Cynic tells us TED talks are American Idol, presentations junk

Benjamin Bratton has taken a lot of heat since he published a scorching piece called We Need to Talk About TED in the Guardian on December 30, 2013.

The thrust of his argument is that "so little of the future promised in TED talks actually happens." This he argues in his intelligent but astonishingly cynical op-ed which contains the entire text of the 11-minute TEDx San Diego talk below.

Listen as Bratton deflates the enthusiasm behind the reception of TED talks by the great unwashed (read us and the audience immediately in front of him) and rips presenters for not dealing with more difficult and substantive issues. Are those who take to the stage really Gladwellian, American Idol-styled sell-outs?

I can't begin to argue with Bratton point for point. But this I do know. For the longest time, TED's signature tagline has been "ideas worth spreading" - a simple promise, and in my experience, often delivered.

Would love to hear your views below.

How IBM's jaw-dropping classroom of the future will 'learn' you

IBM's vision for the classroom five years from now is wrong on so many levels. When I came across this infographic and the accompanying video today my jaw dropped.

I added the numbers to the graphic above and keyed my bullets below to them to help unpack what the good folks at International Business Machines are thinking. But you'll quickly see many more flaws than I can point out. And if you're insulted by the six copy points in the graphic, just wait till you click on the video below.

1) Yes, the classroom will "learn" you - providing you are a student lucky enough to participate in Big Blue's dream of grabbing a utopian chunk of the world's public education pie. This "classroom" of which they speak? Basically, it's a hardware/software/cloud combo IBM wants to sell your school division after its research project with Gwinnett County Public Schools, the 14th largest school district in the US, is complete.

2) Now, what Dr. Frase is really saying here is the classroom will learn about every student in your class, providing you enter copious amounts of standardized test and other data (the more numbers the better) about them and brief the software about their aptitudes and learning preferences. Notice, too, that this not-quite-human helper will actually provide you with a tailored curriculum for each student from kindergarten all the way through high school until they get their first job at McDonalds. Hmm.

3) If you thought "The classroom of the future" was some corny Popular Science / Jetsons / 1950's news reel fabrication, not so fast. Consider that this classroom will be so darn smart, it will help your kids master skills critical to meeting their goals. Not to make light of students genuine interests and desires, but it's only the kids goals that count right? Not yours, their parents or even Society's. But can hardware and software even DO that? Looks like the classroom of the future can.

4) This classroom is so clever, in fact, that it will substantially lighten your load by developing a syllabus based on every child's learning style and pace. Sure, you may have to push a few buttons and stuff, but that classroom computer will do the real grunt work. And you know that flipped classroom experiment? Well, this will be even better because now your students will be able to learn everything on their terms and their schedule.

5) Now, read carefully here. If there's anything getting in the way of any of your young charge's educations right now - hunger, poverty, gangs, violence, teen pregnancy, a bad home life - the system will take make these barriers less of a deal in how they do in school. Yup.

6) Finally, if you're wondering what exactly will fuel this magical helper of yours? Why, numbers of course. And don't feel too insulted when you read that last paragraph. IBM knows things like identifying kids most at risk and finding measures to overcome their challenges are really your job. But they also know you could use a hand from their version of Hal.

Ok, your thoughts? Have you ever seen a more clumsy attempt by a multinational to engineer its way into heavier profits at the expense of good pedagogy and teacher autonomy? Now, we know IBM will have to duke it out with ed behemoth Pearson and other players for market share, but can you get more disingenuous and disrespectful? Is it really a matter of sitting back, punching in the numbers and reaping the benefits of individualized machine-generated curricula for students? Is this really a vision for the future, five years out?

As you watch the video below, you'll form more impressions. Mine actually boil down to a simple question. Honestly IBM, who do you think you are?

Your thoughts, dear reader, would be most welcome.

Happy Camping - A Personal Look at #EdCampWPG

How much social exhaust do you generate?

How much exhaust should you be generating in your social media interactions? Is it an inevitable part of building a Personal Learning Network or should you be looking at paring down some of the unnecessary banter in your online relationships. Watch this two-minute "walk and talk" I captured with the Socialcam app on my iPhone. It's not meant to be pretty, just to convey some quick thoughts and ask for feedback.

More bloggers who are pressed for time are opting turning to Socialcam as a short-form way of getting their thoughts out, rather than meticulously crafting a blog post. A master of the thinking person's walk and talk is Winnipeg teacher Darren Kuropatwa. Always thought-provoking, Darren has produced 80-plus short videos for his #whilewalking series - all while walking between his home and the bus stop.

