Mission to Learn » Podcasts

Collaborative Learning with Grockit – Podcast

jcobb@missiontolearn.com (Mission to Learn) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:17:38 +0000

It’s time for another edition of the Radio Free Learning podcast here on Mission to Learn. In this episode, I talk with Farb Nivi, co-founder and CEO of Grockit.

I became intrigued with Grockit quite a while ago when the company was promoting itself as a collaborative, game-driven learning platform. Since that time, Grockit’s focus has turned towards the test preparation market and helping learners prepare, collaboratively, for big standardized tests like the SAT and the GMAT.

In this podcast, I talk with Farb about how the Grockit platform works, his views on teaching and learning, and where Grockit may be headed in the future. If you are interested at all in collaborative learning and adaptive learning systems, this podcast is for you.

One other note – I’ve introduced “Show Notes” with this podcast to help give you an idea of how the conversation flows.

Here’s the MP3 file link (19:24 for content only/25:23 with extended theme music) in case you do not see the audio player below (or, if viewing by e-mail or RSS reader, click through to the original blog post).

Subscribe to the Radio Free Learning podcast:

Grockit Podcast Show Notes

01:14 – Farb gives overview of what Grockit does

01:20 – Peers are a resource “left on the table” in most learning environments

01:45 – A million and a half kids take the SAT annually – a great resource to each student is other students

02:36 – System adapts to learners- whether working on their own, with a group, or with an expert. Applies algorithms to optimize environment

03:48 – Learning platform in multiple senses – people go there to learn, but the environment also learns about them and responds

04:22 – Discussion of gaming as a form of learning, starting with “Game mechanics are human mechanics,” just slightly more defined and immediate

06:30 – Discussion of standardized tests. Is Grockit sticking up for them?

08:38 – Discussion of our current educational system – and where it is falling short

09:36 – Teachers used to be facilitators of a design that had students learning from each other

11:35 – When you are forced to teach others, your own learning amplifies quite a bit

12:30 – Reference to the Cluetrain Manifesto. “Markets are conversations” – old idea made new again. Similar phenomenon occurring in education.

13:25 – Farb’s influences – Peter Senge, Edward Tufte, Russell Ackoff, etc. – and background

15:15 – The future vision for Grockit and the collaborative learning platform – beyond test prep

17:07 – Origin of the name Grockit

17:55 – What Farb has learned in building Grockit as a company

19:24 – Roll The Information Age by Anthony Fiumano, available on the Podsafe Music Network

Jeff

P.S. – Interested in collaborative learning? I encourage you to check out 15 Free Online Collaboration Tools and Apps .

About Memory, Part II – Podcast with Fiona McPherson

jcobb@missiontolearn.com (Mission to Learn) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:28:17 +0000

This is the second installment of a Radio Free Learning podcast with Dr. Fiona McPherson, author of The Memory Key and curator of the About Memory Web site. In the first installment we discussed some of the keys to memory and why most memory courses don’t result in long-term memory improvement. In this second episode we discuss the brain training craze, how the brain changes as we age, and why effective note-taking (the topic of a recent book by Fiona) is so important.

Here’s the MP3 file link (17:29 minutes long) in case you do not see the audio player below (or click through to the original blog post).

Subscribe to the Radio Free Learning podcast:

I also encourage you to check out other posts on brain science and the human mind here on Mission to Learn.

Jeff

P.S. – Follow Mission to Learn on Twitter at http://twitter.com/missiontolearn

About Memory, Part I – Podcast with Fiona McPherson

jcobb@missiontolearn.com (Mission to Learn) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:46:47 +0000

In this episode of the Radio Free Learning podcast, I talk with Dr. Fiona McPherson, author of The Memory Key and curator of the About Memory Web site. I came across Fiona’s work recently when I was writing 5 Key Paths to Improving Memory, and found her Web site to be one of the most thorough, well organized sites on memory out there. So, naturally, I contacted her to see if she would share some of her expertise with listeners here.

Our conversation lasted long enough that I decided to break it into two episodes. In this first one, we find out a little about Fiona’s background and what sparked her deep interest in memory. We then talk about some of the keys to memory and why most memory courses don’t result in long-term memory improvement. In the second episode (out later this week) we discuss topics like the brain training craze and why effective note-taking (the topic of a recent book by Fiona) is so important.

