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… More >>
“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.
Rating: 5 / 5
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.
Rating: 5 / 5
This is a seminal work. In it Dr Curtis Bonk has used stories of people throughout the world, many of them as he says, unsung heroes, who have used the potential of web technology to start what he calls a “revolution” in education.
This revolution is based upon the availability of information as so much of it is free. It crosses boundaries of race, creed and nationality to produce a worldwide system of sharing and producing of information but most importantly it transforms the potential of learning so that as Curtis says “We are all learners” now.
The book is a very optimistic one, in that it takes the “Flat World” of Thomas L. Friedman and looks for the potentialities that it has. He sees the openness of the internet as an exciting tool in breaking down barriers on our planet. I was particularly interested in the way that he showed how developments in technology will eventually open up learning to the many millions in the world who have no access to knowledge at the moment.
This is a book that deserves to be read as a starting point in understanding just how powerful this new world is and how it is going to really transform our lives in the next decade. I see myself as a lifelong learner, a mentor for others (in whatever capacity that may be) and as a contributor (in whatever small way) to the continuing pool of what constitutes human knowledge. I feel that I have a debt of gratitude for Dr Curtis Bonk for the role he has played in showing me (and any others who get to read the book) just how exciting this is and how we must embrace it all and use it for the good of all mankind.
Rating: 5 / 5
I am a teacher educator and my subject matter is technology in the k12 classroom. I may make this book mandatory for my students for next semester because the material is not only very up-to-date on how education is changing (or should be changing) at lightning speed, but it also provides a wealth of resources to explore. Unlike many books used as texts, the writing style of Bonk’s book is very consumer- friendly and I’m sure my students would enjoy the read at the same time as they learn about the future of education.
Rating: 5 / 5
This book covers the 10 principles of the We All Learn module. It took me a really long time to read the book; it is very long and is very detailed. I really liked this book and found some great resources in it. I especially like that the author references Library Thing. I think this book is not meant to be read straight thru, but to keep it and refer back to it sections at a time. I am grateful that I won a copy of it and I plane to keep it in my permanent library.
Rating: 5 / 5