Want to challenge your thinking? Check out Darren's insights and questions. I'm pretty sure you'll find some new ideas to love.

5 Essential Tips for New iPhone Owners

Ok, you've had your iPhone for a while and it's changed the way you interact with the 'Net. You feel more free, more able to do just about everything online. But there are still some simple things you wish you knew how to do. Like getting that pesky caps lock to actually stick for more than a character.

Well, here's how to do that and a few other things you might find useful.

1) Caps lock
Simply double tap the shift key. It turns blue. Away you go. Tap it again to deactivate. When Lainie Rowell showed this to a group of iPhone users at BLC '09, an audible gasp went up in the room. I mean who knew?

2) Go to top of screen
After you've been scrolling for a while through your emails or in a third-party Twitter app, simply tap once on the status bar (way up there) to get to the top of your inbox. Don't feel bad, I see many Blackberry owners who don't know they can simply press "t" to go top of the screen and "b" for bottom--instead of wearing out their trackball.

3) Zoom
Rather than spread or pinch with your thumb and forefinger, simply double tap on a column or picture to zoom in. Double tap again to zoom out. Same taps toggle from letterbox to regular view in Youtube.

4) Insert accents
Want to get this cool "ñ" or "é"? Simply tap the regular "n" or "e" and hold. Accent options pop up. Slide to the one you want and let go.

5) See previous search term (app store)
So, you plug in a search term, tap an app name to see details and reviews on it, but after you've hit the back button it's not obvious how to return to your original search term and list right? Wait, don't exit and enter the app store again. Just tap once in the search bar and you're back to the original term and list.

More essential tips you've discovered in your first weeks of iPhone ownership? Comment or share below.

A Beatles Education

Help! My youngest son is becoming the world’s biggest Fab Four fan.

With the launch of Beatles Rockband in September, he’s joined many middle school teens who are discovering the mop-haired Liverpudlians for the first time. He spends his allowance on Beatles CDs, scours YouTube for videos of Beatles concerts and rare interviews–and spouts Beatles trivia with the best of them.

“Dad, did you know Ringo’s real name is Richard Starkey and he was left-handed, but had a right-handed drum kit?”

Needless to say the Let it Be, Help!, Revolver, The Beatles Past Masters albums are getting a lot of airplay in the car and at home. Not that I mind, because the stuff is absolutely brilliant and so catchy my brain is now fairly perforated with hooks.

Besides, who can resist even awkward German versions of I Want to Hold Your Hand (Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand) and She Loves You (Sie Liebt Dich)?

Now, I did have something to do with my younger son’s deep dive into the Liverpool quartet. After tiring of repeated remarks about John, Paul, George and Ringo being “stupid,” I launched a video of the Beatles live at Shea Stadium on my iPhone with the rejoinder, “Let me show you how popular these guys were.”

The kid was impressed.

So, that night we poked around a bit more and laid the foundation for an interest in the group. Next came a trip to Rogers to snag a copy of the Beatles Rockband for PlayStation 3. And before you know it, son and I were bashing away to Octopus’s Garden and Back in the USSR on plastic instruments.

Learning Workout
The game is brilliant because of the real education it imparts to anyone who engages with it. This is far from passive learning. Besides having a huge fun factor, the game’s biographical notes, superb graphics, and story mode–including concerts you play at the Cavern, on Ed Sullivan; and at Shea Stadium, Bokudan, Abbey Road and the famous Apple Corp. rooftop–all ensure an energetic mental and physical workout.

The game is an immersion course in Beatles 101. It not only appeals to the intellect, but weaves its rhythms into your fingers, hands and feet.

Since my son and I have crossed Abbey Road together, I’ve had a flood of memories of everything from the Saturday morning animated Beatles cartoons, to licorice Beatle records (seriously), to the glossy autographed pictures I sent away for when I was a kid.

Now, my son adds to my Beatles education every few days with gems like, “Did you know Rolling Stone named Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band as the number one album of all time out of a list of 500, back in 2003?”

No, actually. I didn’t know that.

But it reminds me of another question that brought a smile to my face.

A teacher recently told me of how he was once approached by a breathless middle school girl who gasped, “Mr. so-and-so, Mr. so-and-so…Did you know that Paul McCartney was actually in another band before Wings?”

Indeed.