notes. The student will also go on the web and find some extra tutorials.

Great presentation. Here are some quotes.

"We need to create a culture of learning where our kids are demanding to compete."
"By the time we're done with this model the kids own the learning."
"We have underestimated what the kids can do."
"But your kids don't have e-mail. . . . In China they do."
"You can enhance teaching all day long without enhancing learning."