Category: Education

Impact Lab > Education
Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Internet, Latest News

Get Paid to Teach Anything With New Online Education Platform

learning_platform_photo

Name: Learnable

Quick Pitch: Learnable allows anyone to create and charge for online courses.

Genius Idea: Many schools have started to take online education seriously. By 2006, 66% of postsecondary learning institutions included in federal financial aid programs were already reporting that they offered some form of Internet learning, and a 2009 report from the U.S. Department of education found that those students who studied in online learning environments performed modelstly better than peers who were receiving face-to-face instruction.

This is very much along the lines of what Futurist Thomas Frey predicted in his 2007 paper on the Future of Education.

It’s great news for people who are looking to work toward a college degree, but there are few affordable parallels for people who just want to pick up a skill. Where does one go for affordable online lessons on homepage design? Javascript programming? Guitar? the Irish Whistle?

Continue reading… “Get Paid to Teach Anything With New Online Education Platform”

Analysis, Brain, Education, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

Rethinking Education – The needs of the future are mandating that we produce a faster, smarter, better grade of human being

brain

The average person in the U.S. has 100,500 words flowing into their heads on a daily basis.

In 2008, Roger Bohn and James Short, two researchers at the University of California in San Diego, decided to do a study to determine the amount of information people have entering their brains on a daily basis.

 

Continue reading… “Rethinking Education – The needs of the future are mandating that we produce a faster, smarter, better grade of human being”

Breakthrough Thinking, Culture, Economy, Education, Historical Perspectives, Latest News

Is America a Nation in Decline?

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How does America still rank?

If you listen to the pundits on TV and radio (on both sides of the political spectrum), it seems like this country is going to hell in a handbasket with jets strapped to our backs. But are they actually right?

Fareed Zakaria of TIME magazine takes an in-depth look at whether America’s best days are behind it:

Despite the hyped talk of China’s rise, most Americans operate on the assumption that the U.S. is still No. 1.

But is it? Yes, the U.S. remains the world’s largest economy, and we have the largest military by far, the most dynamic technology companies and a highly entrepreneurial climate. But these are snapshots of where we are right now…

Continue reading… “Is America a Nation in Decline?”

Analysis, Education, Money Talk

Is An Ivy League Diploma Still Worth the Money?

harvard graduation

Harvard graduation

They’re often called the elite eight, boasting U.S. presidents, Nobel Prize winners, Wall Street CEOs, world leaders—as well as famous actors and musicians—among their alumni.  But they’re incredibly expensive and getting more so—prompting many students and families to ask: Is an Ivy League diploma really worth the money?

 

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Analysis, Big Problems, Business, Corporate Manipulation, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Current Events, Education, Entertainment, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Latest News

California Libraries Targeted for Takeover by Private Equity Firms

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTTY9IpwnWg&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Public libraries in Camarillo, Santa Clarita and Ventura have all been targeted for a takeover by Library Systems and Services (LSSI), a private company headquartered in Maryland and majority-owned by the private equity firm Islington Capital Partners. Privatizing public libraries means libraries will be de-professionalized and residents will pay more and receive less, while LSSI makes a profit for its investors and shareholders. Instead of listening to residents, the City Council created a ‘Citizen’s Advisory Committee’ to review Santa Clarita’s library system and its needs and make recommendations for moving forward with LSSI. The committee had no decision-making power, and was widely criticized as a thinly veiled attempt to silence critics.

Continue reading… “California Libraries Targeted for Takeover by Private Equity Firms”

Analysis, Education, Report

Pathways to Prosperity – Is College the Only Option for Career Success?

Pathways to Prosperity

Students need more options to career success.

Despite decades of efforts to reform education, and billions of dollars of expenditures, the harsh reality is that America is still failing to prepare millions of its young people to lead successful lives as adults. Evidence of this failure is everywhere: in the dropout epidemic that plagues our high schools and colleges; in the harsh fact that just 30 percent of our young adults earn a bachelor’s degree by age 27; and in teen and young adult employment rates not seen since the Great Depression.

 

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Analysis, Animals, Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Latest News

Turtles Use Earth’s Magnetic Fields as a Navigational System

Loggerhead_turtle tracking

A Loggerhead turtle with tracking device.

Scientists Nathan Putman and Ken Lohmann have determined that turtles can navigate across entire oceans by using the earth’s magnetic fields to determine their longitude and latitude. To test this hypothesis, they used a special water tank that permitted them to alter the magnetic fields inside. They then placed the turtles in the tank to see how they would respond to simulations of different locations…

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Art, Breakthrough Thinking, DIY, Education, Entertainment, Globalism, Historical Perspectives, New Discoveries, New Viewpoints

Clock Built to Tell Time on Other Planets

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Telling the time one planet at a time.

Alexander Avtanski designed a clock that can be adjusted to keep time on many different planets based upon each one’s rotation period — at the same time. Here’s what sets this clock apart from other extraterrestrial clocks, according to its builder…

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Art, Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Entertainment, Historical Perspectives, Humor, New Viewpoints

IKEA Instructions for Stonehenge

ikea henge 1234

IKEA in archaeology.

What was the purpose for Stonehenge? Was it a calendar, an observatory, or a sacrificial site? These suggestions by archaeologists assume that it was a completed design instead of a project left half-finished because the assembly instructions were provided by IKEA. Justin Pollard, John Lloyd and Stevyn Colgan composed a cartoon illustrating this explanation…

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Economy, Education, Latest Trend, Money Talk

Tennessee College Bucks the Trend by Lowering Tuition

Sewanee

Sewanee, a Tennessee liberal arts college.

For those who wonder how college tuition costs manage to keep rising year after year, apparently defying laws of economic gravity, Sewanee, a liberal arts college in Tennessee, has an answer: they can’t.  On Wednesday, Sewanee announced that it will cut its $46,000 annual bill for students by 10 percent in the fall.

 

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Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
Unlock Your Potential, Ignite Your Success.

By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.