Live event this weekend – Alan Kay

There’s a live event this weekend that I would recommend to anyone interested in the “big ideas” of using computers in education. Alan Kay will be online in a conversation on the topic:

Important Questions in Education Research

Saturday, August 7th 2010 in the LearnCentral public Elluminate room at 11am Pacific – 2pm Eastern time.

This is part of an ongoing series of events organized by Maria Droujkova, who holds weekly Math 2.0 Webinars. But don’t be put off if you aren’t a “math” person. Alan Kay is one of the people responsible for there being ANYTHING called computers in education. He’s a unique thinker in this field and I guarantee you that there will be free and wide ranging conversation.

Alan is responsible for two quotes I love:

  • “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”
  • “… music is not in the piano. And knowledge and edification is not in the computer. The computer is simply an instrument whose music is ideas.”

So I urge you to join the conversation tonight, even if your interest isn’t in math or educational research. I do so because it’s a rare opportunity to connect first hand with one of the seminal thinkers of our time, and someone whose life’s work is reflected in everything we call “educational technology.”

Important Questions in Education Research with Alan Kay

Saturday, August 7th 2010 in the LearnCentral public Elluminate room at 11am Pacific – 2pm Eastern time. WorldClock for your time zone.

All Math 2.0 events are free and open to the public. Information about all events in the series is here

To read more about Alan: A still timely profile from 2003 on Alan Kay (Scholastic Administrator magazine)

Sylvia

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