The Maker Culture - Consequences of Powerful Tools

In this week's podcast, the Kids in the Back of the Class look at the rise of the makerspace culture and have a rousing discussion on the promises and dilemmas this new culture creates. Are there moral questions that need to be re-prioritized as the maker culture stretches not just into our classrooms but into our larger society as a whole.

Makerspace Culture - Promises and Dilemmas 

We hope you will take a listen as the Kids explore these questions and engage in the banter that our "constant listeners" have become accustomed to. Look forward to your comments and questions.

And as always...Simon please phone home!

The Kids are Back!!!

After a long winter hibernation, the Kids in the Back of the Class are back! Well two of us are back -  the quest to find Simon continues! I hope you, our faithful listeners, will get back in the saddle and join us on our journey to explore all things education. Honestly who knows where the journey will take us, but we would love to have you along for the ride.

In this week's episode, the Kids get the new year off to a roaring start by examining the 2017 Horizons Report and discuss the technologies that will be driving education over the next five years from both higher education and K-12 perspectives. Below you will find hyperlinks to both reports and we would love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Disagree with us - no problem. We would love to hear your opinions.

Enjoy the journey and thanks for your patience as we dust of the cobwebs (and recording difficulties) and return to the same great programming you all have come to love cherish.

The 2017 Horizon Report Podcast

Horizon Report 2017 - K-12

Horizon Report 2017 - Higher Education

Danny's Proposal

It's Danny's turn to provide a concrete solution to the problems of education. In this episode, he lays out his thoughts about how the High School experience can be re-envisioned. It's surprisingly lucid and well thought out.

Patrick's Proposal

Following up on Simon's proposal last week, this week it was Patrick's turn to give a concrete plan for something he would do in education. This show focuses on a year-long immersive educational game that would leverage all kinds of technologies.

Simon's Proposal

After a couple week's absence, we're back with a new show. We take a slightly different approach to this show in that we're going to spend a bit more time discussing the solutions that we'd actually propose to the problems of education rather than discussing what other people are doing.

First up is Simon, who spends some time in this week's episode discussing his overarching philosophy to technology usage in schools.

Is Homeschooling the Answer?

In this week's podcast, Daniel, Mark and Patrick explored the idea that homeschooling may be able to solve education's problems. This was based on an article entitled, Homeschooling is More Beneficial to Children: Why Homeschooling is Better for Your Child. Take a listen.

Grading Parents?

The kids at the back of the class have recorded a new show on the topic of Teachers Grading Parents. This is based on a legislative proposal put forth by a Florida state representative named Kelli Stargel.

I can't wait to see what people think about this one.