Here’s the MP3 file link (19:17 minutes long) in case you do not see the audio player below (or click through to the original blog post).

Subscribe to the Radio Free Learning podcast:

I also encourage you to check out other posts on brain science and the human mind here on Mission to Learn.

Jeff

P.S. – Follow Mission to Learn on Twitter at http://twitter.com/missiontolearn

Open Education, Open World – Podcast with Curtis Bonk

jcobb@missiontolearn.com (Mission to Learn) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:52:09 +0000

The World is Open

The World is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education, a new book from Jossey Bass, offers one of the most comprehensive overviews I have seen to date of how open education and Web 2.0 technologies are transforming our world. Recently I had the opportunity to talk with the book’s author, Curtis Bonk, and capture some his insights about how things have changed and what the long term on impact on humanity is likely to be.

This interview is a bit longer than earlier podcasts (around 30 minutes), but it is well worth the time. Here’s the MP3 file link (29:47) in case you do not see the audio player below (or click through to the original blog post).

Subscribe to the Radio Free Learning podcast:

Note also that in the podcast we refer to a set “openers” defined in the book – the 10 major shifts that have opened up the world of education. In the book, Curt organizes these into a framework – WE-ALL-LEARN – that serves as a mnemonic device for remembering the openers. The ten openers are below. You can buy The World is Open on the Wiley/Jossey Bass Web site, among other places. I also encourage you to visit the Web site for the book, worldisopen.com to learn more about the openers and to access other resources – including a free eBook coming soon.

Ten Openers: (WE-ALL-LEARN)
1. Web Searching in the World of e-Books
2. E-Learning and Blended Learning
3. Availability of Open Source and Free Software
4. Leveraged Resources and OpenCourseWare
5. Learning Object Repositories and Portals
6. Learner Participation in Open Information Communities
7. Electronic Collaboration
8. Alternate Reality Learning
9. Real-Time Mobility and Portability
10. Networks of Personalized Learning

Jeff Cobb
Mission to Learn

P.S. If you enjoy what you read here on Mission to Learn, I encourage you to subscribe to the RSS feed or use the e-mail subscription form at the top right side of this page.

Podcast with Mindbites’ Jason Reneau

jcobb@missiontolearn.com (Mission to Learn) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:23:54 +0000

Nearly two years ago a friend introduced me to Jason Reneau, who at the time was in the process of getting his new company, MindBites, off the ground. Since then, I’ve watched as MindBites and a number of other “teach-learn-share” sites, as I tend to think of them, have sprouted and grown. Some of these sites are free. Some -as is the case with MindBites – offer a commercial marketplace where teachers and learners connect. Nearly all of of them, in my opinion, are great examples of how increased bandwidth, the tools of the social Web, and more usable, affordable authoring tools have revolutionized access to learning.

Recently, I dropped Jason a line to see if he would be willing to chat on the Radio Free Learning podcast. In our conversation we talk about what MindBites offers, but more importantly, we talk about some of the ways in which the Web has changed how we approach lifelong learning.

Here’s the MP3 file link in case you do not see the audio player below (or click through to the original blog post).

Download MP3 file (25.48 minutes/11.8 MB)

And be sure to check out the Baby Sign Language series with Laura Berg that Jason refers to in the interview

Transcript coming soon

Subscribe to the Radio Free Learning podcast:

Jeff Cobb
Mission to Learn

P.S. If you enjoy what you read here on Mission to Learn, I encourage you to subscribe to the RSS feed or use the e-mail subscription form at the top right side of this page.

Podcast: Lifelong Learning With Bill Draves

jcobb@missiontolearn.com (Mission to Learn) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 01:32:03 +0000

I recently caught up with Bill Draves, co-founder of the Learning Resources Network (LERN) to discuss his perspectives on lifelong learning in a 2.0 world. Aside from serving as the president of LERN, Bill is the author of Teaching Online and of How to Teach Adults – which I believe has sold north of 100,000 copies – and he is co-author of a book called Nine Shift, which paints a provocative picture for the coming decade. In the interview, we focus on some of the trends identified in Nine Shift as well as on what it means to be a lifelong learner.

