education

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The Perverse History of Copyright

In this short video, explainmaestro C.G.P Grey explores the history of copyright, using the only slightly less alarming headline Copyright: Forever Less One Day (there's also a transcript at that page). Copyright is an important system; it underlies much of the commerce I do every day. And its current implementation is basically cuckoo bananas, due in large part to exquisite lobbying by well-connected corporate interests. If you have five minutes to learn a little history (and have a few chuckles at... READ ON

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Neil deGrasse Tyson: "We Stopped Dreaming"

Ready to get fired up about America's space program? Listen to Neil deGrasse Tyson drop some knowledge on the history of NASA and current spending priorities. Here's a brief quote: "We go to the moon. Space enthusiasts say, 'Oh, we're on the moon in '69, we'll be on Mars in another ten years.' They completely did not understand why we got to the moon in the first place: we were at war. Once we saw that Russia was not ready to land on the moon, we stopped going to the moon. That should not... READ ON

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Lectures for a New Year: Is Time on Your Side?

In this brilliant talk, Professor Philip Zimbardo discusses different ways human minds focus on time. Do you focus on the past? If so, are you "Past Positive" (focusing on the good times) or "Past Negative" (focusing on failures)? Do you focus on the present? If so, are you hedonistic or do you just feel it doesn't pay to plan? As Zimbardo says, "Most of us are here because we're future-oriented. We have learned to work, rather than play -- to resist temptation. But there's another way to be... READ ON

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Lectures for a New Year: Our Broken Educational System

This week I'll bring you the best RSA talks -- a series of lectures a bit like TED from the UK. First up, an "RSA Animate" talk -- a whiteboard drawing done by hand (although edited a bit to speed it up), along with the audio from a lecture by Sir Ken Robinson. The lecture, like all of Robinson's work, discusses what's wrong with our educational system, at a deep level -- in a very brief talk, he lays out a cogent argument that our educational system is predicated on systems of thought that are hundreds... READ ON

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Lectures for a New Year: How Schools Fail Creative Kids

Sir Ken Robinson is an educator (a former professor) who believes that the fundamental principles we use to educate our children are wrong. In this talk, he lays out a series of anecdotes (most of which are hilarious) about education, kids, and how we're doing it wrong. This is a terrific talk for parents, educators, and kids themselves -- have you ever felt that school didn't nurture your creative instinct? I sure have. If you're like me, you'll find this talk instructive. Topics: dinner parties,... READ ON

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Lectures for a New Year: Temple Grandin on Autism

This is a TED classic: Temple Grandin explaining what it's like to be autistic, shortly after the release of a movie based on her book Thinking in Pictures. In the book and in the talk, Grandin explains how her cognitive experience as an autistic person differs from that of an average person (let's not say "normal"). Grandin's brain is very visual, and that has helped in her animal husbandry work -- she can think as an animal presumably thinks, and because of that, she's uniquely situated to understand... READ ON

List

11 Alternative Ways to Learn Your ABCs

Most teachers use the typical associations to teach the alphabet: A is for apple, B is for bear, C is for cat, and so on. (Z is usually Zebra.) But if you prefer walking off the beaten path, there is a wealth of alternative alphabets available to teach your children the ABCs. 1. The Hidden Alphabet by Laura Vaccaro Seeger In her lift-the-flap picture book (and book trailer, above), Seeger not only uses less traditional associations, but she also hides the items within the shapes of the letters. A is... READ ON

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Lectures for a New Year: A Physics Classic from 1960

In 1960, University of Toronto physics professors Patterson Hume and Donald Ivey produced a half-hour educational film explaining basic principles of physics. They called it Frames of Reference, and used the opportunity to make the seemingly-boring topic of physics education actually pretty fun (or at least as fun as an educational film from 1960 featuring dudes in suits could be). Using visual gags and a series of engaging experiments featuring themselves and hockey pucks, the professors explained how... READ ON

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Remembering Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan passed away 15 years ago today. Sagan was a gifted astronomer, astrophysicist, writer, and evangelist of science; he was best known for his TV series Cosmos, and his novel Contact, which was later made into a movie. Both dealt with the big questions of science (including are we alone?), and humanity's place in the cosmos -- about finding meaning through the scientific method, and experiencing wonder in the process. Sagan was a tremendously humane man, whose warmth and generosity of spirit... READ ON

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The Late Movies: Khan Academy

Khan Academy provides free instructional videos (among many other things) for K-12 kids to learn about a variety of topics (the site currently boasts a library of over 2,600 videos!). You can read more about Khan or just dive into some awesome learning. Below, I've rounded up a few starter videos to give you a taste. Khan Explains How it Works A fun TED Talk. "First time I smiled doing a derivative!" Banking 1 An "introduction to how banks make money and the value they (potentially)... READ ON