"there are a lot of folks who think gamification means pulling the worst aspects out of games and shoving them into an application. It’s not. Don’t think of gamification as anything other than clever strategies to motivate someone to learn so they can have fun being productive."

"When are universities going to give us a major like that, one that teaches us about the role information has in our society and that enables us to handle bucketloads of data responsibly, using whatever mix of disciplines may help us in that quest? Philosophers with those skills are philosophers the world could use. Instead, we’re churning out experts in Kantian phenomenology and grue and bleen."

"Our current system of teaching kids to sit in straight rows and obey instructions isn't a coincidence--it was an investment in our economic future. The plan: trade short-term child labor wages for longer-term productivity by giving kids a head start in doing what they're told.

Large-scale education was never about teaching kids or creating scholars. It was invented to churn out adults who worked well within the system."

How to construct experiences to fit the learning process.

"With the help of a few knowledgeable friends, family, mentors, and advisors, I’m confident that I could have replaced my college experience with self-directed learning."

Great advice about how to approach college.

"When I’m learning quickly everything is great. I feel good about myself and my abilities and I throw myself into learning as much as I can.

On the other hand when I’m learning slowly (hitting a “plateau”) I often get frustrated or discouraged. Nothing I try seems to speed up my ascent out of these plateaus. It seems like the only thing that works is time and practice of what I already know.

I think the reason for this is that once I learn a bunch of new concepts my brain needs some time to process them. I can learn the concepts and use them if I concentrate, but it’s not effortless. I think the reason I finally start learning quickly again after some time is that I’ve internalized the previous concepts and now I can move on to more difficult ones which build on the previous ones."

Kevin Kelly's principles for surviving and thriving in the technological future.

The great firewall of internet in American schools.

A screen is not just a screen. It's the content that matters. What's important is that some of that content is only available on certain types of screens.

"In today’s dynamic classrooms, the teaching and learning process is becoming more nuanced, more seamless, and it flows back and forth from students to teachers. Here’s a look at current trends in teaching and learning, their implications, and changes to watch for."

"Education can become about designing the day around discovery of information, connections to real world challenges, discussions digging into our experiences with the world."

"As schools, we are going to have to “forfeit some control,” as we well should as the learning opportunities outside the classroom become more ubiquitous and effective. But we have to make sure that those opportunities are equitable and open as much as we can."

Peter Thiel believes education is the next bubble to pop and that college serves as a way to defer thinking about your life.

Daniel Bachhuber's thoughts on universities and journalistic activity. For the Carnival of Journalism.

The Atlantic surveys a recent study that focuses on how individual states compare in international math score rankings. The results are fairly surprising. It all goes to show that for schools more money brings more problems.

Libraries in prison can function as a safe, human environment where inmates pick up skills and viewpoints that, in some cases, stick with them after their time.

A thought experiment to try to explain connectivism as a model for learning.

"If we care about the future prospects of our nation’s economy and its people’s potential to advance, we must embrace the wide range of degrees our higher education system offers. As a matter of degrees, college really is for everyone."

"The tradition of the commonplace book contains a central tension between order and chaos, between the desire for methodical arrangement, and the desire for surprising new links of association."

Interesting idea to use tablet computing as a way to facilitate bi-directional learning in education.

"The art of the connection is the end result of a nerd’s highly obsessive due diligence performed on anything that falls into the relevant bucket."

Instead of complaining about how hard it is to find technical co-founders Kate Ray argues that it can be easier to just learn the skills yourself.

"The truth is that you don’t need learn anything new in order to begin. The most important thing is simply to start."

"The class was a crash course in things that are usually picked up slowly and by accident, like lost coins, over the course of your life. This class was so memorable because it was so little like school, and so much like life. School is basically a way of keeping people occupied — a theatrical set piece designed to take up time and spit out consenting consumers."

Basic lessons for learning the Dvorak keyboard.

Technology, cloud storage, and what it can do for education. First, we need to change ourselves a bit.

An atrocious article about a study where students who were promised a higher grade and then asked to what identical lectures broadcast online did more poorly than those in the classroom. So many things wrong.

New York's new "School of One" presents an interesting model for individualized education and learning.

"There are studies that show connecting to the internet changes our brains. And getting feedback is how we learn. Maybe all the sharing we do online is actually accelerating the learning curve. What if, once we connect online, we can actually lower that number even more? What if the tradeoff is between keeping the early embarrassing work private, and getting better at your new skill faster in public?"

A Duke University professor turned the grading for a recent course over to the students and claims that work was better and more productive.

Caterina Fake discusses how, perhaps, it's better for software entrepreneurs to drop out of college.

Poses an interesting question but lacks any form of data to make this claim and question valid.

Greg Linch's ideas about computational thinking and how it is relevant to journalism.

"Through the blog discussion, quiz, and assignment requirements students became more knowledgeable and confident in their studies. This confidence resulted in a cycle of learning success."

Six things that you can learn, even from a lousy teacher.