Here’s the MP3 file link in case you do not see the audio player below (or click through to the original blog post).

Download MP3 file (23.35)

Transcript coming soon

Subscribe to the Radio Free Learning podcast:

Jeff Cobb
Mission to Learn

P.S. If you enjoy what you read here on Mission to Learn, I encourage you to subscribe to the RSS feed or use the e-mail subscription form at the top right side of this page.

Howard Rheingold – Social Media Classroom

jcobb@missiontolearn.com (Mission to Learn) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 01:38:34 +0000

I had the pleasure of speaking recently with virtual community pioneer Howard Rheingold about the new Social Media Classroom platform he has launched. Anyone who has read Howard’s work or heard him speak before knows that he always has interesting things to say. This is no exception. Listen in to find out what’s up with the Social Media Classroom platform (built on the open source CMS Drupal) and also to hear Howard’s thoughts on the current state of “media literacy” in the world.

Here’s the MP3 file link in case you do not see the audio player below (or click through to the original blog post).

Download MP3 file (18:48)

Howard Rheingold Transcript (PDF)

Subscribe to the Radio Free Learning podcast:

Jeff Cobb
Mission to Learn

P.S. If you enjoy what you read here on Mission to Learn, I encourage you to subscribe to the RSS feed or use the e-mail subscription form at the top right side of this page.

Opening Up the Ivy League with Finals Club

jcobb@missiontolearn.com (Mission to Learn) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 01:40:34 +0000

As part of the ongoing Radio Free Learning podcast series here at Mission to Learn I recently caught up with Andrew Magliozzi, founder of FinalsClub.org. For the past year or so, FinalsClub has been shaking up Harvard by providing a site where students can access notes from courses offered at the venerable institution. More recently, Magliozzi has added community features to the FinalsClub site, begun the process of establishing nonprofit status for the organization, and has started to add other institutions like Brown to his note-taking efforts.

In this discussion, Magliozzi and I discuss the evolution of the Finals Club and the implications of its work.

Here’s the MP3 file link in case you do not see the audio player below (or click through to the original blog post).

Download MP3 file (24:18)

Subscribe to the Radio Free Learning podcast:

Jeff Cobb
Mission to Learn

P.S. If you enjoy what you read here on Mission to Learn, I encourage you to subscribe to the RSS feed or use the e-mail subscription form at the top right side of this page.

Podcast: Mobile Learning with Mookee

jcobb@missiontolearn.com (Mission to Learn) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:41:54 +0000

Recently I spoke with Matt Wilks about Mookee, a new open source platform he has created for mobile learning. Matt and I talked about the opportunities and challenges of mobile learning as well as what Mookee will provide for teachers, learners, and developers.

Here’s the MP3 file link in case you do not see the audio player below (or click through to the original blog post).

Download MP3 file (14:44)

Subscribe to the Radio Free Learning podcast:

Jeff Cobb
Mission to Learn

P.S. If you enjoy what you read here on Mission to Learn, I encourage you to subscribe to the RSS feed or use the e-mail subscription form at the top right side of this page.

School of Everything – Paul Miller

jcobb@missiontolearn.com (Mission to Learn) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:45:18 +0000

I had the opportunity recently to talk with Paul Miller, co-founder and CEO of the School of Everything. Dubbed the “eBay of Knowledge” by Cory Doctorow, School of Everything is a Web-based service that helps connect local teachers with local students. Paul and I discussed the organization’s model, what it means for traditional educational institutions, and some of the challenges and benefits of learning in a connected world.

Here’s the MP3 file link in case you do not see the audio player below (or click through to the original blog post). I’ll also be updating this post in the near future to include an RSS feed and iTunes option. Subscribe to the comments if you want to be sure to know when that happens.

Download MP3 file (21:15)

School of Everything Transcript (PDF)

Subscribe to the Radio Free Learning podcast:

Jeff Cobb
Mission to Learn

P.S. If you enjoy what you read here on Mission to Learn, I encourage you to subscribe to the RSS feed or use the e-mail subscription form at the top right side of this page.

Open Textbooks with Flatworld Knowledge