Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
Whether you are a scientist on a ship in Antarctic waters or a young girl in a Philippine village, you can learn whenever and whatever you want from whomever you are interested in learning it from.
As technologies have become more available, even in the most remote reaches of the world, and as more people contribute a wealth of online resources, the education world has become open to anyone anywhere. In The World Is Open, education technology guru Curtis Bonk explores ten key trends that together make up the "WE-ALL-LEARN" framework for understanding the potential of technology's impact on learning in the 21st century:
Web Searching in the World of e-Books
E-Learning and Blended Learning
Availability of Open Source and Free Software
Leveraged Resources and OpenCourseWare
Learning Object Repositories and Portals
Learner Participation in Open Information Communities
Electronic Collaboration
Alternate Reality Learning
Real-Time Mobility and Portability
Networks of Personalized Learning
In addition, this important resource contains compelling interviews that capture the diverse global nature of the open educational world from those who are creating new learning technologies as well as those who are using them to learn and teach in new ways. Using the dynamic "WE-ALL-LEARN" model, learners, educators, executives, administrators, instructors, and parents can tap into the power of Web technology and unleash a world of information.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Bridget's Review
Customer Rating:
Have you noticed that the world is being taken over by technology? It seems like every month there is a new and amazing gadget that can do something that we would have said was impossible a few hundred years ago? Do you ever feel like you've been left behind and the rest of the world doesn't seem to have a problem keeping up with the latest and greatest electronics available? Everyone learns in differently. Some will catch on really quick while others are stuck and don't know where to turn.
If you feel this way or know someone who does, I think you should read this book. It is the perfect companion for learning about the things that may terrify you. I already know a few people who would love to get this for Christmas! Book Information: The World is Open by Curtis J. Bonk Wiley, John & Sons, Inc. July 2009 480 pages
From Steve at J. Kaye's Book Blog
Customer Rating:
"The World is Open", by Curtis J. Bonk, PhD, is tremendously filled with new ideas and innovations for education. From the causal, on-demand learner to elementary schools and college students, this book identifies the latest trends and resources in learning. This book has so much; it took me a long while to finish. Every few pages I would get on the internet and look at the sites. Wow! Something in this book impacts everyone who is reading this review.
If you are reading this, then you have learned how to blog, or a t least how to surf the internet. Maybe even how to use Twitter or Facebook. This is an example on on-demand, on-line, blended learning. For The Flat classroom project has students from Westwood Schools in Camillia, Ga., collaborating with students and schools in Doha, Qatar and Dhaka, Bangladesh for project-oriented activities judged by judges in China, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. MIT has the open course project has their class curriculum on-line and free to use. Since 2006, Michigan requires high school students to complete at least 20 hours of meaningful online learning to graduate and Florida has an on-line high school.
Dr. Bonk's book illustrates current trends and technologies of using Web 2.0 in learning of all types, not just education. It really brings home the how the world will be taught in the upcoming years. What is evident from Japan, China, Africa, South America, and Canada, is those countries are investing and using the new technology to educate and train their people, and if the U.S. does not change its educational delivery, then it will fall behind.
Here are just some of the things for learners, students, and educators Bonk lists in his exciting book: Big Think, Teacher Tube, PLoS, SciVee, MIT, Chinswing, Connexions, Curriki, Wikispecies, MoOM, GNG, Global Kids, WEbook, Scribd, ePal, Chumby and Livemocha (which I am using now to learn Chinese). Go by his website, google the above items, and get into the future of learning.
WE-ALL-LEARN
Customer Rating:
Dr. Curtis Bonk begins his book "The World is Open" with a bold statement: "Anyone can now learn anything from anyone at anytime (p.7)." This seems like a simple idea in theory, but it is a radical concept in application. Bonk challenges the reader to imagine a world where free and open are fundamental rights. Deep-rooted educational systems, rife with self-interested reasons to perpetuate the status quo, refuse to acknowledge that our learning landscape has been fundamentally altered. However, Bonk shows us that transformative change is coming, and it won't be stopped. He explains that technology, openness, and unprecedented access to knowledge are removing control of the learning process from institutions and placing it into the hands of the individual. This change is nothing short of revolutionary. A riveting narrative, "The World is Open" will undoubtedly draw comparison to Friedman's seminal work "The World is Flat," but this book is perhaps more important. Where Friedman's book addressed the broad spectrum of globalization in business, industry, and education, Bonk focuses in on the intersection of education and technology where he deftly documents and defines the ground-breaking changes taking place. He also provides practical approaches that help the reader navigate the open educational world and that allow learners to surf the coming wave of change in one the most thrilling times for education in human history. This book made me more enthusiastic and excited about the future of education than any other I can recall. It is a must read for life-long learners, educators, parents, or anyone interested in how changing technology is revolutionizing the learning landscape.
Required reading for education students
Customer Rating:
This is a great book for us to learn about the latest trends for education. I remember I took a class on "Trends in Instructional Technology" back in my PhD program. Everything was so old in that class. Glad Dr Bonk took the time to gather all the latest information. Business schools made "The world is flat" as required reading. Schools of Ed should do the same with this book.
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