Some Resources for Discussing Technology and Education

When I see something on YouTube or TED, I more likely than not send a link to a friend or two I think will like it. Fred is teaching a course this semester on Technology and Society at The Graham School and asked if I had suggestions. The video on the intelligence of crows is really interesting, but here mostly because Fred, a seasoned bird-watcher has always insisted that those pesky loud birds were smart. He's right.
So, here's a start on a list of things that have tweaked my interest or put today's education and technology landscape in relief.
I'm wondering how Fred's students will react? Any predictions or comments? They're always welcome.

Clay Shirky: How social media can make history. (july 2008)
Citizens and amateurs begin to transform power through social capital. Short historical review of shifts in power through media landscape change.
http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cellphones_twitter_facebook_can_make_history.html

Philip Rosedale on Second Life:
Why build a virtual world? Philip Rosedale talks about the virtual society he founded, Second Life, and its underpinnings in human creativity. It's a place so different that anything could happen.
http://www.ted.com/talks/the_inspiration_of_second_life.html

Hellen Fisher – studies the brain on love.
Why do we crave love so much, even to the point that we would die for it? To learn more about our very real, very physical need for romantic love, Helen Fisher and her research team took MRIs of people in love -- and people who had just been dumped.
http://www.ted.com/talks/helen_fisher_studies_the_brain_in_love.html

Joshua Klein on the intelligence of crows
Hacker and writer Joshua Klein is fascinated by crows. (Notice the gleam of intelligence in their little black eyes?) After a long amateur study of corvid behavior, he's come up with an elegant machine that may form a new bond between animal and human.
http://www.ted.com/talks/joshua_klein_on_the_intelligence_of_crows.html

Stefana Broadbent: How the Internet enables intimacy.
We worry that IM, texting, Facebook are spoiling human intimacy, but Stefana Broadbent's research shows how communication tech is capable of cultivating deeper relationships, bringing love across barriers like distance and workplace rules.
http://www.ted.com/talks/stefana_broadbent_how_the_internet_enables_intimacy.html

Kevin Kelly on the next 5000 days of the web.
At the 2007 EG conference, Kevin Kelly shares a fun stat: The World Wide Web, as we know it, is only 5,000 days old. Now, Kelly asks, how can we predict what's coming in the next 5,000 days?
http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html

Did you Know 4.0
This is another official update to the original "Shift Happens" video. This completely new Fall 2009 version includes facts and stats focusing on the changing media landscape, including convergence...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8

Prof. Mark Wesch
A vision of students today
a short video summarizing some of the most important characteristics of students today - how they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o&feature=related

Here is Prof. Wesch’s introduction to Web 2.0 in under 5 minutes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g&feature=channel