Open Source Learning

Open Source learning. Knowledge Ecosystem. Be your own educational dj! Richard Baraniuk is a professor at Rice University professor. Baraniuk has a giant vision: to create a free global online education system that puts the power of creation and collaboration in the hands of teachers worldwide. The realization of this vision is via Connexions, a website that allows teachers to quickly "create, rip, mix and burn" coursework -- without fear of copyright violations.

Connexions' open-source system cuts out the textbook, giving teachers the opportunity to share course materials, modify existing work and disseminate it to their students. This is all for free, thanks to Creative Commons licensing. Text books are price and become a burden to the student. You can't buy the book you can't get the info. This could become a powerful force in leveling the education playing field. Everyone has access to this as long as they have access to the internet. Currently Connexions encompasses hundreds of online courses and is used by a million people worldwide. Baraniuk's virtual educational system is revolutionizing the way people teach and learn. How can our architecture be responsive to this as well?

Hyperlinked text books. This type of learning will help to show the connected learning which Ken Robinson's was talking about. It's an educational mash-up in your brain. Let's allow the kids to mix it themselves and spit it out so they understand it better.