Saturday, October 11, 2008

A TED A Day Keeps The Blues Away

If you haven't visited TED yet, then go do it now. TED is yet another example of how the internet is starting to realize its potential as the most powerful educational technology to date. If you're like me, you've had some great lectures but a lot more average and poor ones.

TED allows us to imagine a world where every student can attend the seminars offered by the world's greatest lecturers. It allows us to imagine regular teachers in the class rooms focused on providing personal interaction and one on one tutoring. Of course, its hard to envision what the future of education is. But its clearly time to start dreaming and working towards those dreams.

The End Of Free-Market Fundamentalism

The focus of this blog is relationship between technology and politics, culture, and education. However, it is difficult not to comment on the incredible paradigm shifts that we are bearing witness to right now. One of the biggest and most under discussed is the end of Free-Market Fundamentalism. It ended when the government began bailing out Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, AIG, and now the passage of the TARP proposal of $700 Billion for Wallstreet. The American government might even start buying equity stakes in Banks.

When considered as whole there has never been a bigger act of socialism in American history. Tax payer money is being applied to the problem as if were a defibrillator. Will be paid back? How much health care could have been paid for with this money? While those greedy individuals responsible ever be held accountable?

Here's a great video that highlights talks by economists on the end of Free-Market Fundamentalism.