Don Tapscott's Blog, page 54

Teaching kids democratic values

Teaching democratic values and the importance of civic responsibility doesn't seem to be particularly strong in the school system. However, given that so many schools cling to an outdated education model, I don't find fault with many kids for ending up apathetic. It's hard to imagine getting excited about learning the importance of civic responsibility and democracy from simply reading a text book.

This is why I'm sending kudos to the province of Ontario's educational television network for...

Using social media to keep students engaged

"Lack of engagement is one of the biggest problems we have today in getting more students through the college and university system," says Vineet Madan, vice president of strategy and business development for McGraw-Hill. "If we don't tackle the engagement problem collectively, we're not going to get more people through the system. … And one of the great promises of social media in higher education … is about promoting engagement."

So true.  As reported in the online publication eCampus News, ...

"Bottom up" approach is better than a "top down"

Some schools have been disappointed with the seemingly small gains made by students when IT technology such as laptops have been introduced to the classroom.  But as I have been writing for years, proper IT planning involved much more than simply throwing technology at the classroom wall and seeing what sticks.  Teachers must know how to make best use of the new tools, and not simply digitize existing methodology.  And how will they know what is the best use?  Extensive stakeholder...

We need better broadband, and soon.

The power of the Internet.  In the small town of Diller, Nebraska, Blue Valley Meats doubled its employees and saw 40 percent growth by setting up a Web site and selling its beef online.  But this happened only after Diller got broadband.

Which is why the Recovery Act passed by Congress instructed the Federal Communication Commission to develop a strategy to bring the benefits of high-speed Internet to all Americans. Dubbed the National Broadband Plan, the FCC's response will be made public...

Google raises the bar

It's been interesting to watch the reaction to Google's announcement of open access Internet service to select American homes at a jaw-dropping 1 Gbps. That's roughly a 100-fold increase in bandwidth from the maximum speeds offered by most of the larger internet service providers today.

We have the response from potential consumers of the service, as witnessed by the comments posted on various tech websites and mainstream media websites.  Consumers are giddy at the prospect. And doubtless...

Ericsson’s 2020 Shaping Ideas Forum

In 2020 – Shaping Ideas, Ericsson asked 20 thinkers to share their view on the drivers of the future and how connectivity is changing the world.

They describe a future where a growing population faces never before seen challenges and opportunities; where digital natives will shape their lives and the enterprises they work for, and where technology could create a global golden age.

Don Tapscott discusses how the net generation is reinventing how organizations operate and innovate.

Innovating the 21st-century university

In the current issue of EDUCAUSE Review, Anthony D. Williams and I have a 6,000-word essay discussing the urgent issues facing universities, that left unresolved, would see intuitions of higher learning going into a death spiral akin to what we see happening to encyclopedias, newspapers, and music record labels.

For fifteen years, we've been arguing that the digital revolution will challenge many fundamental aspects of the university. We have not been alone. In 1997, none other than Peter...

My top ten themes from 2010 Davos, part 2

The World Economic Forum has wrapped up and the small town of Davos is being returned to the skiers. I've developed my top ten themes from the five-day event. I posted themes 1 – 5 yesterday. Here are themes 6 – 10.

6. The world needs better governments.

Some governments in Central America and Africa are just holding on and many are dysfunctional.  But governability is becoming an issue for G20 countries as well.  One leader said the US is on the brink of being "ungovernable."  One Chinese...

My top ten themes from Davos, part 1

The World Economic Forum has wrapped up and the small town of Davos is being returned to the skiers. I've developed my top ten themes from the five-day event. I'll post five today and five tomorrow.

1. The state of the world is not good.

The theme of Davos was Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild, which may sound a bit grandiose to some people.  I doubt many attendees think this now.  The world clearly needs fixing.

Figures cited at the Forum show we're a long way from being out of the woods on the...

Global problem solving? Stephen Harper defends the status quo

Although Prime Minister Stephen Harper's speech on Thursday in Davos was received well, many of the delegates that I spoke with told me they thought Harper's vision was too blinkered.

With the conspicuous exception of global warming, Harper acknowledged that many challenges face the world, but told delegates that the two most appropriate arenas for discussion and decision making are the G8 and the G20.  He described the latter as "the world's premier forum for economic cooperation." And each c...